Sleepers

Alvarez missed more than seven weeks with a torn UCL in his left hand, suffered while catching his fall after tripping while rounding second base. When healthy, he was the Mets regular backstop, his role again this season. Alvarez will be one of the youngest starting catchers at just 23 years old; his offense is still a work in progress. His 62nd percentile hard-hit rate was down a tick from the previous season but still promising relative to his age. Alvarez's contact rate is below average, but it's improved a tick each of his last two seasons. His patience is above average, boding well for improved quality and quantity of contact. Behind the dish, he's an excellent framer, with a great pop time. All signs point to continued improvement, with more playing time. This is probably the last time he's a borderline option in one-catcher leagues. Alvarez will be a staple sooner than later.

Arrighetti's rookie season had a little bit of everything for everyone, including his fans and his detractors. He had four different contests in which he struck out 10 or more batters, capped off by a 13 strikeout performance against Boston. Four other times, he allowed five or more earned runs, including seven in just 1.1 innings against Detroit. He twice allowed three homers in a contest, and yet struck out 27.1 percent of the batters he faced. However, it was that inconsistency that led to him winning just seven of his 28 starts for a team that won its division. The rookie lived and died off his curveball and sweeper, which collectively held opposing hitters to a .151 batting average, while the league hit .296 off the rest of his offerings. Arrighetti showed signs of progress in the second half, as three of the four aforementioned big strikeout games came after the break, and a reduction in his walk rate helped reduce his ERA two and a half runs from the first half. As long as his nonbreaking pitches are this hittable, homers will continue to be an issue for him in Houston, but reducing the walks can help offset some of that damage. That 21.4 percent K-BB percentage in the second half of the season is something to admire since his overall numbers somewhat mask that late-season goodness.

The left-hander missed the entirety of the 2023 campaign while recovering from shoulder surgery, and he spent most of 2024 at Triple-A Nashville. Ashby started in 14 of his 25 appearances at Triple-A and struggled to an 8.04 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 92:73 K:BB across 84 innings. He received a look in the majors despite the poor numbers and pitched well with a 2.86 ERA and 33:10 K:BB over 28.1 frames. The control difference between the majors and minors makes all of his numbers difficult to trust, but he should have a chance to earn a spot in Milwaukee's starting rotation in spring training. Ashby still has some upside but carries a lot of risk given the mostly unproven track record.