Jhony Brito

Brito impressed while competing for a spot in the Padres' starting rotation during spring training last season, but nonetheless all 26 of his regular-season appearances came out of the bullpen. He wasn't particularly effective, compiling a 4.12 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 29:10 K:BB over 43.2 innings before being sent to the minors and eventually ending the campaign on the IL due to a right elbow strain. There's been no indication that the injury will impact Brito's availability for the start of spring training, and the right-hander could be among a number of hurlers in the mix for the rotation spot made available due to Joe Musgrove undergoing Tommy John surgery. For Brito to be more successful, though, he'll need to find a way to better fool hitters -- despite averaging 96.3 mph on his fastball last season, his chase rate (22.6 percent) and whiff rate (19.0 percent) were both well below average, leading to a subpar 15.7 percent strikeout rate. Read Past Outlooks