Ariel Jurado

Although Jurado showed slight improvement in his second season in the majors, he continued to struggle against big-league hitters. The right-hander's ERA (5.81) and xFIP (5.00) were each a touch better than his rookie marks but nonetheless fell well below league average. Never much of a punch-out pitcher, Jurado improved his strikeout rate almost six points to 15.0 percent in 2019, but the paltry mark still ranked in the bottom 5% leaguewide. Jurado's greatest strength is his ability to limit walks -- he notched a solid 6.7 BB% last season -- but even that can be a liability when hitters are knocking his pitches around as they did in 2019 to the tune of a 46.0 Hard%, fifth-highest among hurlers who tossed 100 or more innings. Jurado will be only 24 years old at the start of next season, but his overall body of work through 44 major-league contests does little to inspire confidence in his fantasy viability.