Derek Law

Derek Law

34-Year-Old PitcherRP
Washington Nationals
15-Day IL
Injury Forearm
Est. Return 4/11/2025
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Law was on pace to become the first reliever in Nats history to toss more than 100 innings in a season, but an elbow injury sidelined him for a few weeks near the end of the 2024 campaign and he ultimately fell short. Still, the 33-year-old righty established new career-highs in innings pitched (90), wins (seven), holds (17) and strikeouts (76). Law's 0.67 Win Probability Added (WPA) was the highest among Nationals relievers, which positions him for an even greater high-leverage role in 2025, especially now that Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Robert Garcia are gone. However, the 8-year veteran holds a mere 21.1 percent strikeout rate for his career and doesn't have a typical closer's profile, even though he boasts a vast six-pitch arsenal. Regular save chances are not out of the question in 2025, but don't bank on them. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#378
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Nationals in January of 2025.
Placed on IL
PWashington Nationals
Forearm
March 26, 2025
The Nationals placed Law on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with right forearm inflammation.
ANALYSIS
Complications from a late-season elbow injury in 2024 followed Law into spring training, though the Nationals are officially labeling his injury as a forearm issue. Either way, he'll now officially be sidelined through the first 15 days of the new season but isn't likely to need much more time than that to prepare for his 2025 debut.
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Pitching Stats
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-16%
BAA vs LHP
2025
No Stats
2024
 
 
-28%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-4%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .219 242 57 26 47 7 1 4
Since 2023vs Right .260 363 64 24 85 10 1 9
2025vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Left .197 129 36 12 23 3 0 2
2024vs Right .273 236 40 12 59 8 1 5
2023vs Left .245 113 21 14 24 4 1 2
2023vs Right .234 127 24 12 26 2 0 4
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Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-13%
ERA at Home
2025
No Stats
2024
 
 
-4%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-24%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 2.79 1.10 80.2 5 2 2 6.9 2.1 0.9
Since 2023Away 3.22 1.45 64.1 6 8 1 8.3 4.3 0.7
2025Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Home 2.55 1.11 49.1 3 1 1 7.1 1.6 0.9
2024Away 2.66 1.25 40.2 4 3 0 8.2 3.3 0.4
2023Home 3.16 1.09 31.1 2 1 1 6.6 2.9 0.9
2023Away 4.18 1.77 23.2 2 5 1 8.4 6.1 1.1
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Defensive Stats
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Derek Law See More
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16 days ago
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18 days ago
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January 13, 2024
Todd Zola considers a new approach to regressing a pitcher's BABIP, which suggests better days should be ahead for Hunter Greene.
Todd's Takes: Clearing My Chest and Runs Galore
April 4, 2023
Todd Zola shares his thoughts from Monday's box scores, which included another strong showing from the potentially overlooked Trevor Larnach.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
Law's outstanding 2016 rookie campaign continues to look like a mirage as the right-hander has failed to come close to that season's production in the three years that have followed. While his 4.90 ERA in his first season with Toronto was an improvement over the marks he posted the previous two campaigns, it was hardly reason to celebrate and was accompanied by a career-worst 14.0 BB% that ranked ninth-worst in the majors among qualified relievers. Law did do some things well -- he induced a 23.1 Soft%, 10th-best among relievers, and notched a career-high 23.5 K% -- but was stung by one of the highest WHIPs in the league (1.66). Law earned five saves and eight holds for the Blue Jays last season, but he was non-tendered by the club in December. His strikeout ability alone makes him likely to latch on with another team in 2020, but he has a lot to prove before he can be trusted in high-leverage situations.
After regressing during the 2017 season, Law failed to make the Opening Day roster. In the end, he only managed to log 13.1 innings in the majors all season. When he did pitch, he was less than effective, allowing 11 runs on 16 hits and eight walks. He struck out nearly a batter per inning (12 strikeouts), but another high home-run rate (1.4 HR/9) hurt him. A whopping 88.9% of the batted balls against him were of the medium- or hard-hit variety. His numbers in the minors were considerably better -- 2.45 FIP, 9.6 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.4 HR/9 -- but it's not as impressive given it was his third tour of the Pacific Coast League. He's not a lock to make the Giants' bullpen out of spring training, though the fact that he's out of minor-league options helps his cause. Either way, Law isn't much of a fantasy commodity.
After a breakout rookie season that saw him finish near the top of the Giants' closer depth chart, Law took a major step backwards, putting up a 5.06 ERA in 37.1 innings and earning a demotion to Triple-A for most of the second half of the season. Law's walk rate ballooned from 4.2 percent in 2016 to 8.3 percent last year. He also suffered a significant drop in groundball percentage, falling from an above-average 50.3 percent in 2016 to a below-average 38.3 percent in 2017. Law projects to return to the Giants' bullpen in 2018, but the results will need to improve if he's to climb back up the hierarchy.
While Hunter Strickland had all the preseason buzz as a potential breakout reliever, Law was the true San Francisco surprise, posting stellar numbers during his rookie campaign, including 14 holds and a 5.56 K/BB. He was consistently the Giants' best reliever while he was healthy and even served as the team's closer for a brief period after Santiago Casilla was demoted from the position. Law has four reliable pitches, headlined by his mid- to high-90s fastball. San Francisco added Mark Melancon this offseason to shore up that mediocre bullpen, so Law does not project to get many saves in the foreseeable future. However, he would be in that mix if Melancon were to suffer an injury. For now, Law will serve as a source of solid ratios and strikeouts for owners in deep leagues.
While his 4.56 ERA with Double-A Richmond may not say it, Law had a very successful return from Tommy John surgery in 2015. His ability to strikeout batters at a high clip returned (11.2 K/9) and he corrected the control issues that popped up before his elbow gave out (2.8 BB/9). He continued to limit the long ball (0.35 HR/9) and his 2.22 FIP shows that he suffered some poor luck, likely a result of his 61.2 LOB% with Richmond. With another offseason of rest under his belt, Law will look to make his case for the 2016 Opening Day roster after being one of the final cuts in 2015.
Law's walk rate nearly tripled with the move up to Double-A Richmond in 2014 (from 1.6 BB/9 to 4.5 BB/9), but the right-hander still finished with a 2.57 ERA, marking the fourth time he has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in as many professional seasons. A ninth-round pick out of Miami-Dade College in 2011, he also saw his strikeout rate dip by more than four per nine innings in 2014 (from 13.8 K/9 to 9.3 K/9), but Law has been able to sustain success as he has moved up the organizational ladder, making the decision to protect him from the Rule 5 draft with a spot on the 40-man roster a relatively easy one for San Francisco. Law, who complements a heavy, sinking fastball with a potential plus curveball and a slider, has also proven plenty capable in high-leverage situations, saving 27 games in the minors the last two seasons. It's well within the realm of possibility that he could work himself into the setup mix late in 2015.
More Fantasy News
Won't be ready for Opening Day
PWashington Nationals
Elbow
March 22, 2025
Law (elbow) said Saturday that he doesn't believe he'll be ready for the start of the season, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
ANALYSIS
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Taking aim at workload record
PWashington Nationals
March 10, 2025
Law has made it his goal to break the Nationals' franchise record for innings pitched in a season by a reliever, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
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Role not yet settled
PWashington Nationals
February 23, 2025
Law figures to be part of the Nationals' high-leverage crew this season, but it's not clear if he'll get a chance to audition for the open closer role.
ANALYSIS
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Receives $2.75 million
PWashington Nationals
January 9, 2025
The Nationals and Law avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.75 million contract Thursday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
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Activated from injured list
PWashington Nationals
September 2, 2024
The Nationals activated Law (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Monday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could be moved
PWashington Nationals
July 24, 2024
Law is a candidate to be traded by the Nationals ahead of Tuesday's deadline, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.com.
ANALYSIS
The right-handed journeyman posted a 3.60 ERA in 54 outings for the Reds in 2023 and has continued to pitch well for the Nationals this year with a 3.30 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 53:17 K:BB over 60 innings. Law won't significantly move the needle for contending teams, but his work in middle relief could still provide a boost to an undermanned bullpen.
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