Luis L. Ortiz

Ortiz entered the 2023 season with considerable hype after a fairly impressive 16-inning sample in his big-league debut, during which he maintained a 24.6 percent strikeout while deploying his 98 mph fastball and 88 mph slider a combined 77 percent of the time. The Pirates weren't convinced he'd be able to maintain consistent success with only two pitches and asked him to focus more on developing a changeup. He ended up throwing the offspeed pitch 14 percent of the time in 2023 and it was fairly effective (.205 slg. against). However, the development of his new pitch seemed to contribute to the erosion of the rest of his arsenal, as he lost velocity and around three percentage points off of his overall swinging strike rate. That led to a significant step back in surface stats as well, and most worrisome is an inflated walk rate that has persisted across the first two seasons of his big-league sample (12.4% in 102.2 innings). For those looking to keep hope alive, the case is that this is the year his three-pitch arsenal comes together, and that last year's growing pains will be worth more sustainable success across the length of his career. That's quite a leap to take at this point, but if he has a strong spring and is able to secure a rotation spot he could re-enter the fantasy conversation.