2022 Stats
W-L
3-10
ERA
4.31
WHIP
1.56
K
29
SV
16
Rest-of-Season Projections
2022 Fantasy Outlook
Melancon doesn't fit the typical closer profile, but he led the majors with 39 saves in 2021, elevating him to fourth place among active relievers with 244 career saves. He was one of the best relievers in baseball in March and April, but faded down the stretch for the Padres and finished with his worst walk rate (3.5 BB/9) in 12 years. Melancon didn't miss many bats with a 22.3% K% and 8.9% SwStr%, but still finished with a respectable 2.23 ERA and his 56.4% ground ball rate that ranked in the top 15 among qualified relievers. After his productive age-36 season, Melancon declined his $5 million mutual option with San Diego to become a free-agent and quickly signed a two-year, $14 million deal with Arizona in December. He's by far the most experienced high-leverage reliever on the Diamondbacks and is the favorite to close, just don't bet on him leading the league in saves again with the team still rebuilding. Read Past Outlooks

Making slight changes
Melancon tweaked his delivery since Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo added other relievers to the closer mix, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports. "I've been always trying to tweak things to be better," Melancon said.
ANALYSIS
Melancon said the changes are barely perceptible to the naked eye and involve tightening his torso and creating more tension throughout his body to hone his command. "I'm creating more down angle, or cut, on the ball," Melancon said. "And just less stress on the shoulder, creating more tension throughout." The changes, however small, have worked for the right-hander. In the three outings since the role change, Melancon has allowed one hit and three walks with three strikeouts over three scoreless innings, which includes two saves.
Melancon said the changes are barely perceptible to the naked eye and involve tightening his torso and creating more tension throughout his body to hone his command. "I'm creating more down angle, or cut, on the ball," Melancon said. "And just less stress on the shoulder, creating more tension throughout." The changes, however small, have worked for the right-hander. In the three outings since the role change, Melancon has allowed one hit and three walks with three strikeouts over three scoreless innings, which includes two saves.
Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2022 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
14
Last 10 Games
14
Last 5 Games
16
How many pitches does Mark Melancon generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Mark Melancon generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2020
-13%
BAA vs LHP
2022
-3%
BAA vs RHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2020vs Left | .234 | 40 | 22 | 50 | 2 | |||
Since 2020vs Right | .270 | 59 | 26 | 72 | 5 | |||
2022vs Left | .295 | 13 | 9 | 23 | 2 | |||
2022vs Right | .287 | 16 | 7 | 25 | 0 | |||
2021vs Left | .150 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | |||
2021vs Right | .285 | 35 | 16 | 39 | 4 | |||
2020vs Left | .333 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 0 | |||
2020vs Right | .186 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
-2%
ERA at Home
2022
-18%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2020Home | 3.03 | 1.32 | 77.1 | 6.2 | 3.7 | ||||
Since 2020Away | 3.08 | 1.37 | 49.2 | 8.3 | 2.9 | ||||
2022Home | 4.73 | 1.61 | 26.2 | 6.8 | 4.7 | ||||
2022Away | 3.86 | 1.50 | 14.0 | 5.8 | 1.3 | ||||
2021Home | 1.77 | 1.06 | 40.2 | 6.6 | 2.9 | ||||
2021Away | 3.00 | 1.50 | 24.0 | 10.9 | 4.5 | ||||
2020Home | 3.60 | 1.60 | 10.0 | 2.7 | 4.5 | ||||
2020Away | 2.31 | 0.94 | 11.2 | 6.2 | 1.5 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Mark Melancon compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
1.81K/9
6.6BB/9
3.6HR/9
0.5Fastball
91.5 mphERA
4.31WHIP
1.56BABIP
.347GB/FB
1.76Left On Base
59.1%Exit Velocity
81.4 mphBarrels/BBE
0.6%Spin Rate
2367 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
21.7%Swinging Strike
9.9%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Mark Melancon

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Brad Johnson checks in on bullpens in flux, including in Baltimore where Felix Bautista could take on the closer role.

With all the recent transactions, Dan Marcus reviews some players who are set to take on much larger roles.

Ryan Rufe breaks down the relievers who could be on the move in the next few days as well as their potential destinations.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
Melancon provided another great reminder that the closer role is not always about who has the best stuff. Melancon led Atlanta with 11 saves, not because he had the best stuff, but because he had been there before. His 14.7 K% from last season is dangerously low for a closer, and the fact the league hit .306 off his primary pitch (the cutter) is not a good sign. Yet, they hit just .167 off his secondary pitch (curveball), and he allowed one home run the entire season. The batting average and the 7.4 K-BB% are big red flags for his 2021 potential, meaning any closer role he may land as a free agent this winter may not last long. His expected stats in 2020 offer some optimism given his xBA off that aforementioned cutter was 70 points better than his actual outcome. Still, there are obvious risks here given how reliant he is on batted-ball fortune.
More Fantasy News

Logs 16th save
Melancon saved Tuesday's 6-4 win against Pittsburgh, issuing one walk while striking out one in the ninth inning.
ANALYSIS
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Shaky in save
Melancon allowed a hit and two walks while striking out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Sunday's 6-4 win over the Rockies.
ANALYSIS
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Out of ninth-inning role
The Diamondbacks will go with a closer-by-committee approach going forward, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports. Melancon is 3-10 with a 4.66 ERA and 1.58 WHIP this season.
ANALYSIS
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Can't close door in extras Monday
Melancon (3-10) blew the save and took the loss Monday, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk over 1.2 innings in a 6-5 extra-innings loss to the Guardians.
ANALYSIS
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Registers 14th save
Melancon earned a save over the Giants on Wednesday, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one batter in one scoreless inning.
ANALYSIS
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