Scott Barlow

Scott Barlow

30-Year-Old PitcherRP
Kansas City Royals
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Barlow was a workhorse for the Royals, finishing with 74.1 innings that tied a career high and was most among closers. The 30-year-old was effective in those innings, posting career best marks in multiple categories with a 2.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, seven wins and 24 saves. Barlow's 2022 success might be attributed to an adjustment in his secondary offerings. He threw his 4-seamer (24% pitch usage) less often in favor of his curve (31%), the latter of which stifled opposing hitters to a mere .138 BA and .202 SLG. His slider (45%) remained effective as his primary pitch, but he lost 1.7 mph of zip on his fastball, averaging only 93.6 mph. Only 6 of his 79 strikeouts came via the 4-seamer, as batters often teed off on the pitch (.554 SLG). Barlow's pitch mix tweak should be one he carries into 2023 as he enters year 2 of salary arbitration. Draft him with confidence based on recent track record and innings ceiling, but keep in mind saves might not be as bountiful as other closers. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#158
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $5.3 million contract with the Royals in January of 2023.
Looking ready for season
PKansas City Royals
March 23, 2023
Barlow has allowed one earned run on six hits and a walk while striking out eight over eight innings this spring.
ANALYSIS
Barlow is doing well in Cactus League play, and he should be at the head of a closer committee once the regular season starts. He matched his career high in innings pitched with 74.1 last season while posting a 2.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 24 saves, six holds and a 7-4 record. Barlow has been known to work more than just the ninth inning, and the presence of lefty Aroldis Chapman on the roster could make this a matchup-based approach. In any case, if Barlow continues to pitch well, he'll be considered for the most important moments in games.
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Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
17
Last 10 Games
17
Last 5 Games
17
How many pitches does Scott Barlow 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+
 
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+
 
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 Scott Barlow generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
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
 
 
-6%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-11%
BAA vs RHP
2021
 
 
-9%
BAA vs RHP
2020
 
 
-14%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .224 334 96 30 66 8 1 9
Since 2020vs Right .211 384 110 29 74 18 0 8
2022vs Left .211 135 39 8 26 3 1 3
2022vs Right .187 155 38 14 26 1 0 6
2021vs Left .235 134 38 16 27 3 0 3
2021vs Right .214 172 53 12 34 14 0 1
2020vs Left .228 65 19 6 13 2 0 3
2020vs Right .264 57 19 3 14 3 0 1
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-25%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-51%
ERA at Home
2021
 
 
-22%
ERA at Home
2020
 
 
-23%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 2.28 1.02 94.2 9 3 20 9.1 2.3 0.8
Since 2020Away 3.04 1.23 83.0 5 5 22 11.9 3.8 1.0
2022Home 1.50 0.93 42.0 4 1 12 8.8 2.6 0.9
2022Away 3.06 1.08 32.1 3 3 12 10.0 2.8 1.4
2021Home 2.13 1.18 38.0 4 1 7 9.0 2.6 0.5
2021Away 2.72 1.21 36.1 1 2 9 13.1 4.2 0.5
2020Home 4.91 0.89 14.2 1 1 1 10.4 0.6 1.2
2020Away 3.77 1.60 14.1 1 0 1 13.2 5.0 1.3
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Scott Barlow 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.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.50
 
K/9
9.3
 
BB/9
2.7
 
HR/9
1.1
 
Fastball
93.7 mph
 
ERA
2.18
 
WHIP
1.00
 
BABIP
.245
 
GB/FB
1.41
 
Left On Base
83.1%
 
Exit Velocity
79.8 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.4%
 
Spin Rate
2465 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
18.0%
 
Swinging Strike
14.3%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
Barlow took over as the primary closer in Kansas City on July 2 and racked up 14 saves across the final three months of the season. In that span, he maintained a 2.78 ERA and 1.15 WHIP while striking out 34 across 35.2 frames, though he was also charged with five blown saves. Barlow has quietly possessed some key skills of a closer throughout his career, as he's posted a K% of 29.7 or higher in three consecutive campaigns while also maintaining a HR/9 below 1.0 in two of his three full big-league seasons. Looking forward to 2022, there's likely to be some pullback on his 2.42 ERA, as indicated by an 83.1 percent left on-base rate as well as a 3.37 xERA and 3.33 SIERA. Even so, he should enter the campaign with the first chance to claim the closer role for the Royals -- assuming the team doesn't make any major additions to their bullpen -- and he has shown the skills to excel in the role across a full season.
Barlow led MLB with 32 appearances in 2020, all in relief. He compiled 30 innings, pitching better than his 4.20 ERA suggests. Barlow's xFIP was 3.30 with a 3.04 SIERA. His 31.2 K% was a career best while a 7.2 BB% was a significant improvement over 2019's 11.9% mark. Despite the solid peripherals, Barlow only logged two saves. He was second on the Royals with seven holds. The righty throws a 95-mph fastball but it's his curveball and slider doing most of the heavy lifting. The only crack in Barlow's armor is a career .330 BABIP, although 115.1 innings isn't nearly enough to establish a baseline. The Royals brought back Greg Holland, leaving Barlow as part of the bridge to the ninth. With an excellent strikeout rate supported by the underlying metrics and a high volume of innings, Barlow is a nice pick in leagues favoring dominant relievers to add punchouts and protect ratios.
Pitchers gain and lose velocity all the time, but it's pretty rare for a pitcher to gain three-and-a-half ticks from one season to the next without a role change, as Barlow did. He pitched 15 innings out of the bullpen for the Royals in 2018, averaging 90.6 mph on his four-seam fastball. Last season, Barlow pitched 70.1 relief innings and averaged 94.1 mph. Barlow saw a similar increase on his slider and threw the breaking ball more often. The result was a four-percentage-point jump in swinging-strike rate and a corresponding spike in K-rate to 29.7%. With more breaking balls, Barlow's Zone% fell dramatically and his walk rate spiked, but the tradeoff worked. He finished second on the team in holds with 14 and projects to open 2020 as the Royals' top right-handed setup man in front of closer Ian Kennedy.
More Fantasy News
Could use two-seamer this season
PKansas City Royals
February 22, 2023
Barlow is working on a two-seam fastball to add to his pitch mix, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Avoids arbitration with Kansas City
PKansas City Royals
January 13, 2023
Barlow agreed to a one-year, $5.3 million contract with the Royals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up seventh win
PKansas City Royals
October 3, 2022
Barlow (7-4) earned the win Monday over the Guardians. He struck out one in a perfect inning.
ANALYSIS
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Earns save Sunday
PKansas City Royals
September 25, 2022
Barlow struck out one in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in Sunday's win over the Mariners.
ANALYSIS
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Records 23rd save
PKansas City Royals
September 22, 2022
Barlow picked up the save in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Twins, allowing one hit while striking out one over one inning.
ANALYSIS
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