Tommy Kahnle

Kahnle threw his fastball less often in 2019 and instead relied on his devastating changeup as his primary pitch for the first time (51.9% usage). That tweak to the recipe propelled Kahnle to a 35.5 K% and a career-high 17.9% swinging-strike rate. Perhaps because he threw it less, the fastball played up with a 96.5 mph average after it dipped to 95.1 mph in 2018. Aroldis Chapman restructured his contract to remain in the Bronx through 2022, but Kahnle would be on the short list of possible replacements in the closer role if something were to happen to Chapman. Kahnle is even more dominant than Adam Ottavino and could close for most teams in MLB. He may be only one injury away from a huge spike in value and there's enough to like as is here in deeper standard-scoring leagues. In leagues counting holds, Kahnle should be a priority target.

Coming off a stellar season split between the White Sox and Yankees, Kahnle was supposed to be a key member of a loaded Bronx Bombers' bullpen. After averaging 98 mph on his fastball in 2017, he opened 2018 throwing 96 which continued to decrease before he was shelved in mid-April with shoulder and biceps tendinitis. He returned in late May, though his velocity remained 3-4 mph off pace. Sporting a 7.00 ERA and 1.78 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and 10 walks in early June, Kahnle was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to right the ship. Kahnle was recalled in early August, but only for one game. He returned in mid-August, this time for good, but continued to struggle with velocity, though he dropped his walks to an acceptable level. High-strikeout relievers are useful in today's landscape, but Kahnle needs to get back his lost velocity before he's fantasy relevant again.

It’s hard to believe a reliever sporting a 2.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP with 96 whiffs in 62.1 innings can be saddled with four losses and six blown saves, but such is the life of a setup man. Kahnle did garner 15 holds, eight of which came with the Yankees after the White Sox shipped him east on July 18. The scary thing is Kahnle pitched into some bad luck as evidenced by a 1.83 FIP and 2.51 xFIP. The culprit was a .358 BABIP. Saving the fireballing righty was a steep drop in walks, down to 6.6 percent from a career average of 11.8 percent. Better location of his 98-mph fastball while mixing in more changeups also fueled a bump strikeout rate, to a career-best 38 percent, supported by a 16.7 percent swinging-strike rate. It’s best to be cautious of a pitcher exhibiting a drop in walks, but the likely hit rate correction softens the blow.

Kahnle spent the 2016 season shuttling between Triple-A and the majors following the trade that sent him to the south side of Chicago. His performance out of Charlotte's bullpen was decent, but things at the major league level weren't coming as easily as they were in the minors at first. Through Aug. 5, Kahnle held a 6.52 ERA and 2.48 WHIP while walking more batters than he struck out. The right-hander turned things around after that, however, as he managed to stifle batters to the tune of a 0.51 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and a 9.2 K/9 over his last 17.2 innings of the season. However, his BB/9 at the end of the year was a putrid 6.6, and his FIP still hung up at 4.52. Kahnle is only 27 years old, so there is still a bit of growing room, although he'll have to fix his major control issues if he wants to lock down a full-time spot in the big league bullpen.

After beginning the season with Triple-A Albuquerque, Kahnle showed the Rockies some promise in 2015. The right-hander fanned 39 batters in 33.1 innings and even produced two saves during a short stint as the Rockies' closer. However, he fell apart at the end of the season, blowing a save while allowing five earned runs in his final two innings as the closer, which forced the Rockies to send the 26-year-old back to Triple-A. Kahnle is still young, but he'll have to prove that he can improve his horrid 7.6 BB/9 if he wants to find a consistent spot in the big leagues. Traded to the White Sox in November, Kahnle will attempt to iron out his control issues and stick on the south side of Chicago in 2016.

Poached by the Rockies in the Rule 5 Draft prior to last season, Kahnle quickly became an integral member of the bullpen despite having never tossed an inning above the Double-A level. In fact, Kahnle had a strong claim for being the club’s best reliever through the season’s first four months, entering the All-Star break with a 2.68 ERA and .181 BAA over 50.1 frames. The high innings load would take its toll thereafter, with the right-hander’s average fastball velocity declining with his results. A 163-point second-half jump in opponent OPS ultimately saddled Kahnle with a 4.19 ERA, but on the whole, he still performed better than anticipated. Throughout both his minor league career and lone season in the majors, Kahnle has overcome his occasionally spotty control by missing bats (8.2 K/9 rate in 2014) and limiting hard contact (17.1% line-drive rate). That latter attribute is especially meaningful at Coors Field, and could allow Kahnle to see more high-leverage setup work in 2015 if he’s able to avoid the pitfall of fatigue.