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BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues
ROSTERED IN: 24% of leagues
ANALYSIS: The Seattle Mariners had the worst bullpen in baseball in 2020, and Kendall Graveman was a member of that unit. Graveman, a starting pitcher until the shortened pandemic season, was by no means the worst performer of the bunch, but his 5.79 ERA, and only slightly better 4.83 xFIP did nothing to inspire much confidence heading into 2021. Rafael Montero was brought in to be the closer, and Graveman was expected to be, at best, the primary set-up man.
Graveman has been a revelation in the early days of this season, with only one hit, two walks, and one hit-by-pitch allowed over six scoreless innings. He has also struck out six batters, which, while in an extremely limited sample size, also represents the best rate of his career. Since converting to the bullpen in 2020, Graveman has posted strongly improved numbers in many underlying metrics, but the most notable change has been his uptick in velocity. After previously sitting between 92 and 93 MPH, Graveman's four-seam fastball velocity jumped to an average of 94.7 MPH in 2020, and then 96.3 MPH for 2021. His secondary pitches have made similar jumps.
As well as Graveman has pitched this year, Rafael Montero has struggled just as badly, blowing three saves already. In a double-header on Thursday, April 15, Montero pitched the sixth inning while Graveman closed the game out in the seventh to collect his second save. Grab Graveman now as he looks to lock down the closer role.
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