Julian Merryweather

Injuries have marred Merryweather's career, but he finally stayed healthy after he was claimed off waivers by the Cubs last January. The out-of-options right-hander won a bullpen role out of spring training and with prevailing health, he went on to pitch a career-high 72 innings for Chicago. This was more than his previous three seasons combined. Merryweather was a pleasant surprise for the Cubs, demonstrating increased velocity on his 4-seam fastball (98.1 mph on average), while throwing more sliders (49.3% usage) with great success (45.3% whiff percentage). Merryweather's numbers (2 saves, 17 holds, 1.31 WHP) weren't overwhelming for fantasy purposes, but he racked up 5 wins and was 6th among qualified relievers with a career-high 98 strikeouts. Banking on a repeat of last year's numbers might be a mistake given his health history, but Merryweather is still a solid target for those speculating on saves in 2024.

The 30-year-old nabbed two saves early in 2021 and was in the mix at closer with Jordan Romano, but Merryweather then went down with an oblique injury and was sidelined until September. Romano took a firm hold of the closer's role in his absence, while Merryweather surrendered seven runs over 8.2 frames after returning from the injury. The right-hander still offers plenty of velocity and has some upside, but he has only 26 big-league innings under his belt. Merryweather could work in a high-leverage role for Toronto if he can stay healthy, but he's unlikely to be a factor for saves if Romano remains available and productive.

Toronto thought enough of Merryweather to trade from him in 2018 while he was in the midst of recovering from Tommy John surgery, and they doubled down on their investment by promoting him to the big leagues last season despite the fact that he had thrown only six innings in 2019. The right-hander excelled after the promotion, registering a 2.27 FIP and 27.3 K% over 13 innings while functioning as both a reliever and an opener before going down with right elbow tendinitis late in the campaign. Merryweather proved that the TJS did not take the zip off his fastball, as he averaged 96.7 mph while holding hitters to a .188 BA on the offering. He also did well with his changeup, perhaps previewing the combination that can help him find success in the majors. Merryweather's age (29) makes him much older than most prospects, so he should get a shot to perform -- either as a starter or reliever -- in 2021.

We are taught to ignore 26-year-old prospects, and that is typically wise. But inevitably that will lead to missing on guys like Mike Clevinger and Zack Godley. Merryweather has a chance to fall into that same bucket of late-blooming mid-rotation starters. The athletic 6-foot-4 righty operates with a deceptive delivery, hiding the ball well until it is released. This allows his low-90s fastball to play up slightly. Merryweather has two average pitches in his curveball and changeup, but both secondaries can flash plus. He dominated at Double-A, which should be expected given his age and stuff. But while he posted a 3.89 xFIP over 16 starts at Triple-A, he was hit pretty hard (.327 AVG, 1.5 HR/9). Some of that can be attributed to bad luck. He had the second worst BABIP (.388) and fifth worst HR/FB (15.7) in the International League. The Indians have enviable rotation depth, so Merryweather may not get a lengthy look in the big-league rotation in 2018, but if the injury bug bites, he will be ready.