5 mins agoRonel Blanco's career may have started late (he didn't debut until age 28), but he was dominant early in 2024. His first start of the season was a no-hitter on April 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He utilized his wipeout slider and debuted a newly improved changeup to jumpstart a season that ended up with a 2.80 ERA, 13 wins, and a 8.9 K/9 ratio over 167 innings. His first-half ERA (2.56) and opponent wOBA (.257) was exceptional while his second-half numbers (3.24 ERA, .310 wOBA) were merely very good. That could have a lot to do with batters learning how to handle the new changeup that no one had ever seen before. But no one could solve his slider, with was rated as the third-best slider in all of baseball by Sports Info Solutions. That pitch led to the high strikeout rate, but curiously was used just 30.2% of the time when it was on display 48.6% of the time in 2023. It certainly had something to do with the changeup jumping from 8% to 23% in 2024, so fantasy managers should expect both the slider and changeup to increase in usage in 2025, while his average four-seamer should continue to drop in usage. If that's the case, his 236 ADP in NFBC leagues will look like a steal late in the season. He is the 92nd pitcher off the board in early drafts this year.--Ryan Kirksey - RotoBaller