RADIO
Zach Britton 2019 Outlook: Walks An Issue For The RP
6 years agoThe Yankees bolstered their bullpen by locking in Zach Britton on a three-year, $39 million deal. Britton once notched 47 saves in his career (2016 season), but then had an injury-plagued 2017. In April of 2017, forearm tightness put Britton on the DL. In the offseason (December), Britton suffered a ruptured Achilles, shelving him for six months. He was only 15.2 innings into his 2018 season before Baltimore traded him to the AL East rival. The most worrisome stat of 2018 from Britton would be his walk percentage. In 40.2 innings of action, Britton walked 21 batters (12.9 walk percentage). During his 2016 All-Star campaign, Britton only had a 7.1 walk percentage (18 walks in 67 innings of work). With Britton’s closer experience, he might get some fantasy interest. However, he’s in an unfortunate situation where the current closer, Aroldis Chapman, is also left-handed. So, even if Aaron Boone played the matchup game in the ninth inning, Chapman would have the clear edge (rest and health pending) in a save situation. On the bright side, Britton’s wOBA went down from 2017 (.307 to .281) and his strikeout percentage increased (18 percent to 20 percent). He currently has an average draft position of 253.
Source: Adam Meyer
Source: Adam Meyer
