Gregory Soto Dominant At Times As Tigers Closer
Gregory Soto enjoyed a breakout campaign as the team's closer during the 2021 season. The hard-throwing left-hander pitched to a 3.39 ERA and a 4.14 FIP in 63.2 innings while registering 76 strikeouts and 40 walks. He also tallied 18 saves while generating plenty of swings and misses with his power arsenal. The left-hander's pitch mix includes a potentially devastating slider that generated a 43% whiff rate last season, not to mention a sinker and a four-seam fastball that both averaged north of 98 miles per hour. Soto sometimes ceded save work to Michael Fulmer, but Fulmer generally operated as the team's top high-leverage reliever, working in the most crucial situations. Sometimes those happened to be in the ninth inning. Still, Soto should see the bulk of the saves in Detroit, and there should be considerably more of them this coming season. You can make the argument that few closers have seen their fantasy stock rise more since the postseason ended than Soto. The Tigers front office was active early in the winter, bringing in catcher Tucker Barnhart, starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and shortstop Javier Baez to bolster a team looking to make the playoffs next season. That should lead to more save chances for Soto. Barnhart, who is an above-average pitch framer, should be particularly helpful to Soto given the reliever can sometimes be a bit wild. His ADP, per NFBC, is 195, though that number might end up being a bit low if Detroit is a playoff contender.
Detroit Tigers relief pitcher
Gregory Soto Earns First Save Of Season Monday
Gregory Soto earned his first save of the season in Monday's 5-3 extra-innings win over the Cardinals. Soto came in to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning up by two with an automatic runner on second. He got the first out on a fly-out, allowed a single, and ended the game with back-to-back strikeouts. It was the 29-year-old's first save opportunity this season, but he has served as a closer in the past and has yet to allow a run this season with five strikeouts and no walks in 3 2/3 innings pitched. The Phillies have yet to see consistent results from their end-of-game bullpen options, so fantasy managers should keep an eye out to see if Soto finds himself in more high-leverage opportunities.
Source: MLB.com
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Source: MLB.com
Gregory Soto Blows Wednesday's Game
Gregory Soto was called upon to shut the door against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. The Phillies bullpen completely imploded as they allowed three runs over the final two innings. Soto allowed Jorge Soler to blast a 404-foot home run to tie the game in the ninth inning. It sounds like Craig Kimbrel was unavailable after having pitched in two of the last three games. Soto also pitched on Tuesday, so it's unclear why the Phillies decided to hand the ball to him. Regardless, it didn't go well as his ERA climbed to 4.25 after that outing. The expectation is that Soto won't get many more save chances.
Source: MLB.com
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Source: MLB.com
Gregory Soto Reports To Camp Wednesday
Gregory Soto reported to major-league spring training camp on Wednesday. Soto has been late getting to spring training this year due to visa issues, but he should still have time to get himself ready for Opening Day as he gets set to begin his first year in Philadelphia. The 28-year-old left-hander had a career-high 30 saves for the Detroit Tigers last year. However, he also saw a dip in his strikeout percentage while continuing to be wild with a 12.9 percent walk rate. His move to an extremely crowded back end of the Phillies bullpen makes him very volatile for fantasy purposes given his wildness and likely huge drop in save opportunities.
Source: Phillies Twitter
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Source: Phillies Twitter
Gregory Soto To Earn $3.925 Million In 2023
Gregory Soto avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.925 million on Friday. The Phillies just acquired Soto in a trade with the Detroit Tigers a week ago after finishing up back-to-back All-Star seasons in Detroit. Last year, he went 2-11 but had a career-low 3.28 ERA (3.59 FIP), 1.38 WHIP, career-high 30 saves and 22.8 percent strikeout rate in 60 1/3 innings over a career-high 64 relief appearances. The 27-year-old southpaw has never had a BB/9 under 5.00 in his four major-league seasons, so without nearly as many save opportunities in what is expected to be a closer-by-committee situation in Philly, Soto loses considerable fantasy appeal with his move to the Phillies. Along with Soto, the team will also have Seranthony Dominguez, Craig Kimbrel and Jose Alvarado as options to save games.
Source: New York Post - Jon Heyman
The Philadelphia Phillies and left-handed reliever Source: New York Post - Jon Heyman
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