X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Starting Pitcher Prospects Emerging: Year of the Rookie Pitcher - Debuts by Andrew Abbott, Bryan Woo, AJ Smith-Shawver

Andrew Abbott - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Elite fantasy baseball starting pitcher prospects that were recently called up including Andrew Abbott, Bryan Woo, Reese Olson, Osvald Bido, and AJ Smith-Shawver.

Many have termed 2023 the “year of the rookie pitcher” in fantasy baseball. It is true that 32 pitchers that have debuted in 2023 have made a start in the majors this season, and that doesn’t even figure in “rookie” pitchers like Hunter Brown and Matthew Liberatore who debuted in previous seasons, bringing the total rookies that have started to roughly 50.

Only 68 pitchers that debuted in 2022 made a start last season over the entirety of the season, including those who made starts as openers. Previous full seasons have seen between 65-85 total different rookies making starts, so this year is on pace to surpass that quite notably.

With all the excitement for the big names that have been brought up among rookie pitchers, only 23 of the 44 that have made a start have produced a positive fWAR this season, so not every rookie starter has been beneficial to fantasy owners. So far his month, five more rookie pitchers made their first start of the season. Let’s take a look to see how they did and whether they’ll be arms to roster or ones that will return to Triple-A.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds

The Reds plucked Abbott in the second round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Virginia. Abbott was primarily a reliever in college until his draft season, making 17 of his 20 collegiate starts in that season. He finished among the college leaders in strikeouts for the Cavaliers, whiffing 162 in 106 2/3 innings.

Abbott has an elite fastball/curveball combination from the left side, with his curve easily rating as his best pitch overall, though he throws it roughly 25% of the time, featuring his 91-94 MPH fastball nearly 55% of the time and mixing in a mid-80s change and a low-80s sweeping slider.

Abbott’s bugaboo previously has been his control, but right now, his 52.9% zone rate with his pitches would rank him in the top 20 among qualified pitchers this season. The issue is that hitters are forcing him into the zone with hittable pitches, as evidenced by his nearly-47% hard-hit rate that would far and away rank the highest among qualified starters.

Allowing more than 45% of batted balls as fly balls with Great American Ballpark as a home park is not a great formula for success either. Abbott has the strikeout stuff to entice fantasy owners, but at this point, until he can avoid the hard hits, he’s a streamer play.

 

Osvaldo Bido, Pittsburgh Pirates

Bido notably made his major league debut as a starter for Pittsburgh this week, allowing one run over four innings. The 27-year-old has been in the Pirates system since being an “old” signee out of the Dominican at 21. Bido works primarily with a four-pitch mix, using a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a split changeup, and his best pitch, a slider that he can shape from an upper-80s sharp-breaking pitch to a lower-80s sweeper. He works around 92-96 with his fastballs and upper-80s with the split change.

Bido uses a sinker or slider on roughly 70% of his pitches, which generates plenty of ground balls, but he also struggles to work in the zone, with walk rates over 10% each of his three partial seasons in Triple-A. He did walk three in his four-inning debut.

Depending on the lineup, his groundball-inducing repertoire could make for an excellent spot start, but Bido isn’t a guy who is likely to run with a starting job all season in Pittsburgh, let alone hold one in fantasy lineups.

 

Reese Olson, Detroit Tigers

After two strong appearances to start his major league time, Olson faced the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday and was hit very hard. Olson was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 13th round out of high school in 2018. He was the return the Tigers received in 2021 for a deadline deal that sent Daniel Norris to Milwaukee.

Olson works with a collection of plus pitches, with a fringe-plus fastball, a plus slider, and a double-plus change to go with an average curve. He’s leaned heavily on his secondary stuff in his first three appearances, using his four-seam or two-seam fastball just 46.7% of the time and going offspeed the remainder of the time.

Olson’s issue throughout his minor league career has been location, and the walk rate has been notably better in the majors than it was in Triple-A, but he’s still not hitting his spots tremendously well. The Braves exploited that to the tune of seven runs in 3 1/3 innings, but that is also one of the top offenses in the majors this year.

Detroit will likely offer the best chance for a pitcher to stick out of any team on this list, so Olson will have a longer leash than most. If expectations can be tempered to a fourth starter with volatility (in both directions), I think fantasy owners can be happy rostering Olson, but he’s likely not going to be a guy that you’re comfortable starting every time out there.

 

AJ Smith-Shawver, Atlanta Braves

Smith-Shawver is this season’s Braves find within their own system. After bringing up Michael Harris II and Vaughn Grissom last season, each of whom opened the year without a minute of upper minors time, the Braves did the same with Smith-Shawver, who they drafted in the seventh round in 2021 out of high school in Texas.

His first three major league appearances have gone well. He has allowed three earned runs over 13 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts, four walks, and nine hits. He earned his first win last night against the Rockies. Not bad for a 20-year-old.

While others mentioned today are hitting the zone with incredible frequency, Smith-Shawver has had just 44% of his pitches find their way into the strike zone, which would rank him second-to-last among qualified starters. He’s gotten away with it by generating just a 20% hard-hit rate, but that’s with more than 50% of hits going for fly balls.

AJ is throwing roughly 90% of his pitches between his mid-90s rising fastball and his mid-80s electric hammer slider, giving many similar thoughts as Spencer Strider did last season, however, Strider has been a guy that found the zone 52%+ of the time so far in his career. Smith-Shawver should generate some electric numbers when he does locate but also keep in mind that he’s already thrown roughly 2/3 of the maximum innings in a season that he’s ever thrown, so the Braves may want to space out those bullets.

 

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners

A sixth-round pick in 2021 out of college, Woo was significantly off the prospect radar until he struck out 16 over 10 2/3 innings at the Arizona Fall League last season, making him arguably the best pitcher in the 2022 AFL. It isn’t surprising that many didn’t know about him as he had a 6.11 ERA and only pitched 28 innings in his draft season at San Luis Obispo.

Woo has been hit hard in his two starts thus far, totaling 6 2/3 innings. He’s allowed eight runs on 11 hits. The positives are that he’s walked just two and struck out 11. Woo uses a four-seam and two-seam fastball along with a slider. He has a change that he’s used roughly 2% of the time, otherwise, it’s been approximately 98% fastball or slider offerings.

The four-seam fastball for Woo has exceptional rise, which gives it plenty of swings and misses when he gets it to the top of the zone with command, but he’s missed just slightly so far, with more than 52% of his pitches in the zone, but often catching too much of the middle of the zone. He’s always been a guy with a higher-than-normal fly ball rate, and that’s continued in the majors so far, though he was able to suppress home runs due to the high action on his pitches.

Woo’s expected ERA is 3.92 rather than the 10.80 that he’s seen so far, and if he’s viewed as a potential high-3, low-4 ERA type of pitcher with strikeout upside and low walk rates, that’d be a fair value. However, like Smith-Shawver, he’s going to hit an inning limit quickly as he’s never reached 70 innings in college or pros, and he’s already over 50 innings this season, so how much he’ll throw the rest of the year remains to be seen.

 

Which Starting Pitchers Are Next?

While many of the top names among pitching prospects entering the 2023 season have already debuted, there are still plenty more to come!

Top prospects like Andrew Painter, Kyle Harrison, Gavin Williams, Ricky Tiedemann, Mick Abel, Quinn Priester, and Jack Leiter were in multiple preseason top 100 lists and are in the upper minors, giving them a good chance to debut this year. Others, like Ben Brown, Connor Phillips, Emmet Sheehan, Robert Gasser, Cade Povich, Clayton Beeter, Michael McGreevy, and Anthony Veneziano all have put themselves into their respective teams' near-future plans and could see a debut this year.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday

Bears Draft Luther Burden In Round 2
Buffalo Bills

Bills Move Up To 41st Pick In Trade With Bears

Patriots Add TreVeyon Henderson To The Backfield At Pick No. 38
Miami Dolphins

Dolphins Acquire 37th Pick From Raiders, Draft Jonah Savaiinaea

Browns Add Quinshon Judkins To Backfield With 36th Pick
Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Acquire 35th Pick From Titans, Select Nick Emmanwori

Texans Select Jayden Higgins 34th Overall
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3

Tyler Shough Could Come Off The Board Before Shedeur Sanders
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Isaiah Spiller

Raiders Waive Isaiah Spiller
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
NFL

Several Teams Trying To Trade Up Early In Round 2

Bhayshul Tuten Could Be A Third-Round Pick
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Cleveland Browns

Browns Fielding Calls For First Pick In Round 2
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
George Pickens

Steelers Receiving Calls About George Pickens
Moises Ballesteros

Riding An 11-Game Hit Streak
Victor Mesa Jr.

Starting Rehab Assignment On Saturday
Ryan Weathers

To Begin Rehab Assignment On Sunday
Colby Thomas

Heating Up At Triple-A
Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys Don't Feel Forced To Draft A Running Back
Emmanuel Rodriguez

Has Quiet Start To 2025
Jeff McNeil

Hitting Eighth In Season Debut
Brandon Sproat

Coughs Up Six Earned Runs In Latest Start
Eury Pérez

Eury Perez To Start Rehab Assignment On Saturday
Will Levis

Could Be Traded Soon
Bryce Young

Wanted Panthers To Take Tetairoa McMillan
Travis Hunter

Jaguars Plan To Start Travis Hunter In The Receiver Room
Detroit Lions

Lions Pick Up Aidan Hutchinson's Fifth-Year Option
Jameson Williams

Lions Exercise Jameson Williams' Fifth-Year Option
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jameson Williams

Lions Didn't Entertain Trade Offers For Jameson Williams
Qadir Ismail

Raiders Sign Qadir Ismail
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF