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Gurminder Singh analyzes the effects of Tyler Thornburg moving to Boston for fantasy baseball owners in the 2017 season.
Tyler Thornburg established himself as one of the most reliable closers in baseball in 2016.
The then-Brewer took advantage of injuries and trades to eventually earn a closer role and he took full advantage. Thornburg's final stats read: 13 SV, 2.15 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .162 OPP AVG, and 90 K in 67 IP. The 28-year-old used his 94 MPH fastball to generate outs all season long, and put together a couple of unhittable stretches.
Thornburg had a 15-game stretch between May-June, where he gave up just two hits and two walks in 13.2 scoreless innings. He had another 20-game stretch in August-September, where he gave up three hits and 10 walks in 22 scoreless innings. Thornburg had a 5.74 ERA on May 4, but after that point it could be argued that he was the best reliever in baseball.
Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2017 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up with tons of great rankings articles and draft analysis. Aside from our tiered staff rankings for every position, we also go deep on MLB prospect rankings, impact rookies for 2017, and dynasty/keeper rankings as well. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.
Fall-Out of the Thornburg Trade
Thornburg looked poised to enter 2017 as a top-10 fantasy closer, but a trade to the Boston Red Sox quickly changed his outlook. Thornburg goes to a team where he will serve as a set-up man to Craig Kimbrel. Barring injury, Thornburg has very little value in standard leagues.
Thornburg will still be a very valuable player in holds leagues, but outside of that, he can be avoided on draft day. Pitching in the AL East will also likely hurt his numbers a bit, and the overall totals of last season probably will not be duplicated.
It's unfortunate that one of the best stories of 2016 carries little value in 2017, but that's the name of the game. The Red Sox improve their bullpen with the addition of Thornburg, and he will likely become more of a well-known commodity playing in Boston, but his fantasy outlook is now bleak. He can safely be avoided in standard category drafts, but any potential injury to Craig Kimbrel should have fantasy owners running to the waiver wire to scoop up his replacement.
Heading to Milwaukee was 3B Travis Shaw and minor leaguers Mauricio Dubon and Josh Pennington. The 26-year-old Shaw beat Pablo Sandoval out for the Boston starting third base gig last year, but he eventually struggled his way out of the lineup. Shaw had a nice RBI pace early on, but quickly fell off the fantasy radar. He is a career .252/.314/.443 hitter in 706 at-bats and has little fantasy value in Milwaukee.
The 22-year-old Dubon had been a pleasant surprise for the Red Sox, after outperforming his 26th-round selection in 2013. In over 1,200 minor league at-bats, Dubon has hit .306/.356/.409. He instantly becomes a top-10 prospect in the Milwaukee system, which may catch the attention of dynasty owners.
