Fantasy Baseball: 6 Elite-Skills Relievers to Add for the Stretch Run in Rotisserie Leagues

Archie Bradley, Arizona Diamondbacks

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Erstwhile top prospect Archie Bradley, who toiled to a 5.18 ERA as a starter in 2015 and 2016, has found his second wind as an ace long reliever for the surprisingly competitive Arizona Diamondbacks.

The key to Bradley's resurgence has been his renewed fastball command, with the 24-year-old righty chiseling the 12% walk rate that he brought with his fourseam in 2016 all the way down to under 5% this season, while boosting his strikeout rate on that pitch from a under 20% to almost 31%. The result has been a run-prevention boon, chiseling over 100 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) worth of hitter production.

Bradley's heater clearly fares much better out of the 'pen than it did in the starting rotation, with his average fastball velocity up over 3.0 miles per hour (MPH) and his swinging-strike rate on that pitch up 5%.

Results on his curveball are also strong (43 wRC+ allowed), though the reach rates and zone rates on that pitch are actually down compared to last year, suggesting that there could be some walk-rate regression coming if hitters start spitting on that breaking ball. Still, that pitch's 68% grounder rate suggests that even when hitters are biting on the curve, they aren't doing much with it.

Sure, Bradley's 1.47 ERA across 49 frames is probably unsustainable, but even a mark closer to his pristine 2.31 FIP should be useful for fantasy owners over the last lap of the season.