We are close to completing a full season of questionable pitching, no doubt influenced by workloads in both rotations and bullpens that have certainly had an impact on performance, and perhaps more importantly, have strained organizational depth. To put it bluntly, we have seen pitchers on MLB mounds who clearly should have remained in the minors. On the plus side, we have seen several new arms make a big splash. Fantasy baseball in general, and specifically the pitching aspects of the game, continues to rapidly evolve – or digress depending on your perspective. And for fantasy owners roster management has become more and more of a challenge. Still, there are always standouts, and it is time to see who they are (or might be).
Let's get to my list of the 2025 award winners:
Newcomer Award – Yoshinobu Yamamoto: It seems kind of funny naming a 27-year-old veteran who has been pitching pro ball since 2017 a "newcomer," but he is just now making a mark in the states. He pitched seven seasons in Japan, amassing almost 1,000 innings with a career 1.72 ERA. He came to MLB with high expectations, which weren't immediately achieved, but he almost instantly began evolving, and I feel pretty confident saying he is now one of the top starting pitchers in MLB. He sits atop the Dodgers rotation, which is no easy accomplishment.
Biggest (Pleasant) Surprise – Drew Rasmussen: There have actually been several pretty pleasant surprises this season, but I decided
We are close to completing a full season of questionable pitching, no doubt influenced by workloads in both rotations and bullpens that have certainly had an impact on performance, and perhaps more importantly, have strained organizational depth. To put it bluntly, we have seen pitchers on MLB mounds who clearly should have remained in the minors. On the plus side, we have seen several new arms make a big splash. Fantasy baseball in general, and specifically the pitching aspects of the game, continues to rapidly evolve – or digress depending on your perspective. And for fantasy owners roster management has become more and more of a challenge. Still, there are always standouts, and it is time to see who they are (or might be).
Let's get to my list of the 2025 award winners:
Newcomer Award – Yoshinobu Yamamoto: It seems kind of funny naming a 27-year-old veteran who has been pitching pro ball since 2017 a "newcomer," but he is just now making a mark in the states. He pitched seven seasons in Japan, amassing almost 1,000 innings with a career 1.72 ERA. He came to MLB with high expectations, which weren't immediately achieved, but he almost instantly began evolving, and I feel pretty confident saying he is now one of the top starting pitchers in MLB. He sits atop the Dodgers rotation, which is no easy accomplishment.
Biggest (Pleasant) Surprise – Drew Rasmussen: There have actually been several pretty pleasant surprises this season, but I decided on Rasmussen because of his versatility (something teams seem to be favoring more and more). He pretty much does it all – opening, bulk relief, late-inning relief and even traditional starting. So where's the surprise? Even though Tampa Bay likes to juggle things, Rasmussen has started exclusively (29 starts) contributing 144-plus innings. You would have to say it's working. He's 10-5 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He doesn't typically pitch deep into games (that's slightly under five innings per start) so he won't help a lot with quality starts, but if he can hang around long enough to collect wins he's still useful.
Biggest Disappointment – Kodai Senga: I know, I figure out a way to get Senga included in almost every Mound Musings. I'm hooked. I watch him almost every chance I get. I'm mesmerized by his "ghost" fork ball that moves as much as any pitch I've ever seen. It's unfortunate. He has dealt with a balky shoulder and hamstring issues that have kept him from ever truly settled in. I'm patient. The Mets actually sent him to Triple-A Syracuse where he sparkled in his first outing. I thought that might buy him a ticket back to the majors, but the Mets have announced his next start will also be at Syracuse.
From the Ashes Award – Jesus Luzardo: Where do I begin? After inconsistent performances with Miami – he won 10 games in 2023 and just three in 2024 – he landed in Philadelphia and has already accumulated 14 wins this season. A big part of the problem has been his inability to stay healthy. He hurled 178 innings in 2023 and he will approach that total in 2025, but he hasn't gotten past 100 innings in his other five seasons, When he's healthy, he's a handful.
Kevin Gregg Award – Tanner Scott: This is my annual award for the least-closer-like relief pitcher who collected quite a few saves. This year I feel like the manager of a lot of teams in MLB. Write the names of a huge list of relief pitchers on slips of paper and throw them into a hat. When the ninth inning rolls around, draw one out. The Dodgers – a very good team – continue to push lefty Scott out there for the ninth inning, It works sometimes – he has 21 saves. But at times, things are ugly, which has contributed to his nine blown saves and rather sour 4.91 ERA. I think it's because they pay him a lot, and teams don't really like to admit they made a costly mistake.
Closer of the Year – Robert Suarez: I'll admit to being tempted to make my 2025 closer Aroldis Chapman who has been about as reliable as possible (29 saves in 31 chances), but having last-place Pirates as the best starter and the best reliever somehow seemed wrong. Therefore the honor goes to Suarez, who has made a huge contribution to the Padres playoff chase. He had a couple bumpy spots in June, but other than that he's pretty much been lights out for 39 saves during 2025. In 2024, he abandoned his slider and added velocity to his four-seamer, and it's made a difference.
Pitcher of the Year – Paul Skenes: This is usually one of the hardest ones to call for me. Not this year. Despite a middling 10-10 record, Paul Skenes was an easy call and, in fact, might have won any of the recent seasons with his 2025 performance. The record is a by-product of his team, the Pirates. They are one of the worst teams in the game, but Skenes just goes out and says, "You can't beat me if you can't hit me." It's pretty accurate. With his 2.03 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, his losses are often the 1-0 kind. He's also notched 209 strikeouts in 182 innings. Those stats are virtual carbon copies of the numbers he posted in 2024, his first MLB season. On a good team, Skenes could pretty easily be pushing 20 wins.
Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:
- I have watched Toronto's Kevin Gausman since he was in college at LSU, but I don't think I have ever seen him look better than he did in his recent start against the Astros. He was ahead of virtually every hitter, and his ball showed a lot of movement. It was one of the best outings I have seen this season.
- For many years I have been a fan of the Cardinals' Miles Mikolas. He's a little too hittable, he doesn't miss enough bats and it seems like he's always on the edge of trouble, but he's a gamer. He usually gives you 175 to 200 innings, doesn't walk hitters and keeps his team in the game more often than not.
- Seattle's George Kirby is usually not thought of as a big strikeout guy, but all that changes occasionally. He has just two double-digit strikeout games, both totaled an amazing 14 punch-outs, and perhaps most surprising of all, both came against the Angels. They strikeout a lot, but still, that's an eye-opener.
- You recall earlier in this column I mentioned Paul Skenes led the NL in strikeouts with 209. That may only last until San Francisco's Logan Webb makes his next start. He currently sits at 206. Webb is not known as a strikeout pitcher. This is the first time in his career he has notched more than 200 strikeouts in a season.
- I had a chance to see one of my top-six kids in his MLB debut, and I wasn't disappointed. Toronto's Trey Yesavage has this awesome motion that results in a release point above seven feet. Add in his nasty splitter and all he has to do is throws strikes. A bonus was being able to also watch the Rays Joe Boyle.
Endgame Odyssey:
If I could have any closer, I'd have a hard time going against Phillie Jhoan Duran. Every time I watch him, it's pitch, pitch, pitch, sit down. It would likely be between lefty Josh Hader and him. With Daniel Palencia on the injured list, it looks like the Cubs plan to rely on Andrew Kittredge to close games. Milwaukee's Trevor Megill suffered a minor setback in his rehab from an elbow injury, but it's only anticipated to extend his IL stay a couple days. He is being reevaluated. Arizona is apparently a land of many arms. Most recently, Jake Woodford and Andrew Saalfrank seem to be the top choices for closing games, but don't cast that in stone. With Seth Halvorsen on the IL, Victor Vodnik is back in the ninth-inning spotlight in Colorado. He's not bad, but he comes with the usual Coors Field warnings. Finally, I drafted one of my favorites in Boston's Liam Hendriks, who I knew was hurt. I held him all year, but he pitched only 14 mostly ineffective innings before being shut down late last week.
Next week we wrap up an exciting (and hopefully productive) season of Mound Musings with the annual Kids on Parade edition. Don't miss it!
Find out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
