Hisashi Iwakuma

He signed with the Mariners amid whispers that his throwing shoulder was compromised, and though Iwakuma posted the highest ERA of his MLB tenure in 2016, he also pitched 199 innings -- the second-highest total of his five years in the bigs. His fastball lost another half-tick of velocity while the strikeouts dropped from the steady 21.5 percent of the previous three seasons to a mere 17.6 percent. Strikeouts were never a big part of Iwakuma's value proposition in fantasy, but he maintained his stinginess for walks last season and the baseline skills are largely intact from the pitcher that was a plus in the WHIP category for three years. The Mariners were also careful with his workload, capping him at 102 or fewer pitches in every start, and there is little reason to expect that to change, so he needs to be efficient with pitch counts in order to get through the sixth inning. Treat Iwakuma as a low-upside source of innings and wins late in drafts.

A blindspot in the fantasy world is understanding the residual effects of injuries. Too often we as a community think that if a player is on the field, he is healthy, but injuries can have an impact beyond the DL time. That has been the case with Iwakuma over the last two seasons as finger and lat injuries have cost him chunks of each season and likely played a role in the increased ERA when he was on the mound. In his excellent 2013 campaign, we saw the very best of Iwakuma as he maximized his skill set for 33 starts. In his 48 starts since, the base skills are actually better (6.3 K/BB compared to 4.4 in 2013), but the smaller samples have shrunk his margin for error and his off-days have hit the bottom line harder. In 2013, he allowed five or more earned runs in a start just three times. He’s had eight such starts the last two seasons. With his return to Seattle during the offseason, you should pay for the premium WHIP that he can provide.

Iwakuma missed the first month of the season last year with a finger injury, but when he returned it was business as usual. Iwakuma dominates with impeccable control. His 1.1 BB/9 was second in baseball and his 7.3 K/BB was third. Groin and back injuries and fatigue knocked him off his game down the stretch, however. In his last seven starts, he was rocked for a 7.88 ERA, and he walked nine in that stretch, only three fewer than he had walked in his previous 21 starts. Despite the ugly finish, Iwakuma's FIP was 3.32. He returns this season to take his place as the second starter in the rotation behind Felix Hernandez, giving the Mariners an excellent one-two punch.

A strong finish to the 2012 campaign springboarded Iwakuma into 2013 where he dominated from start to finish. Iwakuma finished second in the AL in WHIP, third in ERA, BB/9, BAA and innings, and fourth in K/BB. Had it not been for Max Scherzer's dream season, he might have won the Cy Young award. As it was, he finished third in the AL voting. A groundball pitcher, Iwakuma has a solid strikeout rate (7.6 K/9) with great control (1.7 BB/9). He went through a summer stretch where his ERA peaked over 3.00, but he straightened out by posting a 2.14 ERA over his final 13 starts, including scoreless outings in four of his last five for another strong finish to the season. Iwakuma proved one of the best fantasy values last season, considering his average draft position. He won't be as profitable this year – and it could go the other way – but he should still turn in another quality season.

It's not often a player goes from a complete non-factor to a $14 million contract in six months, but that was Iwakuma's fate in 2012. Iwakuma signed with Seattle out of Japan as a starting pitcher but was relegated to the bullpen to begin the season. It took 15 games for him to see his first action, and by June 1 - 54 games into the season - he had made just five appearances, mostly in low-leverage long-relief situations. He finally got his chance to start, though, in July, when the Mariners jettisoned Hector Noesi, and he more than held his own. He has good control (2.65 BB/9) and a decent strikeout rate (7.39), posting a 2.65 ERA in 16 starts. While his season home/road split is stark, as a starter he fared much better (2.56/2.80 ERA, .243/.254 BAA), and as a groundball pitcher (65.4 percent) he shouldn't be impacted by Safeco Field's reconfiguration this season. In addition to his two-year contract signed shortly after the season ended, Iwakuma enters spring training with a rotation spot locked up and looks like a good fantasy value this season.

Iwakuma is considered to be Japan's best pitcher behind Yu Darvish and signed a one-year deal with the Mariners after becoming an international free agent. He tried to move to MLB last season but he wasn't able to agree to a contract with Oakland after the A's won his rights via the posting system. Iwakuma posted a somewhat disappointing season in 2011, with his 2.42 ERA tempered by a 6-7 record over only 119 innings pitched. He missed two months last season with a shoulder ailment, but returned in July and remained in his team's rotation through the remainder of the season. When he's on his game, Iwakuma has proven capable of using his forkball to generate plenty of swinging strikes and groundballs against NPB competition. The key to his MLB success will be continuing to command his forkball with the slightly different Major League baseball. Iwakuma doesn't have a great strikeout rate (just 6.8 K/9IP last season), but could provide quality innings as Seattle's No. 3 or 4 starter.

Iwakuma was made available via the posting system by his team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, and Oakland won the negotiating rights to the Japanese star with a bid reportedly in the $19 million range. After an apparently contentious series of negotiations, the two sides were unable to work out a deal, so Iwakuma will remain with Rakuten and the A's got their money back. Iwakuma will meet the service time requirements for international free agency early in 2011, and has already announced plans to move over to MLB. The groundballer had a very good year in 2010 with a 2.82 ERA and 1.095 WHIP in 201 innings pitched. He's considered to be Japan's best pitching prospect behind Yu Darvish, so he's one to keep an eye on with 2012 in mind.