Johnny Barbato

Barbato opened the 2017 campaign with the Yankees' organization, but was designated for assignment after logging just four innings with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The righty, who averaged 94 mph on his heater this past season, was scooped up by the Pirates and he bounced back and forth between the majors and Triple-A Indianapolis for the remainder of the year. After displaying solid strikeout potential in the minors, Barbato was only able to strike out 23 batters in 28.2 innings of middle relief for the Bucs. Coupled with his low K-rate was a discouragingly high walk rate, and his 3.8 K-BB percentage was easily the worst mark of his professional career. The 25-year-old closed the campaign with a 4.08 ERA (5.46 FIP) and will likely enter the 2018 season in a lower-leverage role for the Pirates once again.