Casey Janssen

Janssen entered 2014 on the lower end of the closer spectrum despite an impressive 2013 season in the role. His lack of dominant stuff plus the impending return of Sergio Santos had many believing his margin for error was thin. Then he began the season on the disabled list and didn’t have the kind of track record to automatically hold his job in the face of injury. Santos was brutal, so the Jays welcomed Janssen back in mid-May and immediately inserted him back into the role. He got off to an excellent start, taking a 1.23 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 14 saves in 22 innings into the All-Star break despite a two-mph drop in velocity for the second straight season. His average fastball was down to 89 mph, and it caught up to him in the second half (6.46 ERA) thanks to five multi-run outings. His secondary pitches struggled, too, and cast some doubt over him for this year, even accounting for the small sample of his second half. A free agent, he may not even have a closer’s role secured for 2015, and without that, he has no real fantasy value.

Janssen was one of the few bright spots for Toronto in 2013, finishing with a 2.56 ERA and 0.99 WHIP, while converting 34-of-36 save opportunities. He doesn't pile up strikeouts like some of the other top closers (8.5 K/9) but has better control (2.2 BB/9) than your average hard-throwing reliever. Even with Sergio Santos healthy, Janssen appears to be locked in to the closer's role with a bit of leeway to err for the start of 2014.

Janssen quietly had a very good season in 2011, posting a career high in ERA (2.26) and WHIP (1.10) but wasn't noticed by most fantasy owners until becoming the fill-in closer in 2012. For the second straight season, Janssen improved his WHIP (0.86) and his K/BB (6.09), now sitting at elite levels. Although Sergio Santos is expected to return to the mix during spring training, Janssen may have done enough to keep the ninth-inning role to begin the season in his absence.

Janssen was sidelined by a forearm strain in June but came back firing bullets, posting a 2.26 ERA and a 1.096 WHIP for the season in 55 games out of the bullpen. The command and control issues he had when coming up as a starter have all but vanished in his days as a reliever (2.3 BB/9IP, 3.79 K/BB last season) and he allowed just two homers in 55.2 innings last year. The Jays traded for Sergio Santos after they lead the American League in blown saves last season, so look for Janssen to slot in as a setup man again this time around.

The Blue Jays finally gave up on Janssen as a starting pitcher, and he responded well in his first full season out of the bullpen. He's not close to regular save chances and isn't dominant enough to be a staff filler to help fantasy teams in AL-only formats, but he'll be back in a middle-relief role with Toronto.

Janssen returned to the majors in 2009 after missing all of 2008 with a torn labrum, but he hit the DL with shoulder inflammation in June. He returned later in the season in a relief role and that would appear to be his role going forward. Even when healthy, Janssen has never been a big strikeout guy, although he did post an 8.4 K/9IP in 14 innings as a reliever last season. He'll need to prove he's healthy before the Jays decide what to do with him.

Janssen's season was short circuited when a shoulder injury in March required surgery to repair a torn labrum. Toronto is going to have some holes in the rotation to fill and Janssen will head into spring training with a goal of returning to a starting role. He'll need to miss a few more bats if he wants to survive pitching in the AL East, but his first priority is getting back to full health.

Janssen managed some tidy numbers (2.35 ERA, 1.197 WHIP) despite a rather lackluster 39:20 K:BB in 72.2 innings. Those poor peripherals don't result in solid seasons too often, and pitchers coming off such seasons make poor repeat performance candidates.

Janssen got an audition in the Toronto rotation due to a litany of injuries, but struggled in his 17 starts. A poor 44 strikeouts in 94 innings didn't help. There doesn't figure to be a spot in the Toronto rotation to begin the year when the dust settles.

A 2004 fourth-rounder out of UCLA, Janssen has progressed apace, finishing the year at Double-A New Hampshire. He posted solid peripherals there, and should reach Triple-A Syracuse by midseason.