2020 Stats
W-L
2-1
ERA
2.05
WHIP
0.77
K
29
SV
16
2021 Projections
2021 Fantasy Outlook
The veteran left-hander had a 2.05 ERA and 0.77 WHIP with a league-leading 16 saves during the shortened season, but Cleveland declined his $10 million club option for 2021, making him a free agent. One man gathers what another man spills, as Washington swooped in with a one-year, $10.5 million deal. Hand posted a 2.78 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while going 58-for-65 in save chances after joining Cleveland, and he should be the Nationals' unquestioned closer in 2021. The southpaw had a 35.4 K% and 6.7 BB% while continuing to use the slider as his primary pitch over the past two seasons. Given the lack of locked-in, established closers around the league, a draft-day premium will placed on guys like Hand who are set it and forget closers as long as they are healthy. Read Past Outlooks

May not be locked in as closer
Hand appears to be the Nationals' closer but may not be fully locked into the job, with manager Dave Martinez merely saying Friday, "In a perfect world, he'll be our closer," Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
ANALYSIS
It's possible all it takes to qualify as a "perfect world" in Martinez's mind is that Hand remains healthy this spring, something that shouldn't be too difficult given that he hasn't hit the injured list since 2014. If that's all the manager meant, there's little reason to worry here, but it's nevertheless strange to see Hand given less than a full endorsement. He sure looks like the closer after saving 103 games over the last four years while posting a 2.61 ERA, so there's probably not much reason to worry unless the Nationals continue to refer to him in somewhat ambiguous terms.
It's possible all it takes to qualify as a "perfect world" in Martinez's mind is that Hand remains healthy this spring, something that shouldn't be too difficult given that he hasn't hit the injured list since 2014. If that's all the manager meant, there's little reason to worry here, but it's nevertheless strange to see Hand given less than a full endorsement. He sure looks like the closer after saving 103 games over the last four years while posting a 2.61 ERA, so there's probably not much reason to worry unless the Nationals continue to refer to him in somewhat ambiguous terms.
Pitching Stats
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2020
2019
2018
2017
2020 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
16
Last 10 Games
18
Last 5 Games
19
How many pitches does Brad Hand generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Brad Hand generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2018
-26%
BAA vs LHP
2020
-7%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2018vs Left | .170 | 72 | 13 | 28 | 3 | |||
Since 2018vs Right | .231 | 146 | 37 | 90 | 11 | |||
2020vs Left | .167 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
2020vs Right | .179 | 25 | 4 | 12 | 0 | |||
2019vs Left | .196 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 0 | |||
2019vs Right | .258 | 63 | 12 | 42 | 6 | |||
2018vs Left | .155 | 48 | 7 | 16 | 3 | |||
2018vs Right | .226 | 58 | 21 | 36 | 5 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2018
-23%
ERA on Road
2020
-70%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2018Home | 3.24 | 1.06 | 77.2 | 14.7 | 2.3 | ||||
Since 2018Away | 2.49 | 1.19 | 72.1 | 11.3 | 3.7 | ||||
2020Home | 3.18 | 0.79 | 11.1 | 13.5 | 1.6 | ||||
2020Away | 0.96 | 0.86 | 9.1 | 10.6 | 1.9 | ||||
2019Home | 3.34 | 1.08 | 32.1 | 15.0 | 1.7 | ||||
2019Away | 3.24 | 1.44 | 25.0 | 10.8 | 4.3 | ||||
2018Home | 3.18 | 1.12 | 34.0 | 14.8 | 3.2 | ||||
2018Away | 2.37 | 1.11 | 38.0 | 11.8 | 3.8 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Brad Hand compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
7.25K/9
11.9BB/9
1.6HR/9
0.0Fastball
91.5 mphERA
2.05WHIP
0.77BABIP
.282GB/FB
0.62Left On Base
52.9%Exit Velocity
79.8 mphBarrels/BBE
3.8%Spin Rate
2426 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
16.3%Swinging Strike
10.3%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Brad Hand

Erik Halterman analyzes the top job battles on every major league team, including a look at the Mets' closer situation. Will Edwin Diaz regain the job this season?

Todd Zola examines the impact of new scoring categories on the pitching side, including the rise in value of top set-up men like Tyler Duffey.

Jason Collette continues his Bold Predictions series with the National League East. Find out Austin Riley could make a big jump this season.

Todd Zola offers his tips for best ball leagues and explains why he shies away from utility-only players like Nelson Cruz.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Hand was electric for most of 2019 but really faded down the stretch. He had 27 saves and a 33 K-BB% while holding hitters to a .204 average through the end of July, but limped to the finish line with seven saves over the final two months, with a 13 K-BB% and a .345 BAA. Hand pitched in only three games in September and had a clean MRI in the middle of the month. It could have been just a tired arm from his usage, but the final two months were very concerning for a guy who looked like a lock for 40 saves and a fourth consecutive season with 100-plus strikeouts. He used more fastballs than sliders down the stretch, which may have been related to the arm issues, as that is a sub-optimal approach for Hand. More sliders is a good thing for him as he does not have enough fastball velocity to make it his primary pitch. Watch closely in spring training to see if the offseason has given his arm the rest it needed.
More Fantasy News

Working on sinker
Hand has spent a good part of the offseason working on his sinker, and trying to improve his velocity on both it and his four-seam fastball, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
ANALYSIS
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Reaches deal with Nationals
Hand signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Nationals on Sunday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Clears waivers
Hand cleared waivers and had his $10 million contract option declined by Cleveland on Friday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Waived by Cleveland
Hand was placed on outright waivers by Cleveland on Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Blows save, loses Game 2
Hand gave up two earned runs on three hits and one walk while recording just two outs Wednesday, taking the blown save and the loss in the deciding game of the AL Wild Card Series against the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
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