Kyle Farnsworth

Farnsworth missed the first three months of the season with an injury to his throwing elbow, which in turn cost him his closer's job. Rather than keep the seat warm until his return, closer fill-in Fernando Rodney put together one of the best seasons for a closer in MLB history. When Farnsworth returned, he found himself in a less crucial bullpen role and over 34 appearances, he went 1-6 with a 4.00 ERA. The velocity on his fastball has dropped slightly from year-to-year and he found himself relying quite a bit more on his slider to locate better. Farnsworth will turn 37 during the 2013 season, and he likely will look to find late-inning opportunities, but his full-time closing duties may be in the past.

Farnsworth turned an outstanding season in his first year as a Ray, collecting 25 saves as the team's primary closer. The Rays rewarded him by picking up his option for 2012, a no-brainer move after he posted a 2.18 ERA and 0.988 WHIP. The key to Farnsworth's success was his improved control; while his strikeout rate declined some he posted a career-best 1.87 BB/9IP with a 50.4 percent groundball ratio. Farnsworth dealt with a balky elbow towards the end of the season but nothing was found to be structurally wrong and he should be fine for the start of camp. Look for him to again assume closing duties and keep in mind that 25 saves may be the floor, provided he can stay healthy for the full season.

After an injury-plagued 2009 season, Farnsworth was healthy in 2010 and returned to posting good strikeout rates (8.49 K/9IP) with strong velocity (94.9 mph average fastball). His ERA with the Braves (5.40) wasn't impressive, but he threw just 20 innings in Atlanta. While his strikeout rate was good, it wasn't the 10.0-plus K/9IP mark of his career. Even though he'll be 35 this season, there's still reason to think he can be a productive setup man once again.

Farnsworth was slated to be the primary setup man for Joakim Soria, but struggled miserably in an injury-plagued 2009. Farnsworth missed almost two months of the season with a groin injury that definitely appeared to limit his effectiveness. He finished 2009 with a 4.58 ERA yielding an awful 10.4 H/9IP. Farnsworth still throws hard and tops out in the mid-90s, which explains his 10.1 K/9IP, but he lacks mental toughness. If Farnsworth can stay healthy and attack the zone with his plus stuff, he can be a dominant force for the Royals' bullpen. Unless an injury occurs to Soria, Farnsworth does not possess much fantasy value, as it's unlikely that he'll find himself in more than an occasional save situation.

Farnsworth began last season with the Yankees and posted decent numbers before being shipped off to Detroit. Shortly after joining the Tigers, Farnsworth developed some nagging injuries that probably had some effect on his poor performance with the club. Farnsworth throws hard, making him in demand this offseason; he eventually signed a two-year, $9.25 million deal with the Royals. It is unlikely that they will have him close games even though he's demonstrated the skills necessary to be effective in that role, given the presence of Joakim Soria.

The second year of Farnsworth's three-year, $17 million pact with the Yankees wasn't much better than the first, as he struggled en route to career-worst numbers in ERA (4.80), K/BB (1.78) and K/9IP (7.20). A big part of Farnsworth's struggles can be traced to inconsistency with his slider during the middle of the season, but he was able to work out the kinks and convince that Yankees to keep him. With the departure of Luis Vizcaino in free agency and Joba Chamberlain's likely move to the rotation, Farnsworth will get a chance to redeem himself with a return to a late-inning set-up role and earn another significant deal in free agency after the 2008 season in the process.

The pressure of pitching in New York seemed to get to Farnsworth in the wake of signing a three-year contract worth $17 million to join the Yankees last winter. Farnsworth throws a fastball that tops out in triple digits along with a slider that he's willing to use in any count. Despite his struggles, he struck out more than a batter per inning and was good against lefties, holding them to a .215 batting average. He'll likely resume a seventh or eighth inning set-up role this season in front of Mariano Rivera.

Farnsworth will be the primary set-up man for the Yankees after he rebuilt his career with the Braves and Tigers last season. Farnsworth has 100-mph heat and had an impressive K/BB ratio while converting all ten save chances after his trade to the Braves where he took over as closer. Still, Farnsworth's issues have never been with his stuff as he struggled in 2004 with his composure while playing for the Cubs. That could lead to trouble as he moves into the high-pressure environment of Yankee stadium.

Farnsworth has as good an arm as just about anyone, but that can't be said about his brain. After several meltdowns in some crucial August outings, he injured his knee while kicking an electric fan and took himself out for much of September. The knee is fine now, he still throws close to 100 mph, and his strikeout rate is as robust as ever. But when his command goes south, as it did for all of 2002, it's his hits more than his walks that do him in. If he gets it together, there's still a lot of upside here, but psychological limitations are often as real as physical ones.

Farnsworth rebounded nicely from a disastrous 2002 season to regain some of his outstanding 2001 form, striking out 92 batters in 76 innings while walking 36. As long as Farnsworth keeps his head, there's no reason that the fireballer (his pitches have touched 100 mph on occasion) shouldn't again be one of the more valuable setup men in the fantasy landscape. Moreover, were closer Joe Borowski to falter, Farnsworth could very well take his job at some point in 2004, although LaTroy Hawkins probably would first get the chance.

After a dominating season in 2001 – 107/29 K/BB in 82 IP, 2.74 ERA— that had Farnsworth looking like a star closer in the making, the young righty imploded in 2002 putting up some of the worst relief numbers in the major leagues. After missing nearly two months last spring with a stress fracture in his right foot, Farnsworth returned to give up 53 hits and 24 walks in 46 2/3 innings, resulting in a 7.33 ERA. Moreover, Farnsworth failed to show up for games on two separate occasions without getting permission from management and showed up late for a third game. Farnsworth was fined and disciplined for the infractions, and at this point, his status in the organization is on shaky ground. (There were rumors that he would be dealt to the Braves last fall). That said, Farnsworth has been known to crack 100 mph on the radar gun, and the Cubs surely haven't forgotten his 2001 performance, so we expect him to be in the mix again this spring, and if all goes well, he could even wind up stealing the closing duties from Antonio Alfonseca.