Dustin McGowan

43-Year-Old PitcherP

Free Agent

2025 Stats

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2025 Fantasy Outlook

There was no outlook written for Dustin McGowan in 2025. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man No

Height 6'3"

Weight 236

DOB 3/24/1982

Born Savannah, GA

College None

Drafted 2000 TOR

Takes coaching job

PFree Agent

June 12, 2020

McGowan was hired as a high school baseball coach in the Tallahassee area Thursday, Joey Lamar of WCTV reports.

Analysis
McGowan hasn't played professional baseball since May of 2018, when he was released by the Marlins, and it would appear that his move to coaching could officially put an end to his playing career. If the 38-year-old is indeed hanging up the cleats, he finishes his career in the majors with 540 strikeouts, 35 wins, a 4.50 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 291 appearances with the Blue Jays, Phillies and Marlins.

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Once a heralded starting prospect with the Blue Jays' organization, McGowan's career was derailed by injuries. He eventually found a niche in the bullpen. Things were going swimmingly for McGowan last season as he entered the break with an impressive 2.91 ERA and 1.17 ERA, albeit with a tepid 39 strikeouts in 46.1 innings. However, over the second half, McGowan had issues with the long ball, surrendering nine homers in his last 31.1 frames, leading to a 7.47 ERA and 1.60 WHIP after the break. For the season, he was decidedly more effective at home, sporting a 1.91 ERA in Marlins Park as compared to 8.15 ERA on the road. Even so, McGowan will be pitching for his fourth organization since 2014, working in low-leverage situations. Even if he keeps the ball in the yard, McGowan doesn't miss enough bats to be a fantasy asset in this strikeout-rich climate.

2016 was as good a bounceback season as McGowan could have hoped for. He posted a 2.82 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 67 innings for the Marlins, finishing with a record of 1-3 and 1-for-2 on save opportunities. Those numbers provided a stark contrast to his 6.94 ERA and 2.10 WHIP throughout 23.3 innings for the Phillies. The former starter improved so significantly in 2016 due to large improvements in his groundball and flyball percentages. His groundball percentage increased to 54.4 percent, up from a 38.7 average in 2014 and 2015. His flyball rate dropped to the lowest of his career. 28.3 percent, 7.1 percent lower than his career average. He also gained 1.2 mph on his fastball average from the previous season, hitting an average of 94.8 on the radar gun in 2016. He'll be back in a similar role after re-signing with the Marlins during the offseason.

Regardless of the results, just staying on the field for the entire season was a win for McGowan. After seven DL stints since 2008, including three fully missed seasons, McGowan gave it a go as a starter to open the season but found himself in the bullpen by mid-May and remained there the rest of the way. He sat in the mid-90s out of the bullpen, touching 99 at times, with a filthy splitter that held batters to just a .192 OPS, albeit in just 16 plate appearances. He only used the splitter nine percent of the time in relief, though, opting to use his slider more frequently despite an overwhelming lack of success (.926 OPS). With the big fastball and great change-of-pace splitter, he could find himself in the back-end of a bullpen with a chance at a fantasy-relevant role. Stay tuned.

A long-time starter, the 31-year-old McGowan was strictly used as a reliever in 2013, finishing with a 2.45 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 4.2 BB/9 over 25.2 innings. Given his checkered history as a starter and recent success out of the bullpen, McGowan will likely handle a middle-relief role in 2014. He still figures to rank below Casey Janssen, Sergio Santos, and Steve Delabar in Toronto's right-handed bullpen pecking order.

In some cases, all the king's horses and all the king's men really do put Humpty Dumpty back together again. At least well enough to get him back on a major league mound. McGowan was long forgotten in most circles thanks to a litany of shoulder woes but he made it all the way back for four starts for the Jays in September. His control was predictably lacking but showed enough life on his fastball that he'll get a look to fill a rotation spot this spring. There's really no telling which way this will go as it will be four years since he had any sort of success at the big league level.

McGowan once again lost the entire season to injury and hasn't thrown a pitch off a big league mound since July 2008. His shoulder once again gave out while rehabbing in June, and he needed surgery to repair a significant tear. The Jays signed him to a one-year deal in December, but there's no telling when he'll be back and ready to pitch, and one has to wonder how much of his stuff has been left on one of the numerous operating tables he's frequented.

McGowan hasn't seen a major league mound since July of 2008 as he continues to battle shoulder problems. He was back rehabbing at the end of the season and figures to be healthy enough to compete for a rotation spot in the spring barring any setbacks. He showed some promise the last time he toed the rubber, but there's no telling how much he'll have left in the tank if he ever makes it back.

McGowan was limited to just 19 starts before shoulder surgery ended his season, but he hopes to be back on the mound by May. The surgery was to repair fraying of the labrum and not to repair a complete tear, but one has to wonder if this isn't just the tip of an iceberg. Keep an eye on his health reports this March as his early numbers could be ugly as he knocks off the rust. There's some upside here if he can get back on the mound as quickly as he hopes to.

McGowan was finally allowed to settle into a defined role after a few years of being shuttled back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation. He managed 144 strikeouts in 169.2 innings, leading to a nice 1.220 WHIP. He got better as the season wore on, posting a 1.143 WHIP and an excellent 87:33 K:BB ratio in 98 innings after the All-Star break. He'll make a nice No. 3 starter for the Blue Jays behind Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett.

The shine is starting to come off McGowan's star due to some nasty control issues. He was shuttled back and forth between the majors and minors, and from starting to relief, all year which certainly didn't help. He notched 86 strikeouts in 84 innings at Triple-A Syracuse, but walked 39 batters as well. His strikeout rate and control with Toronto weren’t any better, and there's now considerable doubt if he'll ever develop as hoped. Toronto needs to figure out how they want to use McGowan, stick with it for 2007 and see what happens.

McGowan returned at midseason from May 2004 Tommy John surgery. After six poor starts, he hit the bullpen in September and flashed the skill set that made him Toronto's best pitching prospect (11 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 11 K). There's talk of using a similar long-relief role to continue his transition to the majors.

McGowan was on schedule to debut in 2005 before needing Tommy John surgery in May. Before the injury, he was Toronto's best pitching prospect, and he's still just 23 so there's plenty of time for him to get healthy and resume his promising career. He's not expected to be ready until 2006, however.

McGowan pitched better at Double-A following a midseason promotion, and he continues to show excellent control (72:19 K:BB ratio in 76.2 innings at Double-A). He'll be 22 years old this season and has to be considered Toronto's best pitching prospect.

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Cut loose by Marlins

PFree Agent

May 17, 2018

McGowan was released by the Marlins on Thursday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.