Nick Tropeano

Tropeano's shoulder woes prevented him from making his big-league season debut until late May. Poor performance at the highest level led to him making just three appearances in the majors, stumbling to a 9.88 ERA in 13.2 innings of work while striking out just 15.2 percent of opposing batters. His 5.87 ERA in 79.2 innings for Triple-A Salt Lake didn't make a great case for him to spend more time in the big leagues. Now 29 years old and four years removed from his last successful season (Tommy John surgery cost him all of 2017, and he returned to post an unimpressive 4.74 ERA in 2018), it's hard to see Tropeano playing a significant role this season. He'll likely have to prove himself in the minors and will be a few injuries away from a rotation spot. If he moves to the pen, his 90.8 mph fastball doesn't suggest he has a future in a high-leverage role.

After missing all of the 2017 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Tropeano once again struggled to stay healthy in 2018. The right-hander made three separate trips to the disabled list due to shoulder issues, limiting him to just 14 starts and 76 innings. He failed to impress when healthy, posting a 4.74 ERA and 1.30 WHIP while notching just four quality outings. The 28-year-old also saw his strikeout and walk rates go in the wrong direction, resulting in his worst K/BB (2.06) since his rookie year with the Astros in 2014. Assuming he's healthy entering spring training, Tropeano will get a chance to compete for a spot in the Angels' Opening Day rotation, though his recent injury issues -- he's registered just 144.1 innings over the past three seasons -- make him tough to trust as anything more than a depth option on a fantasy staff even if he does break camp as a starter.

Tropeano underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2016, but he did not pitch at all in 2017 after progressing through his rehab and getting cleared to resume mound work late in the season. Fortunately, he made it through a throwing program at the end of the season without any setbacks, putting him on track for a normal offseason leading up to spring training. The Angels are reportedly considering a six-man rotation in 2018, which will open up an extra starting spot if that plan comes to fruition. Prior to suffering his torn UCL, Tropeano flashed the ability to miss bats in parts of two seasons with the Angels (106:41 K:BB, 106 innings). Even if he is unable to secure a starting role coming out of spring training, Tropeano will be on the team's short list to get a look if injuries strike the arms ahead of him on the depth chart.

Although he didn't initially break camp with the big club, Tropeano spent the bulk of 2016 as a member of the Angels' rotation. The right-hander was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake in early April, and he impressed to the tune of a 3.25 ERA and 8.8 K/9 over the course of 10 starts prior to going down with a shoulder injury. His return produced mixed results, as he proceeded to serve up six home runs in his next three starts, although his 14:3 K:BB ratio was encouraging. Sadly, the 26-year-old was unable to build off of any of these successes, as he left a mid-July start with what ended up being a torn UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery in early August. The timing of the surgery means that Tropeano will likely miss most (if not all) of the 2017 season, meaning he'll have to wait to compete for a full-time rotation spot until 2018. That being said, his good results may be tough to sustain going forward, as his propensity to give up the long ball (1.8 HR/9) and his control issues (4.1 BB/9) will make it difficult to maintain such a sound ERA.

Tropeano competed for the fifth spot in the rotation to begin the season, but was outperformed by Andrew Heaney, leaving Tropeano to get the majority of his work in the minor leagues, save for a few spot starts with the big club. Tropeano featured strong strikeout numbers at every level in 2015, but was victimized by a 68 percent strand rate. While that number should rise going forward (Steamer projections have him at 73% in 2016), he appears unlikely to secure a rotation spot, as C.J. Wilson, Matt Shoemaker and Jared Weaver are all expected to be healthy after dealing with injuries last season. It's feasible that he could once again battle Heaney for the job, but the former-first round pick appears to have job security after making 18 starts and tallying a 3.47 ERA. Tropeano projects more as a starter than a reliever, which could make him a trade candidate for a team looking to fill a spot with a high-upside arm.

After four effective seasons in the minors, Tropeano made his major league debut with Houston last season, going 1-3 with a 4.57 ERA while fanning 13 batters in 21.2 innings. The 24-year-old pitched exceptionally well in Triple-A prior to getting called up, going 9-5 with a 3.03 ERA and 120 strikeouts to just 33 walks in 124.2 innings. In November, the Astros traded Tropeano to the Angels, where he'll bring his bulldog approach to the mound to compete for a rotation spot in spring training.

Tropeano appeared in 28 games (20 starts) for Double-A Corpus Christi last season, compiling a 7-10 record with five saves and a 4.11 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over 133.2 innings. The 23-year-old right-hander has moved quickly through the minors thus far and has maintained solid peripherals (9.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9) along the way. He is likely to take the next step forward in his development and spend much of this season at Triple-A, but with a sturdy 6-foot-4 frame and an improving three-pitch arsenal that includes an effective changeup, mid-90s fastball and breaking ball, Tropeano could be on the fast track to Houston if all goes well.