Roansy Contreras

Contreras entered 2023 with high expectations, but he fell flat. He got through April with a 3.58 ERA across five starts and 27.2 innings, but his 24:12 K:BB in that span was a warning of what was coming next. Across his next four turns through the rotation, he posted a 5.64 ERA and was quickly shifted to the bullpen before ultimately being demoted to the minors by mid-June. Contreras then struggled with Triple-A Indianapolis, draining all the enthusiasm for him in a fantasy context while also calling his potential role with the team in question moving forward. In order for him to earn a rotation spot and claw his way back to fantasy relevance, Contreras needs to find consistency with his fastball. His slider is dynamic and gets swing and misses, but his fastball was mashed to the tune of .381 average and .598 slugging percentage in 2023. He saw his velocity dip from 95.6 mph to 94.3, which is something to watch in spring training.

The kid gloves were on with Contreras last season and they will presumably remain on in 2023, at least to the extent that he should be considered unlikely to push much past 150 innings even in a best-case scenario. Keep in mind he will be just 23 years old for the entirety of the 2023 campaign. Contreras fared well in 21 trips to the mound (18 starts) as a rookie, posting a 3.79 ERA in his 95 innings with the big club, though the estimators put him closer to a 4.50 mark. His fastball was rather hittable last season despite good velocity. Contreras can keep hitters off balance with two variations of the breaking ball -- the right-hander's slider in particular was a strong swing-and-miss pitch for him in 2022. He's firmly on the streaming radar.

The headliner for Pittsburgh in the January 2021 trade that sent Jameson Taillon to the Yankees, Contreras now has a realistic chance to be more valuable in 2022 redraft leagues than Taillon. He was dominant in 54.1 innings at Double-A (2.65 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) but missed time in the middle of the year with a forearm strain. Fortunately, he came back in time to get a taste of Triple-A and the majors in September, and then went on to excel in the Arizona Fall League. Contreras primarily relies on a 96-mph four-seamer, which he compliments with an 85-mph slider that registered a 50% whiff rate in his lone MLB start. His curveball and changeup lag behind as third and fourth offerings, while Contreras' command and control are strengths, particularly given that he only turned 22 this offseason. The Pirates don't have anyone standing in his way, so while he is not assured a spot in the Opening Day rotation, he should spend the bulk of the year in the majors.

Save for a dominant five-start stint in the New York-Penn League, Contreras' raw upside has not resulted in much on-field dominance, but that should come. He sports a mid-90s fastball and a slider and changeup that each flash plus or better. He also just turned 19 this offseason. Signed for just $250,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, Contreras did not really make his mark until last season. At 6-foot, 175 pounds, he does not have prototypical size, but his stuff is hard to ignore. He has never posted a walk rate north of 8.4%, which is an encouraging sign for a teenage pitcher with his upside. Contreras was held back in extended spring training and logged just 63.1 innings last season, so the Yankees will look to increase his workload to around 100 innings this year. He should spend most of the season at High-A, and is on track to debut in 2021.