Javier Assad, SP, CHC
Assad fell apart against the Phillies on Wednesday, allowing 8 ER's including 3 HR's in 4.1 IP, while striking out 3 and walking 3. Assad spent the first two years of his career far outpitching his peripherals, posting a 3.06 ERA in 2022-2023 despite a 4.49 xFIP. He continued the mirage at the start of this season recording a 1.49 ERA and 4.08 xFIP through his first 9 turns through the rotation, but the facade has since worn off, as he now owns an ugly 4.83 ERA and 4.38 BB/9 over his last 20 starts. Even if you believe that Assad has a special power to prevent runs from scoring, he offers a terrible WHIP (1.40 in 2024, 1.33 career), he doesn't get a ton of strikeouts, and he also doesn't pitch long enough into games to collect many wins or quality starts, averaging barely 5 innings per start. He is not someone to target in 2025 drafts.
Dylan Crews, OF, WAS
Crews was 0-3 with a BB against the Royals on Wednesday although he did add his 10th SB of the season. He has hit a rough patch over the past couple of weeks, going just 5-43 over his last 11 games, with one double, 0 runs, and 0 RBI over that stretch. He has still been hitting the ball with a solid 90.1 EV but has managed just a .179 BABIP during that stretch. Overall this season, Crews is hitting an underwhelming .190 with a .566 OPS through 27 games with the Nationals, but that has come with a respectable 21.7% K%, and he has a .218 BABIP despite a solid 44.9% HardHit%. Right now he's just hitting too many balls into the ground (60.3% GB%) to have much production, but the odds are more than likely that we will see a much better version of Crews in 2025.
Kevin Gausman, SP, TOR
Gausman finished his season on a positive note against the Red Sox on Wednesday, allowing 1 ER in 6 IP, white striking out 3 and walking 3. 2024 was a very unsteady season for Gausman, although the results were better towards the end the season, as he posted a 2.22 ERA over his last 9 starts. That being said, his K:BB during that period was a subpar 43:20 across 56.2 IP and his xFIP was well over 4.00 during that stretch. Overall, Gausman's strikeout rate took a massive decline this season, going from at least a 28% K% each of the last 4 seasons to 21.4% this season, and he finished with an xFIP of 4.21. Some may look at his late season success and assume that the old Gausman is back, but that would be a risky assumption heading into 2025.
Yusei Kikuchi, SP, HOU
Kikuchi concluded his regular season with another strong performance, allowing 2 unearned in 6 IP, while giving up 4 hits and a BB, and striking out 8 against the Mariners on Wednesday. He has been sensational since coming over to the Astros at the trade deadline, compiling a 2.70 ERA and 76:14 K:BB in 60 IP across 10 starts. This comes after he had flailed to a 4.75 ERA in 22 starts with Blue Jays. Kikuchi has improved his strikeout rate by over 1 K/9 since joining Houston, but the truth is that he pitched better in Toronto than his ERA suggests, as he recorded a 3.44 xFIP and suffered from a .340 BABIP while with the Blue Jays. His value in 2025 will somewhat depend on which team he's playing for, but he should be a strong option regardless.
Brice Turang, MI, MIL
Turang collected his 47th steal of the season against the Pirates on Wednesday, and he has been quite the steal for fantasy owners who picked him up off waivers early in the season. He has tailed off a bit in that category since the start of the season - after stealing 28 bases through the season's first 3 months, he has now recorded 19 swipes since the start of July - but that's still good enough to rank 3rd in MLB in steals over the course of the season. More concerning is his overall dropoff in offensive production. Turang hit .292 with a respectable .771 OPS from April through June, and he even chipped in 6 dingers during that time. His EV was near average at 88.6 and he rode a .342 BABIP en route to a wRC+ of 117. From July 1 onwards, he has produced a .208/.267/.271 slash line, his EV has dropped to 85.5, his BABIP has plummeted to .249 and his wRC+ is down to an intolerable 51. His high first half BABIP suggests that his early season success is not likely to be replicated, even if he's better than some of his recent numbers would show. The Brewers still gave him over 600 PA's this season, but you have to wonder if they want to do that again in 2025. Turang clearly has upside because of his speed, but it may not be safe to assume that he'll be afforded the same type of playing time he received this season.
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