Fernando Salas

It was essentially a tale of two seasons for Salas, as he was able to turn a brutal first half of the year into a fairly impressive finish. He carried a 5.05 ERA with eight home runs allowed into the halfway point but followed that up with a 2.48 mark with 34 strikeouts in 32.2 innings in the back half. Though he started getting some save opportunities with the Angels once he started turning it around, Salas was dealt to the Mets at the end of August. The 31-year-old was especially effective with his new club over the final month, working to a 2.08 ERA and 9.9 K/9 while not issuing a single walk in 17 appearances. The six saves he recorded in 2016 were his first since closing with the Cardinals in 2011, and though his HR/9 spiked to a career-worst 1.5, his strong finish to the season will likely allow him to find his way into high-leverage situations again with the Mets in 2017.

Salas' ERA jumped back over 4.00 in 2015, but his strikeout and walk rates improved dramatically, as his 10.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 both represented career-best marks. He induced more groundballs than he did in 2014, but his HR/FB rate jumped to a career-high of 10.8%. This could help to explain the spike in ERA, as his xFIPs from the two seasons (3.23 and 3.21) are practically identical. Salas relied on what Pitch F/X refers to as a knuckle curve heavily last season, throwing it more than a quarter of the time, and while it was merely an average pitch in his repertoire, it led to fewer changeups. The changeup was his worst pitch last year. Heading into 2016, Salas could be on the verge of big production if his home run rate can stabilize, though he remains behind Huston Street and Joe Smith in the pecking order for saves.

Salas was acquired by the Angels as a secondary piece in the trade to acquire David Freese from the Cardinals in November of 2013, after he posted an ERA above 4.00 in two consecutive seasons with St. Louis. Initially expected to serve as depth, Salas immediately made an impact in the Halos' bullpen, notching a 3.38 ERA in 58.2 innings. For the first time since his breakout season in 2011, Salas combined a high strikeout rate (25.5%) with a low walk rate (5.9%). He may have also been aided by a return of some velocity, as his average fastball rose to 91.2 mph after being clocked at 90.4 in 2013. Heading into 2015, Salas looks primed to reprise his role in the middle innings, but may not be a good source of holds, as he collected just eight while notching five wins last season.

Salas had another down year in 2013 and even found himself in Triple-A for part of the summer. Most of his advanced numbers do little to explain his season, as he displayed a solid walk rate (1.9 BB/9), and was mostly able to avoid the long ball, giving up just three. Perhaps the biggest cause for concern with Salas was diminished velocity on his fastball, as he lost a full mph from his previous season. Salas was traded to the Angels in the David Freese deal, and he will serve as bullpen depth again in 2014. He's unlikely to provide much value in most leagues, although being in a weaker bullpen with Anaheim offers a clearer path to saves than he had in St. Louis.

After saving 24 games in 2011 and pitching well enough to earn a significant role in the bullpen last season, things didn't go so well for Salas in the early going. On July 1 his ERA stood at 6.04 and he'd already had a brief stint with Triple-A Memphis. Salas righted the ship in the second half, including a nice July/August run of 24.2 IP, 13 H, 26:6 K:BB, and a 1.46 ERA. So who is the real Fernando Salas? The one in 2011 and those two months of 2012, or the one who struggled the rest of the season? The answer will likely determine what his role is this year, but he should get the ball a lot regardless.

Of all the closers the Cardinals tried out last year, Salas held the job the longest. Unfortunately for him, though, he didn't have the job at the end of the year, and he won't have it at the start of 2012 either. It certainly wasn't his overall numbers that got him the boot, but more likely the two blown saves in August combined with the emergence of Jason Motte. Still, with a 75:21 K:BB, 0.947 WHIP and 2.28 ERA, Salas, who closed for Triple-A Memphis in 2010, will be an important part of the St. Louis bullpen again this year.

Salas was up and down so many times last season that it was hard to keep track of his whereabouts. He had a major league ERA of 1.66 as late as Sept. 8, but after giving up eight runs in his last nine innings of the season it was clear he ran out of gas. He showed some promise as the Triple-A closer, most notably in his 44:9 K:BB ratio in just 35.2 innings, but the 25-year-old was already in his second year in Memphis, and Triple-A closers don't necessarily profile to become major league closers. He'll be up and down again in 2011.

In only his second year in the minors, the Mexican-born Salas showed phenomenal improvement for Double-A Springfield. The 100:16 K:BB ratio in 74 innings is not a misprint, but the 12 home runs given up shows he still has some work to do. He might need another year or two, but we could be hearing rumblings of Salas as the Cardinals closer by 2010.