Greg Holland: Possbile Return to Fantasy Stardom in 2017?

Greg Holland was one of the best closers in baseball heading into the 2015 season. After a down season and surgery, could Holland return to fantasy relevance in 2017?

One of the major themes of the 2016 MLB postseason, were the impacts of high-end bullpen arms. Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman carried their teams throughout the playoffs, but the trend of stacking lock-down relievers to shorten games was popularized by the Royals a few years ago. A major piece of those vaulted Royals’ bullpens though, is the forgotten fantasy dynamo, Greg Holland.

Fantasy sports emphasize the idea of “what have you done for me lately”, and too often than not, good players that have down years tend to fade into the background. Greg Holland undoubtedly won many league owners championships, but all it took was for one injury to wipe away his four-year dominance.

Holland became a fixture in the Royals’ bullpen in 2011, and started earning Saves the following season. From 2011-2016, he was easily one of the best relievers in baseball, posting at least 74 K per season while never posting higher than a 2.96 ERA. His best stretch came in 2013 and 2014, where he notched 47 and 46 SV respectively, while striking out a combined 193 batters.

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He was a stud, and fantasy owners continued to bank on the value he brought. But, things went off the rails in 2015. He had a career worse season, notching 32 SV, but posted a 3.83 ERA/1.45 WHIP. His velocity dipped over 1 mph across the board, and it was eventually revealed that he pitched through a torn UCL.

He decided to have TJ surgery following  the season, ruling him out for 2016, being let go by the Royals, and now a free agent. Holland has not thrown a pitch in MLB game since September of 2015, and had his surgery in October the same year. Meaning that he will enter the 2016 season, more than a year removed from his surgery.

There are plenty of examples of pitchers that have bounced back from TJ surgery, and Holland will still only be 31-years-old this season. When right, he featured a 95+ mph fastball, and a wipeout slider that could have be considered one the best pitches in all of baseball. If he shows that he can hit that level of velocity in his showcase, fantasy owners should be even more intrigued.

So far, the teams that will attend his showcase are, the Giants, Royals, Red Sox, and Yankees. If he were to land with the Red Sox per say, he would be a Holds candidate with Craig Kimbrel already in the fold. The other three teams, and there will surely be more that will attend, are interesting fantasy landing spots.

The one with the biggest possible fantasy value, would be if he landed with the Giants. San Francisco was just short of turning to someone out of the bleachers to close games last season, as the closer spot was a black hole of efficiency. The Giants will still sport a solid rotation, and a lineup that should be improved through free agency, so it is easy to see a scenario where Holland could become a solid late round RP pick in San Fran.

The Royals and Yankees have in-house options that can close, but the Royals are listening on requests for Wade Davis, and the Yankees need another back-end arm. Look to see how free agency, and possible trades work out for both teams,  because each situation would offer plenty of SV chances if Holland slid back into a closing gig.

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This of course all hinges on if Holland can avoid any injury setbacks, and can regain his prime form. This a guy with tremendous track record, and was one of the best fantasy RP in the game just two years ago. A lot of fantasy owners will write him off and pay no mind to where he lands, but do not make that same mistake. Monitor where he lands and how he looks. These type of rebound gems win fantasy championships.