Padres Tyson Ross: Reigniting a Fantasy Flame?

Tyson Ross was once one of the better fantasy hurlers in MLB. But, after injuries have derailed him over the last two seasons, could he now be a fantasy asset again for the Padres?

Not long ago, Tyson Ross was an All-Star pitcher for the Padres. From 2013-2015, one could argue that Ross had one of the nastiest pitching arsenals in the game and he had fantasy owners salivating at what could be. Unfortunately, after thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and struggles during his return in 2017, Ross has seemingly vanished from the fantasy world.

Could that all change in 2018 though?

After a brief 10 start cameo for the Rangers last season, Ross is back with the Padres after they inked him to a minor league deal this offseason. To put it bluntly, Ross has been terrible since his opening day start in 2016, which triggered his precipitous fall from the fantasy graces. The outlet syndrome surgery has basically costed him two seasons, as for the first time since the beginning of 2015, Ross is healthy.

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In an effort to remind owners just how good Ross was, between 2014 and 2015, he made 64 starts, striking out 407 batters over 391 innings. He boasted no lower than a 57% GB rate while limiting his FB rate to a minuscule 20% over those two years. He also generated one of the best swinging strike rates in all of MLB, being able to have batters whiff12.5% of the time.

Ross’ bread and butter is his wipeout slider. When Ross is on, his slider is practically unhittable and dances all over the plate, neutralizing lefties and righties. With so much movement on his pitches, command has always been an issue, and that is not going away overnight.

In terms of his velocity, during his best seasons his fastball was sitting in 92-94 range and would top out at 95. Last season, his fastball was sitting at 92 and was topping out around 94. His slider also saw a 2 mph drop, down to 84 mph in 2017. For as complex as a surgery that thoracic outlet is, to see his velocity down only a few MPH across the board it is a decent sign of hope.

The Padres have one of the worst rotations in all of MLB, but the re-addition of Ross could be a huge buoy. This spring Ross has looked like his vintage self, and people are noticing. He has thrown a team-high 15 innings, posting a 3.00 ERA/1.07 WHIP/11 K line over four starts.

Spring stats can be mostly held with a grain of salt, yet Ross’ performance is passing the eye test as well. Hitters are only posting a .192 AVG against him and the free and easy arm action that made him a star is back in full effect. I would contend that Ross is the Padres’ best pitcher on their staff, so the idea of him still fighting for a rotation spot is nothing but conjecture.

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Fantasy owners do not need to fight other owners in terms of drafting Ross. He is well of most fantasy radars and for valid reasons. Yet, Ross should be piquing the interest of astute fantasy owners that remember his dominance and the upside K numbers that he withholds.

Keep a close eye of Ross to begin the season, because if he gets off to a hot start and the spring success follows him, he has to be one of the prime waiver wire adds.