2025 Fantasy Baseball: Spencer Schwellenbach Profile, Preview, Predictions

Spencer Schellenbach was one of the better adds to fantasy teams last season. He threw strikes, and batters struggled to barrel up his pitches.

Spencer Schwellenbach's 2Ks in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/2eiY3qxsfa
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 24, 2024

SP – Spencer Schwellenbach, ATL (ADP – 88.9)

2025 Spencer Schwellenbach Pitching Stats Profile | Shawn Childs

The Nebraska Cornhuskers pitched Schwellenbach out of their bullpen in 2021, leading to a 3-1 record over 31.2 innings with a 0.57 ERA, 0.947 WHIP, 34 strikeouts, and 10 saves. Unfortunately, his right arm required TJ surgery shortly after Atlanta drafted him in the second round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft. His first appearance in the minors (Low A) didn’t come until April 6th in 2023.

Over his first 13 games in the minors, Schwellenbach went 4-2 with a 2.63 ERA and 41 strikeouts over 51.1 innings. A right shoulder issue knocked him out of action for seven weeks, leading to only three more appearances on the year at High A (three runs, five baserunners, and 14 strikeouts over 13.2 innings).

Last season, Atlanta started him at High A again (2.53 ERA over 32.0 innings with 34 strikeouts) before promoting him to AA. His arm was electric over his two starts (13 shutout innings with five hits, one walk, and 17 strikeouts), giving him the free pass to majors the following week.

Despite showing failure risk in ERA (5.68) over his first six starts with the Braves, Schwellenbach’s arm hinted at more upside based on his WHIP (1.295) while offering strikeouts (32 over 31.2 innings). His arm delivered ace stats over the final three months (7-3 with a 2.54 ERA, 0.957 WHIP, and 95 strikeouts over 92.0 innings).

His average fastball came in at 96.2 mph while working off six pitches – four-seamer (.238 BAA), slider (.217 BAA), cutter (.270 BAA), curveball (.250 BAA), split-finger (.145 BAA), and sinker (.231 BAA). Schwellenbach had elite command against right-handed batters (seven walks and 72 strikeouts), but lefties (.253 BAA) banged around his four-seamer (.297 BAA) and cutter (.326 BAA).

Fantasy Outlook: The first checkpoint for an elite arm is their first pitch strike rate, something Schwellenbach (67.1%) smashed in his rookie season. He even threw 69.3% overall strikes while offering depth in his repertoire. His only negative coming into 2025 is his increased workload (113.2 innings) from his 2023 season (65.0 innings pitched). When pairing this with his previous right shoulder issue, a drafter must add this information when deciding to invest in this exciting young arm. All signs point to a foundation ace for Atlanta, and he is on a path to make 32 starts in the majors this year.

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