2025 Fantasy Baseball: Brandon Pfaadt Profile, Preview, Predictions
Other than his strikeouts (185), Brandon Pfaadt brings some sketchy stats into the 2025 fantasy draft season. Home runs have been a problen over the past four seasons.
Brandon Pfaadt's 4 Consecutive Ks. pic.twitter.com/Nqmm6QUAOB
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2024
SP – Brandon Pfaadt, ARI (ADP – 164.6)
Pfaadt posted a 3.91 ERA with 30 strikeouts and five home runs over 25.1 innings at AAA in 2023. The Diamondbacks gave him five starts in May. Unfortunately, the surf was up in the desert, leading to eight balls landing in the seats (8.37 ERA, 1.648 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts over 23.2 innings). Over his next starts between AAA (7) and majors (1), Pfaadt had a 4.82 ERA, 1.446 WHIP, seven home runs, and 42 strikeouts over 37.1 innings. His season ended with improvement in Arizona (4.22 ERA, 1.237 WHIP, 13 home runs, and 73 strikeouts over 70.1 innings).
In his second year with the Diamondbacks, Pfaadt threw strikes, highlighted by his first pitch strikeout rate (70.6) and growth in his walk rate (2.1). He allowed too many home runs (24 – 1.2 per nine), with an uptick in his strikeout rate (9.2). His failure on the mound came against left-handed batters (.294 BAA) and at home (5.09 ERA and 1.313 WHIP).
His only successful month came in July (2-0 with a 2.31 ERA, 0.814 WHIP, one walk, and 21 strikeouts over 23.1 innings). Pfaadt had an ERA higher than 4.00 in April (4.63), June (4.50), August (6.04), and September (7.00). He allowed four runs or more in 13 of his 32 starts. His ERA was 3.74 over his first 20 starts with a winning WHIP (1.105), hiding his good in 2024. Pfaadt was a disaster over his final 12 matchups (6.60 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, and 10 home runs over 61 innings with 74 strikeouts) despite having three double-digit strikeout games (eight runs, 12 baserunners, and two home runs over 19.2 innings with 33 strikeouts).
His average fastball (93.9) improved slightly. Pfaadt relied on four pitches – four-seamer (.262 BAA), sinker (.288 BAA), slider (.211 BAA with 13 home runs), and changeup (.247 BAA) while adding a low-volume curveball (.429 BAA).
Fantasy Outlook: Pfaadt looks poised to be a much better arm in his third year in the majors. His 2024 resume is loaded with disaster starts, with hints of greatness. His command is ace-ready, but he must locate his pitches better within the strike zone and solve left-handed batters. Next Step: a sub-3.50 ERA with a push toward 15 wins and 200+ strikeouts. Giddy Up!
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.