MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Dec. 27
Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu put together a pretty good walk year in 2019, leading the majors with a 2.32 ERA and finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award voting while earning his first All-Star berth.
Ryu got the one first-place vote that Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets did not receive.
But after a stellar first half, Ryu tailed off a bit after the All-Star break as he battled a sore neck that cost him a couple of weeks in August.
He had a 2.32 ERA and 1.007 WHIP in 182.2 innings, striking out 163 and surrendering 17 home runs. His ERA+ of 179 led the NL and his 1.2 walks per nine innings was the best rate in baseball.
Ryu was eighth in WAR among NL pitchers at 5.1, third in WHIP and second in home runs per nine innings at 0.838.
He started Game 3 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS against Washington, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts over five innings in the Dodgers’ 10-4 win, a victory that proved to be their last of the series and the season.
Ryu was phenomenal in the first half last season, with a 1.73 ERA and 0.908 WHIP in 17 starts and 109 innings, striking out 99. After the break, Ryu posted a 3.18 ERA and 1.154 WHIP in 73.2 innings over 12 starts, fanning 64.
He turns 33 on March 25 and signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. But his Depth Charts projections at FanGraphs are not terrific — a 3.95 ERA and 1.19 WHIP and a projected 29 homers allowed after surrendering just 17 last season.