Blake Snell DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell is getting the nod to start their home opener on Thursday, March 27, as the Dodgers face off against Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers. The matchup is poised to be good, as two outstanding southpaws and Cy Young-winning pitchers will face off. Last season, Snell went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 104 innings pitched with the Giants. It was a solid campaign for Snell, who owned an incredible 12.55 K/9. He will look to stay healthy this year, as he dealt with a handful of injuries last year, preventing him from getting his full workload. Snell's metrics are off the charts, with most ranking in the 80th percentile or higher, but his 10.5% walk rate always leaves room for improvement. Fantasy managers can confidently start Snell. He is one of the most electric pitchers in the game and is backed by a potent offense.

Free-agent left-hander Blake Snell will stay in the National League West after agreeing to a five-year, $182 million deal on Tuesday night with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to sources. The deal is pending a physical. It's the first nine-figure deal of the MLB offseason, with the World Series-champion Dodgers locking down the two-time Cy Young winner. The 31-year-old southpaw signed with the San Francisco Giants at the end of spring training and had a rough start to the 2024 campaign while not being 100% healthy, but he eventually bounced back when he was fully healthy and went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 145 strikeouts and 44 walks in 104 innings over his 20 starts. Snell can be wild -- career 10.9% walk rate -- but his career 30.2% strikeout rate pretty much offsets it to make him a fantasy ace who will be in another good situation in LA while joining a strong starting rotation that will include Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2025.

Free-agent left-hander Blake Snell recently met with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, according to sources with knowledge of the talks. It's also possible that Snell met, or will meet, with the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and other teams looking for a high-end starter this offseason. He did not sign until March 19 with the San Francisco Giants in 2024, so Snell is surely looking to land with a team sooner than he did a year ago. The soon-to-be 32-year-old is older than both Max Fried and Corbin Burnes, the other two high-profile free-agent starters on the market. However, unlike Fried and Burnes, he wasn't given a qualifying offer, so a team that signs him won't have to give up draft-pick compensation. Snell got off to a slow start in 2024 and dealt with injuries, but he once again finished strong and exercised an opt-out clause to once again become a free agent.