Derek Law DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Washington Nationals right-handed pitcher Derek Law (elbow) is not expected to be ready for Opening Day. According to Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post, Law believes he will be placed on the 15-day injured list to begin the season. Law has been slowly increasing his workload during camp after battling an elbow injury last season that has continued to linger. Last season, the 24-year-old held a 2.60 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP. Across this stint, Law tallied just 76 strikeouts but showed strong command as he served up walks at a solid 6.6 percent rate. He also generated an elite 3.8 percent barrel rate and a 35.2 percent hard-hit rate. When Law returns to action, fantasy managers should expect him to be a reliable source of holds, as he tallied 17 last season while typically pitching in the seventh inning.

In 2025, Washington Nationals relief pitcher Derek Law has his sights set on breaking the team's innings pitched record for a reliever. As such, the 34-year-old is just starting to ramp up, throwing to live batters for the first time this spring despite being fully healthy. The intent is to not put any unnecessary stress on his arm before the season begins, especially after throwing 90 innings in 2024, the second-most for a relief pitcher in all of baseball last season. To beat the record, the righty will have to surpass 93 innings pitched to pass the current record-holder, Saul Rivera. The veteran posted a good 2.60 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP on the way to setting a career high in holds with 17, but isn't known for having strikeout stuff like many relievers of today, logging a 7.6 K/9 and a 14.2 percent K-BB%. With that being the case, Law is really only worthy of a roster spot in leagues that reward holds or NL-only formats.

Free-agent reliever Derek Law agreed with the Washington Nationals on Wednesday on a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, according to sources. The deal would pay Law $1.5 million with $500,000 in incentives for games pitched if he's in the majors. The contract also includes three opt-out clauses. The 33-year-old veteran right-hander has seven years of big-league experience and had a 3.60 ERA (4.62 FIP) and 1.38 WHIP with two saves, 26 walks and 45 strikeouts in 55 innings over 54 appearances (three starts) for the Cincinnati Reds last year. If Law makes the Nationals roster out of spring training, he'd likely serve in a middle-relief bullpen role. Fantasy managers can ignore him.