Derek Law DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez said that right-handed reliever Derek Law (forearm) threw from 60 feet on flat ground on Monday and felt good. Law has been dealing with a right-forearm injury since late in the 2024 season and has been on the injured list for the first month-plus of the 2025 campaign as a result. The 34-year-old veteran is starting to ramp up his throwing program, but he still has a ways to go before being activated from the 15-day injured list and will probably require a lengthy minor-league rehab assignment. Law might not make his season debut for the Nats until late-May or early June. Last year for the Nationals he was a solid contributor in a career-high 75 relief outings, posting a 2.60 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with one save, a career-high 76 strikeouts and 24 walks in 90 innings pitched.

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.