James McArthur's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur picked up his fifth save of the season in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays. McArthur came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning up by one. He got the first out on a groundout, allowed a walk, and induced a double play to end the inning. He started the ninth inning with a groundout, allowed a single, and got consecutive ground-ball outs to end the game. The 27-year-old has emerged as a useful fantasy option on a surprisingly competitive team and has now converted all but one save opportunity with a 3.09 ERA, a 9.26 K/9 rate, and a 1.54 BB/9 rate.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur shut down the Chicago White Sox on Sunday to earn his second save in a 5-3 win. McArthur tossed a scoreless ninth, although he did allow a hit and a walk and brought the go-ahead run to the plate. McArthur now has two of the Royals' last three saves, but this is looking like a true committee situation after Chris Stratton got a save last night. Will Smith threw the eighth tonight, but he could also be in line for saves when the situation calls for a lefty. McArthur is probably the best option to roster in fantasy, but he should only be added in deeper leagues where saves are scarce.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur posted his first save of the season in Friday's 2-1 win over the division-rival Chicago White Sox, recording the final two outs of the game. After struggling incumbent closer Will Smith allowed a double and a walk to make things interesting, McArthur only needed two pitches to induce a double play and put out the ninth-inning fire. Although the save should get McArthur on most fantasy radars, he still has a poor 9.82 ERA and 1.91 WHIP with three punchouts in 3 2/3 frames to begin the year. Smith has been worse; the veteran holds an abysmal 18.00 ERA and 3.33 WHIP with three K's over his three innings of work for the Royals in 2024. KC's closing situation looks like a fluid one that could witness a form of hot-hand or matchup-based approach until one arm or the other pulls away in the competition, but McArthur is worth a speculative add.