Luis L. Ortiz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis L. Ortiz had struggled in spring training and in his first two starts of the year, but he was much sharper on Saturday against the Royals, allowing just one run on one hit in 5 2/3 innings while stacking up a career-high 10 strikeouts and issuing just two walks. He threw exactly 100 pitches in his outing and improved to 1-2 on the year with a still-elevated 6.06 ERA and 4.63 FIP. He had 16 whiffs, a 36% whiff percentage, and a 34% CSW percentage. He will look to build on his successful home debut as he returns to face his former team in Pittsburgh on Friday in his next start.

The Cleveland Guardians acquired pitchers Luis L. Ortiz, Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night in exchange for infielder Spencer Horwitz, according to sources. Ortiz is the biggest name in the swap for the Guardians as they look to add pitching depth to their system. The 25-year-old Dominican right-hander had his best year in the big leagues in his third year with Pittsburgh in 2024, going 7-6 with a 3.32 ERA (4.25 FIP), 1.11 WHIP, a career-high 107 strikeouts and 42 walks in 135 2/3 innings over 37 appearances (15 starts). Even though the Guardians re-signed Shane Bieber already this offseason, Ortiz could be primed for a spot near the back end of Cleveland's starting rotation to open the 2025 regular season. Ortiz was slightly better as a starter in 2024 but had a strikeout rate under 20%, limiting his overall upside as a matchup-based streamer in deeper leagues.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Luis L. Ortiz rebounded nicely during Wednesday's win over the Cincinnati Reds. The 25-year-old recorded seven strikeouts and allowed one run over six innings of work. This was a nice bounce back performance for Ortiz after he gave up six runs during his outing last Friday. The former top prospect has shown solid flashes this season, which makes him worth monitoring in most fantasy formats. However, it's uncertain if the Pirates plan on keeping Ortiz as a traditional starting pitcher going forward.