Brody Hopkins

Hopkins has a chance to be an SP1 during his fantasy prime if he can throw enough strikes. A 6-foot-4 power righty who was part of the Rays' return in the 2024 deadline deal that sent Randy Arozarena to Seattle, Hopkins spent his entire age-23 season at Double-A, where he registered a 2.72 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 141:60 K:BB in 116 innings. His upper-90s fastball and curveball are borderline 70-grade offerings, and he also boasts an above-average cutter and changeup, as well as a seldom-thrown above-average sweeper. Hopkins had a 12.2 percent walk rate on the year but logged a 10.7 percent walk rate while holding opponents to a .497 OPS over his final eight starts. The Rays are one of the top organizations in baseball at maximizing starting pitchers with shaky control, and Hopkins' caliber of stuff, depth of arsenal and innings-eating frame are three more reasons to bet on the profile. He's not on the 40-man roster, but teams don't typically keep arms of this caliber at Triple-A for an entire season, so Hopkins could be up this summer if he keeps the walks in check. Read Past Outlooks