Emiliano Grillo

It's amazing how many players on the PGA Tour got off to great starts as rookies and struggled to match or exceed their first-year production. Grillo falls into that camp, as his rookie season still ranks as the best of his now seven seasons on the PGA Tour. Ball-striking has never been an issue with the 29-year-old, but until he is able to find a solution to his short game problems and be a more consistent putter, it's going to be hard to Grillo to ever get his game to that next level. Those weeks that he has a decent go of it on the greens, Grillo logs some pretty impressive finishes, unfortunately it just doesn't happen regularly enough.

Grillo won as a rookie on the PGA Tour in 2016 and has battled to get back to those heights ever since. He suffered through a bit of a sophomore slump in 2017, but rebounded well in 2018. The two years that followed were up and down, but he managed to find some consistency in 2020-21. It wasn't his best season, but it was the best numbers he'd posted in three years. It's hard to tell if there's more to Grillo than what we saw as a rookie because he hasn't come anywhere near those numbers, but he hasn't fallen off the map either. Considering his upside appears to be in the mid-$3 million range, and he's only been there once in six seasons, it's probably wise to look elsewhere in salary cap leagues.

Grillo has now made the playoffs in all five seasons since he has been out on Tour. The 2019-20 season marked his lowest finish in the FedEx Cup standings, however, at 93. Grillo had a couple close calls with a pair of T3s, but ultimately 10 missed cuts was just too much to overcome. Grillo is still an excellent ball striker, ranking top 10 in both GIR percentage and proximity to the hole last season, which is a big reason why I see him having a bounce back year in 2020-21. He quite honestly would have to try hard to have as bad of a putting season as he had this past year.

Grillo set the bar pretty high as a rookie in 2013 as he picked-up an win and a runner-up finish on his way to over $3.3 million in earnings. He predictably fell-off a bit the following season, but bounced-back quite nicely in his third season. This past season, his fourth, Grillo's game again fell-off. It wasn't a dramatic drop in production, but it didn't exactly clear-up his situation. Grillo appears to have the potential to be a 2nd-tier guy, but his consistency is lacking. He's worth a look in salary cap formats, but he's no better than a coin flip.

Grillo has spent three seasons on the PGA Tour and he's fared well in all three. He's also only 26, which means he should be entering his peak pretty soon. If that's the case, Grillo should be in for some really big seasons soon. Grillo's best season was his first, when he picked-up his first win and more than $3 million in earnings. Although he peaked in his rookie season three years ago, he hasn't exactly embarrassed himself the last two seasons. In his rookie season, Grillo struck the ball very well, but couldn't putt. He somehow figured out how to putt last season and he still struck the ball as well. His stats would indicate that he had a great season last year, but the earnings number would beg to differ. That said, if he continues to putt well, he'll get the results. Grillo comes at a steep price this season, but he just might be worth it.

Grillo was fantastic in his rookie season of 2015-16 , capturing his first win and amassing more than $3 million in earnings. While his performance last season was good, it was nowhere near the standard he set in his rookie season and therefore, it felt like he underachieved. It's always difficult to judge a guy with just two seasons under his belt, and two very different seasons to boot. The good thing here is that Grillo's price for the upcoming season is relatively cheap when you consider he topped the $3 million mark just two years ago and as such, he's a good salary cap option this season.

Grillo wasted no time in acclimating to the PGA Tour last season. In his first full season on the PGA Tour, Grillo picked-up one win, one runner-up showing and perhaps most impressive for a rookie, he made the cut in 22 of his 25 starts. The future is certainly bright for Grillo, but this is another case where the bar is simply set too high for the upcoming season. Whether it will be a standard regression or a sophomore slump, something will keep Grillo from improving significantly on his number from last season. In draft leagues, he's a risky third-round pick because of the unknown, but a safe fourth-round pick.