Louis Coleman

Coleman worked in a middle-relief role for the Dodgers throughout most of 2016; he was never seen as an arm reliable enough to push into high-leverage spots. The Dodgers picked him up off waivers from the Royals and got a 4.69 ERA in 48 innings. The most important thing Coleman has going for him is a good slider he threw for a majority of his pitches, backing it up with a fastball that sits around 94 mph. That made him effective enough against right-handed batters -- he yielded just a .232/.302/.394 line to righties while striking out 23.6 percent of them. The 30-year-old hit the DL in August with throwing shoulder fatigue, and although he was brought back when rosters expanded, Coleman was ultimately left off the playoff roster. He landed a minor league deal with the Reds in January, although it's unlikely that he'll get much time with the big league bullpen even with the relative lack of bullpen depth.

After some rough years between Triple-A and the major leagues, Coleman had an excellent 2015 campaign. He spent virtually all season with Triple-A Omaha and put together an excellent 1.69 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He also increased his strikeouts to produce a 8.9 K/9 and decreased his walks to a rate of 3.2 BB/9. The 29-year-old even managed to translate this success to the majors, where he didn't allow a run in four appearances and garnered a win. With as deep as the Royals' bullpen is, it will be tough for Coleman to pitch in many high-leverage situations, but he may see more time in the big leagues now that he has more upper-level success on his track record.

It was a tale of two seasons for Coleman, who recorded a dreadful 7.48 ERA in the first half of 2014, but after spending some time at Triple-A Omaha, returned to post a 2.19 mark in the second. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, but mixes an upper-80s fastball with a quality slider, and surprisingly, was able to limit left-handed batters to a .629 OPS on the year. He'll be arbitration eligible for the first time prior to 2015, and provided he can build off the momentum he gained in the second half of last season, the right-hander should once again be a steady fixture in middle relief for the Royals. Considering the immense bullpen depth in Kansas City, he's unlikely to be considered for save opportunities anytime soon, which ultimately limits his value. He would probably need a change of scenery in order to pitch in higher-leverage situations.

While Coleman spent another season being shuttled back and forth between Kansas City and Triple-A Omaha due to the large number of major league-caliber relievers on the roster, he showed some outstanding improvements in his game. While his K/9 may have dropped from 11.5 in 2012 to 9.7 last season, he dramatically improved his command and dropped his walk rate from an unsavory 12 percent to a much more palatable 5.5 percent. He also increased the use of his slider, forcing hitters to not only fish outside the zone, but to mash the ball into the dirt. The result was a doubling of his groundball rate, which helped raise his strand rate to a near-flawless 97.6 percent while suppressing his ERA to a career-best 0.61. Coleman's performance likely earned him a spot in the Royals bullpen in 2014, though he will likely still have to take part in the annual spring training competition. Should he prove himself then, he could be a helpful ratio stabilizer in deeper leagues.

In 2012, the 26-year-old right-hander spent a good portion of the first half being shuttled back and forth between Kansas City and Triple-A Omaha, but stayed up for most of the second half and posted a 3.71 ERA over 51 innings by season's end. While he was able to maintain his double-digit K/9 in the big leagues, he also saw his walk rate rise and posted an unimpressive 14.5-percent HR/FB with a subpar 4.68 FIP, both of which were a step back from the year before. He'll compete for a spot in the Royals bullpen again in 2013, but with minimal promise for improvement, he is not exactly oozing with fantasy potential.

Coleman finally made his big league debut in 2011 and the results were promising. He had 64 strikeouts and 26 walks with a 2.87 ERA over 59.2 innings. He was a bit lucky as the nine home runs he gave up only led to 11 runs. He'll need to reel in his home-run rate (1.36 HR/9IP) if he wants to factor into more late-game situations. As for his control, getting back to walking fewer than 3.0 BB/9IP, as he did in the minors, would serve him and the Royals well. Only 26 years old, Coleman's best days are ahead.

Coleman hasn't had an ERA higher than 2.20 in two minor league seasons and seems poised to join the Royals bullpen in the near future. He's never pitched in a big-league game, but KC is thin in its setup corps for closer Joakim Soria and won't likely hesitate to see what the 24-year-old can produce.