Emmet Sheehan came back from Tommy John last year, almost exactly 13 months post-surgery, and posted a 2.82 ERA, 0.97 WHIP with 10.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 in 73 1/3 IP. Um, how is he a sleeper? He’s an ace. Isn’t he ace? Sure, he has five guys in front of him who are also aces, but at least four of them aren’t capable of 150 innings, possibly not 100, if we’re being honest about Roki and Glasnow. Oh, and since I mentioned him, Roki stands for Sheehan? Roki, the closer to last postseason, that guy? Obviously, Roki isn’t closer this year, due to the addition of Edwin Diaz, but Roki’s cutoff for Emmet. They are likely the Dodgers’ 5A and 5B starter. I only say that because they paid Roki a lot of money, but I can talk myself out of that reason because they paid everyone a lot of money. Dodgers gave their sixth-inning mop guy big money. They’re deferring $45 million for Brusdar. (Not really, I’m using hyperbole here to prove a point, don’t come at me with facts, man.) My point is that the Dodgers will go with the top guy for the fifth starter job whether he makes money or not. Roki could be that guy, I’m not selling him short just because he didn’t start last year. Emmet Sheehan could be the man. They could also just go for a six-man rotation. If Emmet throws well, as I think he will, there’s no reason why he won’t start. So, what can we expect from Emmet Sheehan for 2026 fantasy baseball, and what makes him a sleeper?
Psyche! All of my 2026 fantasy baseball rankings are on the Patreon. Don’t wait for the rankings to appear next month.
Psyche II: We’re doing a $150 Draft Champions League – 50 rounds, 4 hours, starts Friday at noon, but it’s a slow draft so you don’t need to be near a computer. If you want: JOIN THE LEAGUE – if not, no problem. Anyway II, the Emmet Sheehan sleeper:
In Triple-A last year, Tommy John’s Emmet Sheehan rehabbed by throwing 19 2/3 IP with a 16.5 K/9, 0.9 BB/9. I know, I know, it’s Triple-A, but he’s only thrown 133 2/3 IP in the Majors in his career and 73 1/3 IP of that came after that Triple-A stint. I’m Cust saying he was actually still a minor leaguer when he had a 16.5 K/9 and a 0.9 BB/9. To put it plainly, these numbers are ridiculous. Let’s look at colors:
This is from a guy with barely a season of MLB. I’m humma-humma-humma’ing. I’m going cocoa cuckoo. I’m at Old Navy to get a straightjacket.
Let’s take a look at the specifics of Emmet Sheehan. Sheeh us? Yes, we Sheeh! His 96 MPH four-seamer drew a .214 BAA, and he threw it 46.8% of the time. Okay, are you ready for the blow to the head that’s going to sting? Now brace yourself. Okay, here it is: that’s his third best pitch! I honestly snorted at that. His slider, which he threw 30.4% of the time, had a .162 BAA. That was (about) the same as Josh Hader (.160), Garrett Whitlock (.160) and Eury Perez (.167). Okay, are you ready for your stupid noggin to take another hit? To get all the way into the melon? Okay, here it goes: his slider was only his second best throw! HAHAHAHAHA–breathe, Grey, breathe!–HAHAHAHAHAHAHA–I can’t even. I stopped even being able to. His changeup yielded a .146 BAA and he threw it 16.7% of the time. Tarik Skubal’s change was .154 BAA. He threw it a lot more, but, you know, chances. Skenes also at .103. I pick the best baseball pitchers and compare them to Emmet Sheehan. That’s pretty good for Sheehan!
As I often say, throwing fewer innings last year isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A guy throwing 200 innings might be the bigger red flag. A guy like Emmet Sheehan, who has very few innings under his belt, could be ready to throw some innings. As I said in the opening, I don’t know how the Dodgers will execute their rotation. Maybe Sheehan only throws 120 IP because that’s all they need, but I suspect he could comfortably throw 140+ IP. He’s already 26, so he could even throw 160 innings, but I doubt the Dodgers want to push him that hard. Still, throwing 135 innings of ace? Yes, sign me up. For 2026, I give Emmet Sheehan projections of 10-4/3.18/1.03/158 in 136 IP with a chance for much more.
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