George Klassen (back) targeting late-season return

Klassen has been out since the end of last month with lower back inflammation. It sounds like he’d probably be ready to return in early October if the schedule permitted.

It’s a tough break for the Angels and for fantasy managers as Klassen had been coming into his own a bit in the Halos’ rotation. No word yet on how the Angels will plan to replace him in their rotation.

Klassen gave up six hits, walked three and struck out three. He fell to 2-2 in the first six starts of his major league career. Klassen had completed at least six innings and picked up the win in his last two starts entering play Monday. He has a 3.67 ERA, but don’t be fooled. Klassen’s 5.15 xFIP suggests he won’t be getting away with his 16.8 percent walk percentage much longer. He’s lined up to face the Yankees at home next week, though he’s not a recommended option in most fantasy leagues.

Klassen was lights out on Tuesday in Houston, tossing seven shutout innings in his fifth career start. He allowed only one hit and walked three batters while collecting seven strikeouts on an impressive 17 whiffs. The 24-year-old right-hander continues to issue too many free passes, but has now put together back-to-back impressive outings. He’ll take a 3.74 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, and a 21/18 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings into a start against the Rangers in Texas on Sunday.

It’s the first win of the season for Klassen. The outing didn’t get off to a glowing start, as he walked in a run in the second and then gave up a solo homer to Corey Seager an inning later. From that point on, Klassen completely shut down the Texas bats, and lowered his ERA to a still unhealthy 5.86 in the process. Speaking of process, it’d be a mistake to trust Klassen as a streamer despite this strong effort when he faces the Astros next week.

We saw a little bit of everything in Klassen’s return to the majors. He was expectedly erratic, barely throwing 40% of his pitches in the strike zone and missing some by a matter of feet rather than inches. He threw a first-pitch strike to just nine of the 20 batters he faced and his four walks made life difficult. Yet, he can really miss bats. His fastball had a few extra inches of hop and was effective in the zone. His slider was nasty too, forcing six of his 11 total swings-and-misses. The Marlins only mustered one hard-hit ball against him and their only run came via a bases loaded walk. If Klassen ever figures out how to throw strikes, watch out. He’s lined up to face the Rangers next time out should he stick in the rotation.

He’ll start tonight against the Marlins. Klassen has cut his walk rate of late and is an interesting streamer in deeper leagues, but most fantasy managers should monitor this start and see how it goes.

The 24-year-old was overwhelmed when he got the call to the bigs in April and walked 10 in 4 2/3 innings. He’s carried a 3.96 ERA for Triple-A Salt Lake City with 88 strikeouts in 91 innings over the last few months. While we don’t necessarily think Klassen is a must-roster, he’ll be worth monitoring.

The right-hander also struck out 11 and walked three on the day while throwing 61 of his 95 pitches for strikes. In four starts this month, Klassen has a 2.66 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with a 25/11 K/BB ratio in 23 2/3 innings. He still has only one start in his last five where he has walked fewer than three batters, so command remains a bit of a concern, but there is clearly MLB stuff here, and he is beginning to harness it a bit.

The Halos gave the 24-year-old hurler an opportunity to run with a spot in their starting rotation, but he stumbled to a 13.50 ERA, 3.86 WHIP and a 6/10 K/BB ratio over 4 2/3 innings through his first two starts. He’ll return to the rotation at Triple-A Salt Lake where he’ll attempt to get back on track.