Bailey

Ober

Ober walked one batter and struck out one in the contest. He cruised through the first three innings virtually unscathed, but things fell apart in the fourth. There, he allowed a pair of singles before serving up a game-tying three-run blast to Tyler O’Neill. Ober got just two whiffs on 56 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 21 percent. His average fastball in the game was just 89.8 mph (-0.5 mph), still slightly down from where he sat during the 2025 campaign. He’s a tough one for fantasy managers to trust for next weekend’s start against the Rays.

Ober sat 89.6 mph on his fastball, which is down from last season but up from the 88.8 mph mark he had in his last outing. Still, it didn’t much matter. He allowed ten hard-hit baseballs on the day while walking three and striking out three. It’s impossible to recommend him in fantasy leagues right now.

Ober’s fastball velocity continues to trend in the wrong direction, as he averaged just 88.2 mph today. He was 89.9 mph in his spring debut and 88.8 mph last time out. This is all way down from the 91.7 mph he averaged last time he was an effective starter in 2024. Expectations for Ober should be pretty low at this point.

Ober averaged 89.9 mph with his fastball in his first start this spring, but he was down to 88.8 mph today. That’s about 1.5 mph less than last year, when he posted a 5.10 ERA, and three mph south of where he was in 2024. Maybe he’ll figure something out to get that back, but unless it happens, he figures to be a well below average starter once again.

The right-hander struck out one batter on the day and didn’t allow a base on balls. The 30-year-old right-hander got five swings and misses on 25 pitches in the contest, posting a solid CSW of 32 percent. He was delayed a bit to start the spring in order to work on his mechanics and everything looked to be in sync in Friday’s debut. Ober averaged 89.9 mph on his fastball, which is only down slightly (-0.4 mph) from his 2025 average.

“Physically, I’m feeling good,” Ober said. “I’m throwing more bullpens this year, just making sure everything mechanically is lined up.” After two strong seasons in 2023 and 2024, Ober took a step back in 2025 and also saw his velocity decrease while he was battling a few injuries. Increased focus on mechanics could get Ober back to previous levels, so his first start will be something to keep an eye on when it happens.

A fine starter in 2023 and ’24, Ober lost velocity and wound up with a 5.10 ERA and just a 19% strikeout rate last season, clouding his future. If he gets the velocity back, he could be a bargain in spring drafts, but nothing from his 2025 was encouraging at all.

Well, that’s definitely a positive season-ending result for the one of the year’s most disappointing pitchers. He struck out five and walked one on his way to finishing up 6-9 with a 5.10 ERA. Still, he actually had some of his worst velocity of the year in this one, averaging 88.4 mph with his fastball. He never touched his season average of 90.3 mph, topping out at 90.1 mph today. The rough campaign means he probably won’t make more than $5 million in arbitration, so it will make sense for the Twins to keep him and hope he bounces back. Still, with the team likely to continue to trim payroll, it’s possible he’ll be sent packing this winter.

A rare bad start from Ober that didn’t involve any home runs. The previous three times he gave up at least six runs this season, he allowed four homers twice and three once. Ober also struck out just one batter tonight. The only other time that’s happened in a start was in a game in which he lasted just 1 1/3 innings. It was the oddest outing yet for one of the season’s most confounding pitchers. Ober will take a 5-9 record and a 5.32 ERA into his finale against the Phillies.

Ober allowed a double and an RBI single with two outs in the second. In the fourth, he hit a batter and then surrendered a single and a homer. Those were the only batters to reach against Ober during his six innings, but it scarcely mattered when four of the five scored. Ober, who topped his previous season high in strikeouts by two, is now 5-8 with a 5.12 ERA. He’s due to face the Guardians next.