Liam

Peterson

Peterson gets the full $4.53 million slot value from the Guardians as the 19th overall pick in the draft. The 21-year-old is mostly projection at this stage of his development, but he’s armed with a near-elite slider and misses plenty of bats. He’s not close to making a fantasy impact, but he’s interesting.

You don’t typically see guys who post an ERA above 5.00 in their college career get drafted in the middle of the first round, but Peterson’s an exception. The 21-year-old also struck out 102 hitters in his 84 1/3 innings with the Gator, and he shows three pitches that can miss bats including a slider that gets double-plus grades. Peterson’s command needs a ton of work, but the Guardians have done wonders with this type of profile in the past. If they can get him to locate better, Peterson has the type of stuff that you see from starters who pitch near the top of a rotation.