Spencer Turnbull

Spencer Turnbull

32-Year-Old PitcherSP
 Free Agent  
Free Agent
Out
Injury Lat
Est. Return 2/1/2025
2024 Fantasy Outlook
After missing the whole 2022 season following Tommy John surgery, Turnbull made his return in 2023 but struggled to ever get on track. The veteran righty was limited to just 15 total starts in the majors and minors combined as he dealt with neck and toe injuries. When healthy, Turnbull didn't perform particularly well, turning in a 7.26 ERA and 1.68 WHIP across 31 innings for the Tigers. He only struck out 24 batters as well and his fastball was down a few ticks from when he last pitched in 2021. Turnbull was non-tendered by Detroit in November, meaning he'll now likely find a new home for the first time in his professional career. With the 31-year-old still trying to find his form following his surgery, he'll probably have to settle for a minor-league deal and will have to work his way into an MLB rotation. Turnbull had some success earlier in his tenure with Detroit, but at this point, he is off the fantasy radar until further notice. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#532
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Phillies in February of 2024. Contract includes up to $2 million incentives.
Unlikely to be on NLDS roster
PPhiladelphia Phillies  
Lat
October 2, 2024
Phillies manager Rob Thomson indicated Wednesday that Turnbull (lat) is unlikely to be on the NLDS roster, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
Thomson said Turnbull was "erratic" during an intrasquad game Wednesday, adding that he believes the righty needs to fine-tune things. Turnbull has been sidelined since late June with a right lat strain and it would appear he'll remain out at least through the first round of the postseason.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
54
Last 10 Games
35
Last 5 Games
42
How many pitches does Spencer Turnbull generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Spencer Turnbull generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-6%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-16%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-18%
BAA vs RHP
2022
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .236 181 37 16 38 11 0 7
Since 2022vs Right .221 186 45 19 36 8 0 4
2024vs Left .170 102 25 10 15 4 0 3
2024vs Right .202 120 33 10 22 5 0 3
2023vs Left .315 79 12 6 23 7 0 4
2023vs Right .259 66 12 9 14 3 0 1
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-23%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-6%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-29%
ERA at Home
2022
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 3.77 1.12 43.0 3 3 0 6.7 3.3 1.0
Since 2022Away 4.89 1.44 42.1 1 1 0 10.6 4.0 1.3
2024Home 2.57 1.00 28.0 3 0 0 8.0 2.9 0.6
2024Away 2.73 1.10 26.1 0 0 0 11.3 3.8 1.4
2023Home 6.00 1.33 15.0 0 3 0 4.2 4.2 1.8
2023Away 8.44 2.00 16.0 1 1 0 9.6 4.5 1.1
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Spencer Turnbull compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
2.90
 
K/9
9.6
 
BB/9
3.3
 
HR/9
1.0
 
Fastball
92.3 mph
 
ERA
2.65
 
WHIP
1.05
 
BABIP
.246
 
GB/FB
1.53
 
Left On Base
82.3%
 
Exit Velocity
81.5 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.3%
 
Spin Rate
2529 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
25.2%
 
Swinging Strike
10.2%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Spencer Turnbull See More
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103 days ago
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121 days ago
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141 days ago
Jose Ramirez's recent hot streak earned him the top Riser spot this week as well a selection in the SiriusXM All-Time Fantasy Baseball Draft.
Week 13 FAAB Results - How the Turn Tables
141 days ago
Ben Rice, Aroldis Chapman and Spencer Turnbull were the leading FAAB targets in Jeff Erickson's leagues this week.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Following Tommy John surgery in July 2021, Turnbull missed the entire 2022 season, though he should be ready to go for the start of spring training in 2023. When we last saw the righty, he posted a solid 2.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, though he only logged 50 innings before getting shut down. The year before that was the condensed 2020 campaign, in which Turnbull posted a 3.97 ERA across 56.2 innings. You have to go back to 2019 to find anything resembling a normal starter's workload. That year, Turnbull posted a 4.61 ERA and 1.44 WHIP while striking out 146 across 148.1 innings, which stands as his career high for innings. Considering how little we've seen of Turnbull the past few seasons, it's hard to project what kind of results he's capable of. He's had some success at the MLB level, so fantasy managers may want to keep an eye on him if he gets hot, but expectations should be tempered.
Turnbull pitched surprisingly excellent baseball through nine starts in 2021 before his body failed him. He opened the season 4-2 over those nine starts with a 2.88 ERA (2.95 FIP) and 0.98 WHIP while holding the opposition to a .201 batting average. All the growing pains from his ugly 2019 season and the ups and downs of the sprint through 2020 were beginning to be rewarded until he could not answer the bell after the fourth inning of his final outing. The elbow pain was diagnosed as a UCL tear and Turnbull had Tommy John surgery July 31, which means he will very likely miss the entirety of the 2022 season. Turnbull could be back on the fantasy radar sometime in 2023 once he is two full seasons removed from his surgery.
Turnbull is the kind of pitcher that would get us excited in years past when our access to stats was mostly limited to what was on a baseball card. He went .500 for a bad team with a sub-4.00 ERA, a high groundball rate, nary a home run and nearly a strikeout per inning. Below the surface, things do not look as nice. He walks too many batters, gives up quite a bit of hard contact and his outcomes were better than what a pitcher with a 9.1 K-BB% normally enjoys. Nearly every expected stat in his profile portends bad things in 2021 if he repeats the issues with walks from 2020. Conversely, if he found better command and could lean more on his awesome slider, he could take a significant step forward in 2021. The potential is there for this talented arm to go either way, but you should lean toward another year of growing pains.
You have to feel for a guy who posts a 3.99 FIP and goes 3-17 on the season over 30 starts. Turnbull had a 22.3 K% last year, but the 9.0 BB% led to a high WHIP. Around those issues, he had nine quality starts and had eight starts where he struck out at least seven batters. He lives off his fastball and breaking balls, which help him hold righties at bay, as they have a .234/.325/.380 slash line against him in the majors. Lefties fare better against him (.296/.364/.432) because Turnbull has yet to come up with an effective pitch that either fades away or cuts in. He has worked on a cutter to give him something against lefties, but either that pitch or finding a changeup is needed for him to narrow his splits. He is better than his W-L record indicates, but there is still room for improvement.
Turnbull earned his first big-league callup in September, starting three games for the Tigers and appearing in another one in relief. He struggled to a 6.06 ERA, a result that isn't too surprising considering he'd only ever made two starts at the Triple-A level prior to his promotion. His underlying numbers in his small sample were actually quite promising, as he struck out a roughly average 21.7% of batters while walking just 5.8%, leading to a 2.85 FIP. His true talent undoubtedly lies somewhere in the large space between his ERA and FIP. On a rebuilding Tigers team, he may be given the chance to show what he can do over a larger sample. The 26-year-old didn't project as anything more than a back-end starter as a prospect, with poor control and no standout secondary pitches.
More Fantasy News
Pitching in intrasquad game
PPhiladelphia Phillies  
Lat
October 2, 2024
Turnbull (lat) will pitch in an intrasquad game Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park, MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Beginning rehab assignment
PPhiladelphia Phillies  
Lat
September 22, 2024
Turnbull (lat) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Facing hitters Friday
PPhiladelphia Phillies  
Lat
September 10, 2024
Turnbull (lat) will throw a live batting practice session Friday, Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation reports.
ANALYSIS
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Tarnsferred to 60-day IL
PPhiladelphia Phillies  
Lat
August 17, 2024
The Phillies transferred Turnbull (lat) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Preparing to return as reliever
PPhiladelphia Phillies  
Lat
August 13, 2024
Phillies manager Rob Thomson suggested Saturday that Turnbull (lat) is highly unlikely to fill a rotation spot once he's ready to return from the 15-day injured list, MLB.com reports. "It's going to be tough at this point," Thomson said when asked about bringing Turnbull back as a starter.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Interest from Texas?
PPhiladelphia Phillies  
October 27, 2024
According to Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News, Turnbull, who finished the season on the injured list due to a lat injury, could be targeted by the Rangers in free agency.
ANALYSIS
The 32-year-old was a key rotation piece for the Phillies early in the season, but he was shifted to the bullpen after seven starts and missed the final three months of the campaign due to the lat strain. Turnbull was more effective as a starter with a 1.78 ERA across 35.1 innings, but his consistent injury issues likely prevent him from being viewed as a full-time starter. Still, he could provide value as a swingman for teams in need of rotation depth, like the Rangers.
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