Kenley Jansen spent much of his 2021 season proving his doubters wrong. After blowing three consecutive saves following the All-Star break, ‘The Big Fella’ posted a 0.96 ERA for the remainder of the season and went 17-17 in save opportunities. Jansen was especially lights-out in the postseason, where he didn’t allow a run in 7 innings of work with 14 strikeouts to just 1 walk.
At 34 years old, the three-time All-Star and two-time NL Reliever of the Year has completely reinvented himself with a dynamic new pitch mix that has helped him keep hitters off-balance without having to rely solely on his cutter as he did for so many years.