RADIO
We've reached that point in the season when current production outweighs our pre-season expectations or what we thought we knew about a pitcher.
The starters at the back end of fantasy rotations are the most volatile assets on the entire roster. They can be easily discarded after a bad outing, or ride a hot streak into a permanent roster spot. No matter how confident you feel with your current allotment of starters, there is always room for improvment.
What follows in this week's edition of the RotoBaller Stock Watch are seven starting pitchers, who are widely available, that can help fill out the back end of a fantasy rotation as we inch closer to the All-Star Break.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat...
Steven Matz, SP, New York Mets
During internal discussions with other industry fantasy analysts about Matz this offseason, the question which always came up was whether or not he had front of the rotation upside. He's done everything possible at Triple-A Las Vegas to answer in the affirmative. Not only does he own a stellar 2.11 ERA over 13 starts while striking out more than a batter per inning, but his arsenal has taken a step forward as well.
His fastball has been reported as sitting 92-94 mph consistently, while his curveball and changeup are good enough to be a weapon against both left and right-handed batters at the Major League level. His realistic floor is as a quality mid-rotation starter, but the fact that he's left-handed and has three quality pitches gives him a chance to be great. With Dillon Gee on his way out of the Big Apple, there is a solid chance that Matz will be up by July. It may be too late to invest in long-term dynasty formats (I drafted him in my home dynasty league in April), but he's worth the risk in re-draft leagues. He's going to make a major impact over the final three months of the season.
Jaime Garcia, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
If Garcia were a robot, he would have blossomed into one of the premier southpaws in baseball years ago. He's failed to crack 150 innings since 2011, which feels like an eternity. After years of shoulder woes, he's finally healthy and has done a masterful job stepping into the St. Louis rotation in the wake of the season-ending injury to Adam Wainwright.
Through six starts, Garcia owns a 1.76 ERA, 0.90 WHIP along with 28 strikeouts and just seven walks. That last number is even more impressive considering five of them came in his first game back. He's still available in 40% of fantasy leagues, and that number needs to be much lower. If you're in need of a quality back-end of a fantasy rotation starter, Garcia can fill the void.
Rubby De La Rosa, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
I could give you two hours on his teammate Robbie Ray, but it's De La Rosa who has quietly righted the ship over his last two starts in which he has allowed just one earned run over 15 innings while fanning 12 batters.
The strikeout numbers have been there all year, but so was a massive home run issue. He served up 14 gopher balls in his first 12 starts, but hasn't given one up in his last two starts. The common variable in those two outings versus San Francisco and San Diego? Newly acquired catcher Welington Castillo. Arizona may have figured something out with De La Rosa and the results could be scary. He's currently owned in just 12% of Yahoo leagues. If I had to put some jelly beans on that number going up, I would put all of the jelly beans on that possibility.
Kendall Graveman, SP, Oakland Athletics
If you take away a pair of awful outings against the Houston Astros, Graven has been quietly excellent this season. Since making his return to the A's rotation on May 23, he's 2-2 with a 2.27 ERA with 30 strikeouts and just nine walks in 39 and two-thirds innings. The most encouraging sign during that stretch (aside from an increase in strikeouts) is the 50% ground ball rate during that span. As a command and control artist who lacks overpowering stuff, he's always going to struggle with home run issues, but he's in the perfect situation to cover up that weakness in Oakland. Owned in just 11% of Yahoo leagues, Graveman is an under the radar option for fantasy owners to consider adding to the mix.
Nobody could blame you for assuming that Haren was dead and buried fantasy-wise after he was shipped to Miami in a cost cutting measure by the Dodgers during the offseason, which makes it even more terrifying that he has proceeded to leap out of the coffin this season. Through 14 starts, Haren owns a 3.19 ERA, 1.00 WHIP with 63 strikeouts in 83 and one-third innings of work. At 34-years-old, nobody is expecting Haren to be a star, but the results so far in the Sunshine State have been spectacular. Expecting them to continue is another matter entirely.
He's quietly evolved into an extreme fly ball pitcher, posting a career-low 31% ground ball rate. He's also benefitted from an inflated 84% strand rate, which is not only well above league-average, but it's better than anything we have seen from Haren in his entire career. He's still a quality pitcher, especially in deeper fantasy leagues, but the clock could strike midnight on Haren's renaissance at any moment.
Chris Young, SP, Kansas City Royals
I'm the biggest Young apologist/believer on the planet. I'm not ashamed to admit it. He's someone I've written about extensively all season if you follow my work. The reality is that his pitch to contact, extreme flyable high-wire act just doesn't play well in the oppressive summer heat when the balls starts to travel further. I'm not expecting him to completely fall off the rails, but he's been hit hard in two of his last four outings. In between those two outings, he fired 13 scoreless innings.
If you're looking at his .203 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and expecting some regression, I can't blame you. But Young has consistently posted low BABIP's throughout his entire career. He's certainly one of a kind, but he's worth taking a chance on given that he's available in more than 40% of Yahoo leagues right now. If he's owned in your league, he likely won't cost anything significant to acquire in a trade.
Joe Blanton, SP, Kansas City Royals
I have no idea. Two starts, two wins. Granted they came against the floundering Seattle and Milwaukee offenses, but in 26 innings of work, Blanton has racked up 24 strikeouts and a sterling 1.73 ERA. It's getting hard to ignore the numbers. If you're desperate in an extremely deep format, Blanton could be a viable option.
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