Later-Round Pitcher Values for Strikeouts - Fantasy Baseball Draft Targets (2024)

Andy Smith identifies late-round and value targets to boost your fantasy baseball team's performance in K's.

If you focused on grabbing high-end relief pitchers and starting pitchers that provide you with solid ratios who can eat innings, you might feel thin when looking at your strikeout numbers. However, there are many upside starting pitchers that you can target late in your 2024 fantasy baseball drafts.

Below, you'll find five starting pitchers who are being drafted late in drafts. While these pitchers can hit double-digit strikeouts in any given start, they could also tank your pitching ratios. Many of these pitchers have career ERAs that sit in the mid-4.00s. When looking for strikeouts this late in your draft, you will take on a risky asset that could tank your ERA and WHIP ratios. However, if one of them were to find their stride, you may have found the missing piece of your rotation.

It would be best if you refrained from relying on these players to serve as foundational rotational pieces. Still, these low-risk investments can grow into late-round gems and complement the stable arms you drafted earlier. For more fantasy baseball draft values like this for various scoring categories and positions, be sure to keep checking out our preseason MLB content on RotoBaller and me @A_Smith_FS on X.

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Kenta Maeda, Detroit Tigers

ADP: 252

After returning from Tommy John surgery, Kenta Maeda's 2023 season was not pretty. The then Minnesota Twin posted a 4.23 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 117 strikeouts across 104 ⅓ innings. However, as the 35-year-old settled in, he began pitching much better. After the All-Star Break, he posted a 3.79 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 82 strikeouts over 71 ⅓ innings.

Despite his age, Maeda is still generating over a strikeout per inning, which makes him an intriguing option if you lack punchouts. The right-handed pitcher had a 27.3 K% and a 31.2 chase%, placing him in the 77th and 76th percentile among qualified pitchers, respectively.

Maeda relied heavily on his split-finger pitch last season as he threw it 31.9% of the time and generated a significant number of whiffs along the way with a 31.5 K% and 35 Whiff%.

Maeda may be past his prime, but he is still a reliable strikeout option who may have found a second wind as he enters his second season post-Tommy John surgery.

Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins

ADP: 320

Edward Cabrera had a 2023 season to forget. The 25-year-old had severe control issues with his 15.2% walk rate, which placed him last among qualified pitchers, and he missed over a month of play due to a right shoulder injury.
Cabrera is still very young and has many underlying metrics pointing toward a rebound in 2024. The hard-throwing Dominican had a 30.9% whiff rate and a 27.2% K rate, putting him in the top 83% and 77% of qualified pitchers, respectively.
In addition, Cabrera had an excellent 55.7 ground ball rate and one of the best XBA in the sport of .199. This shows how talented he is as a pitcher, but his high walk rate greatly hinders his potential and often kills his momentum.
A significant reason for his success was his dominant changeup, which he threw 31.4% of the time. His changeup produced a .175 XBA, .248 XSLG, and a 36.3% whiff rate. According to Baseball Savant, his changeup produced a run value of nine last while producing a run value of ten the year prior. Cabrera may even lean on his changeup even more in 2024.

Edward Cabrera Changeups for no other reason than just make this happen... pic.twitter.com/yftOwUhtzV

— 𝐍𝐒𝟗 (@NorthShoreNine) February 18, 2024

ATC projects Cabrera to maintain a similar 9.79 K/9 and a 4.03 ERA in 2024, making him a safe bet for strikeouts with looming concerns about his walk rate.

MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals

ADP: 314

MacKenzie Gore claimed the lead of the Nationals rotation last season after being dealt from San Diego, which sent Juan Soto to the West Coast. The young southpaw made 27 starts for Washington last season as their ace, posting a 4.42 ERA and 1.40 WHIP and recording 151 punchouts across 136 ⅓ innings.

The primary reason why the 24-year-old made this list is credited to the drastic improvement in K% in 2023. In 2022, Gore posted a 23.3% K rate (52nd percentile) compared to a 25.9% K rate (69th percentile) in 2023.

The hard-throwing lefty produced a minor uptick in fastball velocity, settling in at an average of 95 mph last season. Even more impressive, Gore raised his offspeed velocity by 1.7 mph (84.8-86.5) and his breaking velocity by 2.0 mph (83.9-85.9) in 2023.

His improvement on offspeed and breaking pitches was a significant reason his strikeout numbers jolted up. His second most utilized pitch, the curveball, generated a 34.1% K compared to just 25.5% the year prior.

Gore is blooming into the leader of the Nationals' pitching staff, which makes it well worth the investment in 2024, given his affordable ADP.

MacKenzie Gore has looked highly impressive today. Yes, he walked 4, but the stuff was there and he struck out 6 over 5.1 innings. Velocity on all secondaries were up. 32% CSW on the day.pic.twitter.com/rkcYpvV3QW

— Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) April 2, 2023

The final two members on this list are teammates fighting for a rotation spot in spring training. They are both names to monitor in deeper leagues, but only one may open the campaign as a starter, leaving the other in a bullpen role.

DL Hall, Milwaukee Brewers

ADP: 531

DL Hall was a significant piece of the package that sent former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles just a few weeks ago. The young flame thrower will look to continue his progression in the National League with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Hall threw just 19 ⅓ innings last season and 13 ⅔ innings in his debut season in 2022. Last season, Hall showed great strikeout potential with over a strikeout per inning, and his three most thrown pitches (fastball, slider, changeup) had a whiff% of at least 30%.

The raw talent is there, but his role on his new team still needs to be established. The southpaw was in a strict bullpen role last season. However, as one of the most valuable pieces in the Burnes trade package, it suggests the Brewers have high hopes for him.

Pitching coach Chris Hook’s assessment of working with newly acquired DL Hall - “Dirty dog.” pic.twitter.com/hUEdpKQdHi

— Sophia Minnaert (@SophiaMinnaert) February 16, 2024

The 25-year-old looked good down the stretch as a reliever, with a 2.76 ERA and 1.04 WHIP after the All-Star Break.

Hall will compete for a back-end starting role in spring training at his new club and will be a name to monitor as the season approaches. He can become a late-round flier that can either be dropped a few weeks in or can be the missing piece to your rotation. Hall could shine if given the opportunity; however, he must earn it first.

It is worth targeting upside this late in the draft, especially if your investment is a young starting pitcher with a high strikeout output.

Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee Brewers

ADP: 539

Like Edward Cabrera, Aaron Ashby is considered a "post-hype" sleeper as he has passed his honeymoon period as a prospect and has had struggles in the majors, making him a forgotten fantasy darling.

Ashby had shoulder discomfort towards the latter half of the 2022 campaign, which eventually led to a procedure that took him out for almost the entirety of the 2023 campaign. He was able to begin a short rehab assignment in the minors late last season, where he struggled heavily.

The southpaw has been known for his high strikeout numbers even as he progressed through the minor leagues, especially with a deadly slider that generated a hefty 41.1% whiff rate in 2022.

In his last full season, Ashby generated a 26.5% K rate and 29.4% whiff rate, both well above average among qualified pitchers.

Unlike his teammate, DL Hall, Ashby has a better chance of seeing opportunities as a starter in 2023. ATC projects Ashby to start 11 games, which could quickly increase as the Brewers lack proven options outside of established starters Freddy Peralta and Wade Miley.

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