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Tommy Bell identifies late-round starting pitcher values and sleepers for WHIP in 2025 drafts. Target these pitchers to boost your fantasy baseball team's WHIP.
Fantasy baseball draft season is officially upon us. Everyone's draft or auction strategy is different, which is what makes this hobby of ours so great. But if you're someone who likes to piece their pitching together later in the draft, things can get sketchy quickly. But finding a gem or two late can REALLY give you a leg up on your competition.
When it comes to late-round pitchers, you're often going to have to sacrifice something. Whether it's a flamethrower with minimal control, a veteran with an injury history, or a solid command pitcher who struggles to miss bats, there will surely be question marks as you move into pick 300 and beyond. So, what's the best approach?
In "roto" leagues, securing that WHIP category with late selections can be a gold mine. These pitchers are typically on the safer side, meaning they are less likely to kill your ratios, but there might be some untapped upside within them as well. Let's look at four pitchers who fit the mold of a value draft pick and should provide a decent WHIP with the upside to be a stud if they can take the next step in the bat-missing category.
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Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
ADP: 281
Last Season Stats: 11 wins, 4.25 ERA, 166 SO, 1.30 WHIP
The newly-inked Pirates "veteran" arm is the most questionable when it comes to WHIP safety, but he's also shown us the most when it comes to consistent strikeout upside as well.
Mitch Keller battled against the Blue Jays, showing off his sharp slider, deceptive changeup, and filthy sweeper.
With the sweeper hitting elite levels (132 proStuff+), Keller's secondary pitches kept hitters uncomfortable all day! pic.twitter.com/NStApYmtFE
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 5, 2025
Keller's overall stat line is marred by a very rough start to the 2024 season. However, he bounced back in a big way in May, collecting eight wins over 14 starts in May, June, and July while putting together a sparkly 2.45 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. The key was dropping his walk rate down to 5.2 percent while allowing hard contact just 29.5 percent of the time.
It would be unfair to simply take away the months of April, August, and September and claim only the best months of Keller's season, but when we're talking the 23rd round of your 12-team draft, it's nice to know that this guy has put it together for long periods (see his fantastic 2023 season as well).
Keller will turn 29 in April, and as the veteran presence among a three-stud pitching staff in Pittsburgh, he'll surely feel the responsibilities of both pitching deep into games and being consistent for the Bucs.
While I'd like to see him bring the walk rate down as we finish out spring training, I'll gladly take a shot on the right-hander's upside while believing that 1.35 is the worst-case WHIP scenario, which is just fine for a fourth or fifth arm on your fantasy roster.
Erick Fedde, St. Louis Cardinals
ADP: 301
Last Season Stats: 9 wins, 3.30 ERA, 154 SO, 1.16 WHIP
There's never going to be much excitement surrounding Erick Fedde, but he quietly raised some eyebrows with the White Sox in 2024, collecting seven wins in his 21 starts for the bottom-dwelling club. Thanks to some arsenal tweaks, the 31-year-old put together a 3.11 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP through the first four months in Chicago.
Erick "Trap King" Fedde, Painted 90mph Cutter. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/MjvhuVk04r
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 15, 2024
Things trailed off a bit in his final 10 starts for the Cardinals, but the 1.20 WHIP and 3.72 ERA were still plenty valuable enough for deeper fantasy leagues, despite Fedde's typically low 7.44 K/9.
There's nothing in the now-32-year-old's game that can't translate for another year. The wins should improve from his nine a year ago, assuming health that is, and the batted ball profile paired with a lower-than-average LOB% suggests Fedde pitched better in St. Louis to end the year than his numbers showed.
Again, this is nothing you're going to end up bragging about to your league mates come September, but if you're loaded with some volatile strikeout pitchers in the first half of the draft, Fedde is a nice complement who should provide stability most times he toes the rubber in 2025.
Kris Bubic, Kansas City Royals
ADP: 319
Last Season Stats: 1 win, 2.67 ERA, 39 SO, 1.02 WHIP
Injury ruined Bubic's potential breakout campaign in 2023 before it ever really began, but some sharp analysts were drooling over the prospects of his renowned arsenal, including a nasty fastball/changeup/slider combo.
He returned in 2024 to a bullpen role with the Royals, and he was as effective as ever, sporting a 1.95 FIP and an 11.57 K/9 in his 30.1 innings. Can he put it all together to become a stud starting pitcher in 2025?
Kris Bubic made his first start since having TJS in 2023! His stuff graded out well and it looks like he’s been working on a cutter!
He is a big breakout candidate for me! pic.twitter.com/UE8SWzDTdS
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) February 23, 2025
The addition of a cutter to his already strong collection of pitches helps boost his prospects as a late-round WHIP value, but what's nice about this southpaw is there is some HIGH upside for strikeouts as well.
The lone concern is the fact that he's coming off Tommy John surgery, thus the Royals will likely limit his pitching load early and potentially shut him down later in the season. However, for the time being, it's tough to ignore his upside when it comes to ERA, WHIP, and maybe even strikeouts.
As the 27-year-old Bubic continues to impress in spring training as a starting pitcher, his draft stock will rise. I would expect him to end up more in the Mitch Keller ADP range by the time games officially begin on March 27, and I'm still fine with that spot in the draft for a very promising pitcher with loads of upside on a decent team in a pitcher's park. Go get Bubic!
Dustin May, Los Angeles Dodgers
ADP: 401
Last Season Stats: 4 wins, 2.63 ERA, 34 SO, 0.94 WHIP
The final name on our late-round WHIP list is just as exciting as Bubic in many ways. Dustin May is coming off another shortened season, having thrown less than 60 innings for a fifth straight year, but the 27-year-old was officially named the fifth starter to begin the season, signifying full health despite his flexor tendon issue and rare esophageal scare in 2024.
May has shown dominating WHIP potential every time he's taken the mound, as he's not afraid to attack hitters early and often, creating weak contact time and time again. His strikeout rate was way down in 2024, but I'm not ready to buy that as a definite fault in such a young pitcher with such a small sample size. After all, he did find himself with a 13.7 K/9 following his 23 innings in 2021.
Dustin May, Filthy Sinker...with 20 inches of Run. 😷 pic.twitter.com/gxVbKphuJd
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 6, 2025
It would be very scary to invest high draft capital in a pitcher like May, considering his injury history and the fact that the Dodgers could phase him out of the rotation at any time.
Especially in a roto league where you don't necessarily NEED his win potential late in the draft, May is a steal. It helps that L.A. won't need him in the playoffs, so it can let him max out during the regular season.
There's far too much potential along with WHIP safety in this 27-year-old fireball pitcher. I'll take him as early as pick 300 or for a few extra dollars in auctions leading up to the 2025 season.
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