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Clayton Kershaw 2022 Player Outlook: Undervalued Pitcher Given Performance History
3 years agoLos Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw will return to his familiar rotation in 2022 after signing a one-year deal with the Dodgers, and it will be interesting to see what the 34-year-old will bring to the mound. His 2021 season mirrored many of his recent seasons, as he went 10-8 with a 3.55 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 29.5% strikeout rate. However, he only pitched 121 ⅔ innings and spent time on the injured list with left elbow inflammation and forearm discomfort. The analysis around Kershaw's pitching performance is simple; he's still one of baseball's best on an outing for outing basis. The issue from a fantasy perspective is that he hasn't been able to stay healthy and hasn't pitched close to 200 innings since 2015. He is currently being drafted as the 177th player overall, making him the 64th pitcher off the board. While health concerns and age are causes of concern, Kershaw's current ADP seems to be factoring in these concerns too much, as even 140 IP of Kershaw's quality would be potentially as valuable as players with similar concerns, such as Justin Verlander and Carlos Rodon, and could be more valuable than the production of unproven players, such as Shane Baz and Zac Gallen. Overall, Kershaw's current ADP seems like a good value.
