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Lance McCullers Jr. 2023 Outlook: A Flawed Yet Useful Fantasy Asset
2 years agoLance McCullers Jr. would be a fantasy ace if he could throw a decent fastball. Limited to just 47⅔ IP last year due to a strained flexor tendon, he went 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA and solid 3.58 xFIP and 3.57 xERA marks. He posted a solid 25.6 K% on the back of three secondary offerings: slider (13.1 SwStr%, 48.5 Zone%, 31.1% chase), curve (16.8 SwStr%, 54.7 Zone%, 32.6% chase), and changeup (12.1 SwStr%, 29.5% Zone%, 33.3% chase). Unfortunately, the sinker he uses to set them up is terrible. Its 1.7 SwStr% doesn't help him get Ks, and batters crushed it for a .421 batting average and .842 slugging percentage last season. McCullers also struggles with walks at times (11.3 BB% last season), likely due to how unreliable his sinker is in fastball counts. The 29-year-old is therefore a solid name to fill in the back of your fantasy rotation, especially considering that he plays for one of the league's better teams in the Houston Astros. His current ADP of 202.67 is more than fair.
