Opening day is right around the corner and fantasy drafts are winding down all across the country. You have undoubtedly poured over statistics and crunched the numbers every which way to determine your player wish list.
It is a common occurrence in fantasy pools to see a team loaded with offensive talent and big names; however, the pitching gets completely neglected. I know the old adage (thanks to Nike) that chicks (and fantasy general managers) dig the long ball but I’m here to tell you that pitching wins your fantasy pool.
Solid pitching, not offense is the mark of a successful fantasy squad. Now there is only one Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg available in every pool so one must dig deeper to find some hidden pitching gems that can add tremendous value to your squad while not costing high-round picks to acquire.
eDraft is continuing its analysis of fantasy sleepers as we now move on to the men on the mound. What will follow is a division-by- division breakdown of sleepers and undervalued arms that could just propel your fantasy squad to the top or at least garner you some serious props for your baseball insight.
We round out our American League analysis by moving onto the East division. To check out the AL Central and AL West click on the links and draft away. Stay tuned to eDraft for fantasy pitchers from throughout the National League.
Alex Cobb - Starting Pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays
Manager Joe Maddon has Cobb penciled in as his number four starter in the rotation and in reality he could be the number three guy in a rotation that is a bit thin behind David Price. Last season Cobb was solid if not unspectacular as he posted an 11-9 record, a 4.03 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 136 innings pitched. This season Cobb is projecting similar like numbers and should have no difficulty in getting double-digit wins on the season. A solid arm to add to your roster as his potential is high and his draft day value is low.
Jeremy Hellickson - Starting Pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays
Last season Hellickson came out of the gates strong as he posted a 4-0 record through to the middle of May; unfortunately come the end of July he was 6-6 and he never recovered from that mid-season five game losing streak as he finished the season with a 10-11 record. I see Hellickson having a bounce-back year as he should outperform last season’s numbers. Problem for Hellickson is that he lacks a decent strikeout pitch; major-leaguers just don’t get fooled very often by mid-70’s curve balls and change-ups. If Hellickson could add a split-finger or a slider to his repertoire he would be darn near unhittable. As it stands now, Hellickson represents a decent bargain if taken somewhere around the 18th-20th round.
Felix Doubront – Starting Pitcher, Boston Red Sox
This 25-year old lefthander has tremendous fantasy upside as he is coming off a pedestrian 2012 season that saw him post an 11-10 record with an ERA of 4.86. Some recent tinkering to Doubront’s delivery has allowed him to keep the ball down in the strike zone which will lead to more groundballs and fewer flies. Doubront has filthy stuff as he can rev-it-up and toss darts at 92-95 MPH while complimenting the heater with a swing-inducing 88 MPH changeup that gets hitters so far out in front they are practically walking back to the dugout before the ball crosses the plate. Doubront’s fantasy value is heavily based on his last season’s production; this season promises to be better so watch for Doubront’s to be available at or near the end of your draft.
Jason Hammel – Starting Pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
Orioles manager Buck Showalter has come out and anointed Hammel as the team’s opening day starter. It is an honor for the 30-year old; however, it might be a disservice as the season unfolds. Typically a team’s number one starter will face an opposing team’s number one and that does not bode well for Hammel. Hammel is a strong power pitcher who commands a 93-plus MPH fastball and a decent slider that does induce swings. The career numbers for Hammel seems to be in-line with his projections for this year; a double digit win / loss season with 175-plus innings, 135-plus strikeouts and an ERA around 4.00 is to be expected. This strong armed right hander who eats up innings with consistency and provides decent win totals is worthy of late-round consideration.
Chris Tillman - Starting Pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
Tillman is coming off a pretty decent 2012 season as he posted a 9-3 record with a 2.93 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 15 games with the Orioles. That performance earned him the nod as the fifth man in the Orioles rotation. Aside from a quick little stint on the disabled list to start the season, Tillman should be ready to go come opening week and is scheduled to make his start without issue. This hard-throwing righty projects as having a solid season and is slated to finish around .500 on the season. I think that as guy pitching at the back of the rotation he just might take advantage of some lesser quality mound opposition and in turn win a few more games as a result. I think that a 10-plus win season is certainly attainable here.
Casey Janssen – Relief Pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are predicted to have themselves a very good year and they should win a lot of ballgames. So why then is their closer ranked so low in the fantasy world of relief pitchers? Granted there are some lingering injury concerns for Janssen; however, if the final spring games are any indication then Janssen is ready to go. Last season he was solid in relief for the Jays as he posted 22 saves, 67 strikeouts in only 63 innings and finished with a 2.54 ERA and a ridiculous 0.86 WHIP. Now if those kinds of numbers don’t get you excited about a relief pitcher on a mediocre team then I don’t know what it will take. There is huge bargain potential here in Janssen. Only two things to keep in mind are that he needs to stay healthy and the Jays need to win games. If Janssen is available in the later-rounds of your draft you would do well to pick him up.
Andy Pettitte – Starting Pitcher, New York Yankees
It is a little bit odd to call a 40-year-old, 17-year veteran of major league baseball a sleeper pick, but that just what he is at this point in his career. This savvy veteran still has plenty of juice (pun intended) left in the tank as he is slated to be the Yankees number three man in the rotation. His fastball isn’t quite what it used to be; however, his devastating slider continues to make hitters miss. Pettitte enters the season as an undervalued fantasy pitcher due to his age, health and arm-strength concerns. Pettitte should last the season and get his 25 starts in. He won’t win them all, but he should finish with a record over .500 with an ERA hovering around 3.75. Definitely worth a late-round flier pick as you don’t often see such established major league players still available that late.
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