Starting pitching was a priority for most fantasy drafters this spring. With so few 200-inning, 200 strikeout guys left in today’s game, we looked to anchor our staffs with at least one, if not two, such hurlers.
In deeper leagues — 15-teamers and onlys — we tended to dig pretty deep into the starting pitcher pool in drafts in order to get through a full season without the bottom half of our rotation bringing us down. But in 12-teamers and most public leagues, the starting pitcher pool offers a ton of usable arms outside the top 30, both during the later rounds of drafts and on the free agent wire into the season. There’s no reason to use a lineup spot on Sonny Gray — toss him back to the wire and watch from afar while utilizing one of these 10 starters who are less than 40 percent owned in Yahoo leagues.
Brandon Woodruff (39%)
The Brewers righty had plenty of hype during draft season, and he picked up a win against the Cardinals his first time out. He’s likely to strike out a batter per inning and has the luxury of the Milwaukee lineup and all-world stopper Josh Hader behind him.
Michael Wacha (37%)
As a Reds fan, I expect things to go well for the Cardinals. Wacha is one of these guys whose stuff doesn’t suggest dominance, but who still gets by year after year. It’s like drafting Jared Weaver and hearing yawns in the draft room. Wacha put up a 3.20 ERA last year over 84.1 innings and had a solid spring. Even is 2017 — 12-9, 158 Ks in 165.2 IP, 4.13 ERA — is usable in deeper leagues. He should at least be on the streaming radar.
Marco Gonzalez (37%)
The Seattle lefty is kind of like his teammate Mike Leake — seemingly boring, mid-rotation starters who never seem to miss time. But there is sneaky upside in the 27-year-old former first-round pick, who has already racked up three wins behind a 3.20 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
Zach Eflin (33%)
Eflin looked dominant in his season debut, blanking the Nationals over five innings and tying a career high with nine Ks. The Phillies righty has always kept the walks down — more strikeouts could suppress last year’s 1.30 WHIP into something very usable.
Jake Odorizzi (27%)
Odorizzi’s line speaks for itself after one start this season: 6 IP, 11Ks 2 BB, 1 hit. I had some good things to say about the Twins righty last May, though things clearly didn’t come together for him. Still, if he can keep the homers down there’s solid strikeout upside and a manageable WHIP behind a good offense in a weak division.
Sandy Alcantara (25%)
Everyone is monitoring the Marlins’ rotation for upside plays in the early going, and Alcantara might have the highest ceiling. He boasts a nasty combo of 97 mph sinker and 86 mph slider, plus a four-seamer and changeup. The potential for wins is somewhat limited in Miami, but it’s worth monitoring the pedigree for signs of a breakout — the fact he didn’t walk a batter against the Rockies over an eight-inning win (six Ks, four hits allowed) is a great sign.
Yonny Chirinos (15%)
The Rays have been one of the more fun teams to watch this year — on any given night we might catch a Cy Young winner (Snell), a veteran starter at the top of his game (Morton), talented openers and one of the game’s best budding closers (Alvarado). Chirinos threw 89.2 innings of mid-3 ERA, 1.22 WHIP last year and earned a spot on the Tampa rotation, where he showed in one start so far what he’s capable of: 7 IP against Houston, 2 hits, 6 Ks, 0 BB.
Ryan Yarbrough (14%)
We could have constructed a more than worthy fantasy staff by only taking Rays at ADP this spring. Yarbrough won 16 games over 147.1 IP last year functioning largely out of the pen following openers. And what’s not to like about his first appearance for an encore? Following opener Ryan Stanek against Colorado, Yarbrough went 4.1 IP with three strikeouts, no walks, three hits and one run for the win and corresponding 0.69 WHIP.
Lucas Giolito (12%)
We’ll want to monitor the White Sox’s former top prospect a little longer than some others here except in deep leagues, where I’ve made at least one speculative add. But the big righty looked the part over 6.2 innings against the Royals on March 31, racking up eight strikeouts against a single walk and three hits en route to a win.
Max Fried (8%)
The Braves are bursting with top prospect starters, and Fried could have the most upside of them all. The No. 7 overall pick in 2012 took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Cubs on Thursday, finishing the day with the win on one hit, five Ks and no walks. Fried could end up in the bullpen once Atlanta’s rehabbing starters get back, but he’s clearly ready should an opportunity arise.
Follow Danny @_dannycross_.
