A majority of Fantasy Baseball Drafts will be conducted this weekend, naturally we wanted to give the people some late round pitchers to target on draft night. The list below contains players all outside the top 50 of current average draft position, with a couple of deep sleepers in the mix. Projections and ADP are all through the great team over at FantasyPros.com
Image courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Zac Gallen: SP #24 // ADP 73.2 // Projections: 178.2 IP // 187 K's // 3.29 ERA
Can I interest anybody in a starting pitcher who threw 44.1 scoreless innings in a row last year? How about in the 6th round of your draft? Zac Gallen was a menace last year on the bump, finishing with a K/9 of 9.4 and the 2nd lowest WHIP among qualifying pitchers. He relies on 4 pitches with a 5th sprinkled in once in a blue moon. The soft contact numbers are there with the Cutter and 4 Seamer, and the whiff % on his off speed light up the stat sheet. Gallen will fill the categories you need in fantasy and the humidor in Arizona is going to keep those HR numbers down. He’s a realistic bet for the NL Cy Young, if you can grab him in the mid-late 5th do not hesitate.
Triston McKenzie: SP #25 // ADP 85.2 // Projections: 185 IP // 191 Ks // 3.64 ERA
McKenzie is the solidified #2 for this young Guardian team behind Shane Bieber. McKenzie has the benefit of pitching in a weak division, with the White Sox being the most threatening. He had his best year yet in 2022 posting 11 Wins191 IP 190 Ks and an incredible 2.96 ERA. McKenzie really benefited from a decrease in walks going from 11% in 2021 to 6% in 2022. If you go hitter heavy in the beginning of the draft, you can rely on McKenzie to be there at the start of the mid-rounds. If he can keep the walks down and the ball in the park like last season, he can begin to solidify himself as a SP1.
Joe Ryan: SP #43 // ADP 147.4 Projections: 160 IP // 163 K's // 3.80
Ryan probably would have been the Twin’s #1 this year had they not traded for Pablo Lopez. Who will now get the nod on Opening Day. However, Ryan was excellent in his 2022 rookie campaign posting 147 IP 151 Ks and a respectable 3.55 ERA. Ryan did deal with some control issues giving up a lot of HRs and walks. We think that he improves on his impressive strikeout rate and will be a great second pitcher to grab in the beginning of the later rounds for your team.
Kodai Senga: SP# 88 // ADP 178.3 Projections: 150.4 IP // 157 K's // 3.84 ERA
Kodai is the biggest question mark here, but if you just watched the WBC I hope you walked away with one big takeaway: The starters from Japan can absolutely sling it. Senga didn’t participate in this year's WBC but his numbers last year in the JPL seemed to have done the trick for Steve Cohen. Senga was brought in on a 5 year 75 million dollar deal, had a 2.25 ERA and 159 K’s in 138 IP last year. He’s going to be in the rotation, he’s pitching on a team with a loaded lineup, has a filthy FORKBALL, and is currently available in the late 14th round. He might not eat up as many innings as we’d like right away but the potential and money are there, he’s worth the pick.
Mitch Keller: SP# 118 // ADP 352.0 // Projections: 155 IP // 141 K's // 4.21 ERA
The Pirates are a team that have already been written off before the year has even started. However, there are some fantasy gems that could still be found on their rebuilding roster. One of them is their Opening Day starter Mitch Keller. Keller has been improving every year since he arrived in the big leagues in 2021. Decreasing walk rates and increasing strikeout rates all while adding new effective pitches. He got off to a slow start in 2022, but was able to finish strong posting a line of 159 IP 138 Ks and a 3.91 ERA. He won’t get you many wins, but the strikeouts and innings are great for someone you can get essentially at the end of the draft.
- Patrick McPartland & Ryan Mobley // Upside Play
Comments