The 2024 fantasy baseball season is getting into full swing, and injuries are wreaking havoc to various starting rotations. So many arms have been lost for varying degrees of time, ruining some fantasy rosters all across the landscape in the process.
With that said, these injuries can create open the door to extra opportunities for intriguing players who would have cost much more a month ago. Two examples are the young Keaton Winn of the San Francisco Giants and veteran Bailey Falter of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
What can these players do for fantasy managers? Let's find out!
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Keaton Winn (SP, SF) - 30% Rostered
Although he doesn’t carry the same expectations of top prospect Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn has certainly held his own with a 3.18 ERA (3.72 FIP), 0.97 WHIP, and 28:10 K:BB through 34 innings (six starts) for the San Francisco Giants this season. Winn ranked as San Fran’s No. 14 prospect a year ago, and he’s got plenty of mixed-league fantasy appeal while throwing at a pitcher-friendly Oracle Park in the Bay Area for home games.
The 26-year-old right-hander does have a major problem of preventing the long ball, as evidenced by a dangerous 92.9 mph average exit velocity and 49.4% hard-hit rate, and his 3.94 xERA as well as a .243 xBA don’t exactly breed much long-term confidence. Winn will always have plenty of risk unless his fastball produces better results, but his split-finger changeup has been one of the most effective pitches in baseball in the early goings, with an off-speed run value ranking in the 96th percentile thus far.
Winn should be benched in Saturday’s scheduled road start against the Philadelphia Phillies, who have the third-most home runs in baseball (38) as of April 29, and the undefeated Ranger Suarez, and he has the looks of a Chump without a whole lot to sink our teeth into here. The returns of Robbie Ray (elbow) and Alex Cobb (hip) later this summer could eventually bounce Winn from the rotation entirely if this regression comes to light.
Bailey Falter (SP, PIT) - 24% Rostered
It’s easy to poke fun at Bailey Falter when he, well, falters. He certainly did that in a favorable April 29 start against the lowly Oakland Athletics, giving up five runs in five innings. The 27-year-old southpaw has never been more than an innings eater throughout his major league career, but he’s not off to a bad start with a respectable 4.22 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 23:7 K:BB over 32 IP (six starts) in his second season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Falter continues a cupcake two-start Week 5 with a date at home against the Colorado Rockies in Sunday’s series finale, which is what made him such an attractive add from fantasy waiver wires this week. Although Falter owns a strong 7.9% walk rate, he doesn’t miss enough bats (18.4% K rate) to sport much overall appeal outside of the friendliest pitching environments.
With a subpar 4.43 xERA and .261 xBA, Falter is a Chump who can be safely jettisoned to waiver wires after Sunday’s start. A formidable Chicago Cubs lineup is tentatively on deck for his following two starts.