BALLER MOVE: Sell: Tanner Houck
It looks like the Boston Red Sox finally found the best way to utilize Tanner Houck. They’ve deployed him as a closer and a long reliever in the past, but he’s absolutely rolling as a starter in the early goings with a 1.60 ERA (MLB-best 1.99 FIP), 0.91 WHIP, and 41:5 K:BB covering 39 1/3 innings (six starts) this year. Who knows if we ever get here without Lucas Giolito’s (elbow) season-ending injury in the spring.
Although the 27-year-old former top prospect has certainly developed into a keeper as opposed to a streamer in fantasy leagues, Houck is still prone to getting hit hard (46.2% hard-hit rate), and his 3.04 xERA on Statcast is more in line with his rest-of-season expectations than his current figure.
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Tanner Houck has 3 starts of 9+ strikeouts and no walks in April. pic.twitter.com/8wxUsjZ2op
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 29, 2024
We’re not advocating to aggressively look to sell Houck, but he’s unlikely to return the second-round value in 12-team leagues he is now all season, and you might be able to pry away some substantial compensation for a player you likely scooped up from waivers earlier this year. See if an impatient manager will give a struggling ace like Pablo Lopez or Kevin Gausman for Houck while his value is at its peak.
His stock could take its first hit during Saturday’s scheduled start on the road against the surging Minnesota Twins, who are scoring 7.6 runs per game over their current 10-game winning streak.
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