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There have been several injuries to key starting pitchers this season. Gerrit Cole (elbow) has yet to take the mound and Spencer Strider (elbow) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, dealing crushing blows to fantasy baseball managers who drafted them.
With many fantasy managers scrambling to find replacements, there are some unexpected players who have stepped up to become fantasy relevant. They include Keaton Winn, Slade Cecconi, and Erick Fedde.
Let’s dig into the stats for these three starters and discuss if they can sustain their early-season success.
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Keaton Winn, San Francisco Giants
Winn was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 draft. He reached Triple-A in 2023, posting a 4.81 ERA and a 4.69 FIP over 58 innings at the level. He also spent some time in the majors, recording a 4.68 ERA and a 4.37 FIP over 42.1 innings with the Giants. While he didn’t miss many bats with his 20.3 percent strikeout rate, he still produced a 1.04 WHIP.
Winn has started all six of his appearances this season and should remain in the rotation for the Giants moving forward. He has not let his opportunity go to waste, producing a 3.18 ERA and a 3.72 FIP. His strikeout rate remains underwhelming at 21.5 percent, but his WHIP is an excellent 0.97.
Keaton Winn racks up a clutch K with a NASTY splitter down and away 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/haURxgxWAG
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 28, 2024
One big difference for Winn this season is that he is throwing his slider more. He only threw 3.5 percent of the time last season, compared to 15.2 percent of the time this year. He has a 34.2 percent whiff rate on his slider, which is the highest of any of the four pitches that he throws.
With Winn not having much strikeout upside, he’s not someone to lock into fantasy baseball lineups, even with his hot start. It might be best to only stream him when he has a favorable matchup, or when he takes the mound in his pitcher-friendly home park.
Slade Cecconi, Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks have been forced to dig deep with Eduardo Rodriguez (shoulder) and Merrill Kelly (shoulder) both on the IL. They called up Cecconi, who started four of his seven appearances with the team last season. During his time in the majors last year, he compiled a 4.33 ERA and a 4.37 FIP.
Cecconi doesn’t exactly having sparkling numbers in the minors, either. At Double-A in 2022, he produced a 4.37 ERA and a 4.98 FIP. Across 23 starts at Triple-A last year, he had a 6.11 ERA and a 5.69 FIP.
Ceconni has made two starts since being recalled from the minors. He limited the Giants to two runs over six innings in San Francisco in his first start, then he held the Mariners to one run over six innings in his second outing,
As encouraging as those two outings were, don’t rush to add Cecconi. We already discussed that the Giants have a pitcher-friendly home park while they have also scored the ninth-fewest runs in baseball. The Mariners have scored the fifth-fewest runs. As the competition gets more difficult for Cecconi, we could see his numbers take a significant hit.
Erick Fedde, Chicago White Sox
Fedde spent the first six seasons of his career with the Nationals. He worked mostly as a starter, throwing at least 125 innings in a season two times. However, he never finished with an ERA below 4.29 or a FIP below 4.66 in a season. He has also allowed 1.6 HR/9 for his career.
Fedde spent 2023 in the KBO, where he posted a 2.00 ERA and a 2.38 FIP over 30 starts. The biggest difference was his 29.5 percent strikeout rate. In the majors, he has a career 18.2 percent strikeout rate.
Now a member of the White Sox, Fedde has a 2.60 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over six starts. He has thrown a split finger fastball more while also throwing a sweeper. That has helped him produce a 27.5 percent strikeout rate.
1️⃣1️⃣ Ks! A new career-high for Erick Fedde. pic.twitter.com/XRUfSDYbNR
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 24, 2024
There are some reasons to be concerned with Fedde, despite his hot start. His FIP isn’t as impressive at 4.02. He has also allowed 1.6 HR/9 and a 9.7 percent barrel rate. The improved strikeouts are great and certainly help his fantasy upside, but it might be best to only deploy him when he faces teams with weak lineups.
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