X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Friday Focus: Pondering Poor Pitching

Last week, we looked at a handful of big bats who have come up small so far in 2021. Today, it's time to evaluate the pitchers who have failed to meet expectations

A common refrain from analysts in the opening weeks of the season - especially those who take a more stoic and patient approach - is "it's April." Cold streaks happen for almost every player at some point during every season; it's simply more noticeable when someone stumbles out of the gate as opposed to suffering through a swoon in the dog days of August. Sometimes these slow starts portend a disappointing season. Often, they fade from memory as regression brings about equilibrium.

Correctly diagnosing whether initial struggles will end or persist is a major factor in determining how your fantasy team's fortune will unfold. Here, then, is an attempt to do exactly that.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and weekly lineup resources:

 

Stay The Course

Lucas Giolito, SP, Chicago White Sox

Though Giolito's 5.68 ERA is ugly, it's mostly the product of a disastrous outing against the Red Sox, when he allowed 10 baserunners (seven of whom scored) and recorded only three outs. That bad night still counts, of course, but it was just that - a bad night. The strikeouts have been there, as has the velocity. His walk rate isn't appreciably higher than usual, and he's actually throwing more first pitch strikes than ever.

Kenta Maeda, SP, Minnesota Twins

Let's get it out of the way now - Maeda probably shouldn't have been a top-50 pick this spring. Fantastic as he was in 2020, he benefited from some batted ball luck and his track record prior to that was more good than great. But his struggles to this point are also not reflective of his true ability. We can expect him to allow fewer hits and homers moving forward, and he continues to be among the best in the game at avoiding walks.

 

Worry Is Warranted

Luis Castillo, SP, Cincinnati Reds

Castillo has generally been a slow starter to this point in his career. April is his worst month by ERA, second-worst by walk rate and weighted on-base average, and it's the only month where he's produced fewer strikeouts than innings pitched. But we've never seen him look this bad in the opening month. He's getting hit hard enough to have failed to get past the fifth inning four times in five tries, and his strikeout rate is lower than that of Adrian Houser or the ghost of Matt Harvey. He gets the benefit of the doubt for now, but the lousy results have been mostly earned so far.

Kyle Hendricks, SP, Chicago Cubs

Hendricks has never thrown hard, and it's led to him being chronically undervalued in the fantasy community despite his always-reliable ratios and durability. In his first 1,047 innings in the big leagues, Hendricks allowed 104 home runs. He's already given up 10 in 22 innings this season, easily the most in the league. Also concerning: After walking three batters in a game just once from June 27, 2018 through the end of last year, he's already done that twice in 2021. Hendricks' lack of raw stuff means he has no margin for error; he needs to find his command quickly to turn things around.

 

Alarm Bells

Patrick Corbin, SP, Washington Nationals

There's nothing good happening here. Corbin's horrid ratios (10.47 ERA, 2.02 WHIP) are largely deserved. His velocity is down. His strikeout and walk rates are both the worst of his career. Hitters are teeing off by any conceivable metric. Nobody is this bad, but Corbin's terrible 2020 makes it difficult to believe in a turnaround.

Zach Plesac, SP, Cleveland

I did try to warn you. Plesac's strikeout gains from the shortened season have completely evaporated, and without those and an unsustainable strand rate, his issues with the long ball have contributed to an inflated 5.81 ERA. The slider hasn't been quite so dominant, which has allowed opposing hitters to feast on his subpar fastball and rendered his changeup less effective as well. The miniscule walk rate and a ground ball heavy profile might keep his numbers respectable, but fantasy managers were looking for much more when they invested a top-80 pick in his services.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Ladd McConkey20 mins ago

Does Not Practice On Thursday
Mike Evans29 mins ago

Logs Full Practice On Thursday
DeVonta Smith2 hours ago

Misses Another Practice
Cody Bellinger2 hours ago

Cubs Looking To Trade Cody Bellinger?
Brandin Cooks2 hours ago

Preparing To Play In Week 12
CeeDee Lamb2 hours ago

Not Seen At Thursday's Practice
3 hours ago

Blake Snell Has Met With Red Sox, Dodgers
Aaron Rodgers3 hours ago

Jets Owner Suggested Benching Aaron Rodgers
Mike Evans5 hours ago

Practicing Again On Thursday
Chandler Stephenson6 hours ago

Registers Three Assists Versus Predators
Jason Robertson6 hours ago

Totals Three Points In Wednesday's Win
Nils Lundkvist6 hours ago

Exits Early With A Lower-Body Injury
Matthew Knies6 hours ago

Sustains An Upper-Body Injury
Mikael Granlund6 hours ago

Exits Late With Injury Wednesday
Patrik Laine6 hours ago

Returns To Practice
Ausar Thompson7 hours ago

Listed As Doubtful For Thursday
Walker Kessler7 hours ago

Still Missing For Jazz
Jordan Clarkson7 hours ago

Questionable To Face Spurs
Devin Vassell7 hours ago

To Miss Third Consecutive Game
Chris Paul7 hours ago

Considered Probable For Thursday's Game
Khris Middleton7 hours ago

Medically Cleared To Play
Chris Sale17 hours ago

Wins National League Cy Young Award
Tarik Skubal18 hours ago

Wins 2024 American League Cy Young Award
Paul George18 hours ago

Exits Game On Wednesday, Hyperextends Left Knee Again
Scoot Henderson19 hours ago

Leaves Game On Wednesday, Won't Return
Jalen Johnson19 hours ago

Active On Wednesday Night
Zach Collins19 hours ago

Uncertain To Play On Thursday
Austin Eckroat19 hours ago

Heads To The RSM Classic After Win
Harris English19 hours ago

Finding Form Heading To The RSM Classic
Ben Griffin19 hours ago

Continues Playing Well Heading To The RSM Classic
Denny McCarthy19 hours ago

Returns to The RSM Classic
Patrick Williams20 hours ago

Likely To Miss At Least One Week
Kyle Anderson20 hours ago

Available For Matchup With Hawks
Victor Wembanyama20 hours ago

Out Again On Thursday
Jusuf Nurkic20 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Stephen Curry20 hours ago

Will Play Against Atlanta
De'Anthony Melton20 hours ago

To Undergo Season-Ending ACL Surgery
Tre Mann20 hours ago

Probable For Thursday Night Matchup Against Detroit
Mike Conley20 hours ago

Appears On Injury Report For Thursday With Toe Injury
Donte DiVincenzo20 hours ago

Questionable Heading Into Thursday
Josh Jacobs21 hours ago

Limited With Multiple Injuries
DeVonta Smith21 hours ago

Misses Practice On Wednesday
Isaiah Hartenstein21 hours ago

To Make Season Debut On Wednesday
Tyrese Maxey21 hours ago

Active On Wednesday
Seth Jones23 hours ago

Expected To Miss Four Weeks
Sam Darnold23 hours ago

Limited With Foot Injury
Max Domi23 hours ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Jalen Hurts23 hours ago

Limited On Wednesday
Connor Ingram23 hours ago

Out Day-To-Day With An Upper-Body Injury
Jake Ferguson23 hours ago

Picks Up A DNP On Wednesday
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen23 hours ago

Returns To Action Versus Kings
CeeDee Lamb23 hours ago

Listed As Limited, Dealing With Two Injuries
Alex Tuch23 hours ago

Available Wednesday
Tage Thompson23 hours ago

Remains Out On Wednesday
Sam LaPorta23 hours ago

Practicing In Full
Jordan Eberle23 hours ago

To Remain Out On Wednesday
George Kittle24 hours ago

Will Play In Week 12
Ludvig Aberg24 hours ago

Looks To Defend RSM Classic Title
Ladd McConkey24 hours ago

Does Not Practice On Wednesday
Si Woo Kim24 hours ago

An Intriguing Option At RSM Classic
Maverick McNealy24 hours ago

In Solid Form Ahead Of RSM Classic
Eric Cole24 hours ago

Chasing First Tour Victory At RSM Classic
San Francisco 49ers1 day ago

Nick Bosa Does Not Practice On Wednesday
Christian McCaffrey1 day ago

Does Not Practice On Wednesday
George Kittle1 day ago

Limited During Wednesday's Practice
Brock Purdy1 day ago

Limited On Wednesday
Alexander Mattison1 day ago

Zamir White Not Practicing On Wednesday
Connor Bedard1 day ago

Ends Drought With Two Assists
Sam Reinhart1 day ago

Pushes Point Streak To 11 Games
Mark Scheifele1 day ago

Celebrates Ninth Career Hat Trick
Evan Bouchard1 day ago

Rocks Senators With Three-Point Period
Connor McDavid1 day ago

Nets Two Goals During Three-Point Night
TB1 day ago

Nicholas Paul Exits Early With Injury Tuesday
Zach Hyman1 day ago

Sits Out Third Period Versus Senators
2 days ago

Guardians' Stephen Vogt Named AL Manager Of The Year
Milwaukee Brewers2 days ago

Pat Murphy Named NL Manager Of The Year
Jonas Brodin2 days ago

Returns To Action
2 days ago

Nick Pivetta Declines Boston's Qualifying Offer
Jose Siri2 days ago

Mets Acquire Jose Siri From The Rays
2 days ago

Phillies To Meet With Juan Soto
2 days ago

Luis Severino Rejects Qualifying Offer From Mets
2 days ago

Willy Adames Declines Brewers Qualifying Offer
2 days ago

Teoscar Hernandez Declines Qualifying Offer From Dodgers
2 days ago

Juan Soto Declines Yankees' Qualifying Offer
Luis Gil3 days ago

Wins AL Rookie Of The Year Award
Paul Skenes3 days ago

Named 2024 NL Rookie Of The Year
Brady Singer3 days ago

Reds, Royals Discussing Jonathan India, Brady Singer
3 days ago

Sean Manaea To Reject Mets' Qualifying Offer
3 days ago

Braves Have Interest In Walker Buehler
3 days ago

Astros Interested In Willy Adames
Charles Oliveira3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Michael Chandler3 days ago

Gets Dominated At UFC 309
Karine Silva3 days ago

Suffers Her First UFC Loss
Viviane Araujo3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Mauricio Ruffy3 days ago

Extends His Win Streak To Six
Nick Martinez4 days ago

Signs Qualifying Offer With Reds
4 days ago

Luis Severino Likely To Decline Qualifying Offer From Mets
James Llontop4 days ago

Loses Clear-Cut Decision In Thrilling Fight At UFC 309
Paul Craig4 days ago

Loses Decision At UFC 309
Bo Nickal4 days ago

Remains Undefeated With Lackluster Performance At UFC 309
Stipe Miocic4 days ago

Retires After UFC 309 Loss
Jon Jones4 days ago

Gets TKO Win At UFC 309 To Defend Heavyweight Title

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP