Pat on D’back
Arizona hurler picks up where he left off in ’17
ANYONE who starts talking about how good their fantasy team is at this point in the season is likely in an eight-team league and believes the Cadbury Bunny is actually capable of producing creme-filled chocolate eggs.
It is too early in the season to know the true shape your team will take, it is going to change many times over the next few months. But there are players on the waiver wire you can speculate about and steal from your opponents.
Arizona’s Patrick Corbin finished last season strong, going 8-4 with a 3.26 ERA, 83 strikeouts (8. 5 per nine innings) and a 1.291 WHIP over his last 15 appearances (14 starts ). He seems to have started where he left off, as he is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and a .178 opponent average over his first two starts. He also entered Friday night’s action as the leagueleader in strikeouts (20).
He pitched seven shutout innings in his first start against the struggling Dodgers, who swung and missed at 21 of Corbin’s 98 pitches, allowing just one hit while striking out 12 and walking one. He struck out eight in his second start and held the potent Rockies to just two runs.
Does this mean he is better than Clayton Kershaw? No, not at all. This is two excellent starts for a player who always has been considered capable of being a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, but never turned into one.
It also is two excellent starts from a 28-year-old who always has pitched well in March and April. In 19 career starts, he is 9-6 with a 2.89 ERA (his lowest ERA of any other month), 100 strikeouts and a 1.225 WHIP.
This could be just another hot start or, maybe, that humidor at Chase Field is working wonders, but Roto Rage believes this is a healthy Corbin doing what it always has been believed he could do.
Sure, his 28.6 percent home run-to-fly-ball rate is unsustainable, as are his 60 percent groundball rate and 13.85 strikeouts per nine. But, he has a 2.33 FIP, which indicates he has gotten only slightly lucky. He is getting batters to swing and miss a career-high 17.8 percent of the time, and he is using his slider a career-high 51.3 percent of the time, according to Fangraphs.
Corbin’s numbers may not stay this pristine, but there is a lot to like about his finish last year, his start this year, the team he is on and the potential he has. Plus, he isn’t your No. 1 starter. Heck, he might not even be your No. 4. But, for a guy with his potential and ability, who didn’t cost much of anything at the draft, he is a low-risk, high-reward addition who could pay huge dividends.
Though it is too early to tell whose hot start will rage on, here are some other waiver-wire targets who could potentially bring great returns: The Nationals’ Tanner
Roark flew under the radar in drafts. But, let’s not forget the fact he has won 29 games over the past two seasons with a respectable 3.68 ERA and 338 strikeouts.
Jack Flaherty was optioned to Triple-A this week by the Cardinals to make room for Adam Wainwright, but the 22-year-old righty, who struck out 24 in 152/ 3 spring innings to go along with nine in his first start of the season, will be the first name to be called if there’s any injury or a struggling starter.
Matt Harvey may not be considered t he Dark Knight any more, but he pitched well in his first start. He is in a walk year, so he has extra incentive to try to return to his superhero status.