THRIFT SHOPPING
Where to find cheap fantasy starters
ATTENTION, Roto Rage shoppers! To make up for a miserable 2020, we have decided to slash prices on starting pitchers at all our locations. Keep an eye out for some all-time low prices, as you don’t want to miss out on these incredible deals.
If you look down Aisle 59 of our San Diego store, there is a special on Joe Musgrove, a pitcher whose name has often been preceded by descriptors like “potential breakout candidate” or “injury-prone.”
For his mostly underwhelming career, Musgrove is 29-38 with a 4.33 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. Despite making just eight starts, last year was the one time in his career he had an ERA under 4.00. So, why is this guy, who has started more than 19 games in a season once in the first five years of his career, being touted as one of the best deals? Let’s look at his numbers from last year for some insight.
Musgrove’s ugly 1-5 record is deceiving, as he allowed more than three runs in just two of his eight starts. Over his final five starts, he went 1-2 with a 2.16 ERA, 38 strikeouts and a .198 opponent average.
Among pitchers who threw a minimum of 30 innings, Musgrove ranked sixth in strikeouts per nine (12.48) and 16th in swinging strike rate (14.4 percent) — which ranked higher than Yu Darvish, Jack Flaherty, Aaron Nola, Brandon Woodruff and NL Cy Young winner, Trevor Bauer. He also held opponents to a .223 average.
Musgrove maintained a 3.86 ERA, the lowest mark of his career, and his FIP (3.42) and xFIP (3.16) indicate things would have gotten even better had the season been more than just 60 games. From 2017-20, his FIP was consistently about 40 points (or more) lower than his ERA, meaning he was unlucky.
Another reason Musgrove should be on your shopping list: He’s joining Darvish, Blake Snell, Dinelson Lamet and
Chris Paddack (another solid deal) in our new flagship San Diego store. He’s moving from our Pittsburgh store, which burned down in 2020. San Diego is up-and-coming (especially with that top-five offense), a perfect place for Musgrove to thrive.
With an average draft position of 139.07, according to Fantasy Alarm, Musgrove is a reasonably priced target who should benefit from the change of scenery and have the breakout campaign we’ve been expecting for quite some time.
The discounts don’t stop there, folks.
If you look down Aisle 46 of our Washington store, we have a sale on former top-20 pitchers. Patrick Corbin’s (126.86) value took a hit after going 2-7 with a 4.66 ERA in 2020, but this is a guy who went 25-14 with 484 strikeouts (10.8 per nine) over 66 starts from 201819. This is one of the best deals you’ll find.
In our Bronx store, we have three refurbished items at alltime low prices. Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber (175.38), who has pitched just 362/3 innings over the past two seasons, Jameson Taillon (205.63) and Jordan Montgomery (239.44) are all repackaged and as good as new ... we think. (Disclaimer: Roto Rage offers no guarantee these items make it through 2021 without glitches.)
New to our Texas store, after spending some time in Chicago last year, Dane Dunning (266.47) is an inexpensive option for all you bargain hunters. Dunning may not be as flashiest item on the shelf, but he will rely on his slider (.135 opponent average, 17 strikeouts, one walk) and sinker (.173, 10 strikeouts) to get the job done. Finally, if you find yourself in Philadelphia with a few extra bucks in your pocket, Spencer Howard (330.76) is a great model for the future. He should be kept in the box for a little while, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking advantage of this markdown.
Happy shopping, Roto Ragers.