It wouldn’t be a fantasy baseball season if there weren’t complaints being made about Stephen Strasburg.
Fantasy owners constantly are frustrated with him, saying, “He hasn’t lived up to the hype,” or, “He’s always hurt,” or, “His ears are totally out of proportion with the rest of his head.” That’s the problem with high expectations — when they’re set extremely high, you’re more susceptible to disappointment.
Strasburg is being drafted as the 14th pitcher (45.4 average draft position, according to Fantasypros.com), which is amazing value for someone of his skillset.
In his first 13 injury-plagued starts last season, Strasburg was 5-5 with a 5.16 ERA, 63 strikeouts and a .289 opponents average. But, after sitting out most of June and July, Strasburg finished the season strong, going 6-2 with a 1.90 ERA and .179 opponents batting average over his last 10 starts. He also struck out 92 over 66 ¹/₃ innings. He still wound up striking out 29.6 percent of the batters he faced (higher than his career average of 28.7), and walked just 5 percent of the batters he faced (lower than his career average of 6.1 percent).
Strasburg is a 27-year-old pitcher who is 54-37 with a 3.09 ERA, 901 strikeouts and a 1.092 WHIP over the course of his career. No, he hasn’t lived up to the hype. Yes, he gets hurt. But all this frustration is driving down the price of an amazing pitcher who offers top-five starter potential.
Here are some other undervalued pitching options for 2016:
Jeff Samardzija (136.8) returns to the NL after a disastrous one-year stint with the White Sox (11-13, 4.96 ERA, 163 strikeouts). He is likely the Giants’ No. 3 behind Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto, while moving from the White Sox’s hitter’s haven to a pitcher-friendly park in San Fran. The situation is right, and the price is perfect.
The price on Yu Darvish (137.2), who likely will miss the first month of the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, is ridiculously low. Just think about what your rotation will look like after drafting a pitcher who has 680 strikeouts in 545 ¹/₃ innings. Think about having a bona fide ace being drafted more than 20 spots after an injury-prone question mark like Masahiro Tanaka (113.0) or Jordan Zimmermann (111.8), a control pitcher moving to the AL. Darvish, 29, will be fresh and raring to go, and you will be better off having him on your team.
Lance McCullers (143.6) struck out three times as many batters than he walked (129 to 43) while maintaining a 3.22 ERA in his 22 starts. He is a power-pitching, 22-year-old on a young team that is only getting better. You are making a mistake if you pass over the chance to draft McCullers — especially if you’re in a dynasty or keeper league.
Raisel Iglesias (144.4) struck out more than 26 percent of the batters he faced in 18 appearances in 2015, netting 104 punchouts in 95 ¹/₃ innings. Imagine that kind of production over the course of a full season.
Though Jake Odorizzi’s (171.6) strikeout numbers took a hit (9.3 per nine innings down to 8.0), he had a career-best ERA (3.53) and WHIP (1.152), and held batters to a career-low .231 average and .680 OPS. He also pitched a career-high number of innings, which could be a contributing factor to his second-half fade. He will add solid depth to your fantasy rotation, especially where you will get him in the draft.
Despite running out of gas in his last two starts after returning from Tommy John surgery last year, Patrick Corbin (194.2) went 6-4 with a 2.99 ERA in his other 14 starts. He struck out 21.9 percent of the batters he faced, while walking just 4.8 percent (better than his All-Star campaign of 2013). Target Corbin late.
Wei-Yin ChenAPOver four seasons with Orioles, Wei-Yin Chen (199.2) maintained a 3.76 ERA in 59 starts at hitter-friendly Camden Yards. His move to pitcher-friendly Marlins Park, and the fact Miami had the second-highest fielding percentage last season (fitting his style of pitching) should keep him on your radar in the late rounds.
Clay Buchholz was 1-4 with a 6.03 ERA after his first six starts last season. Over his final 12 starts before suffering a season-ending arm injury, the 31-year-old righty went 6-3 with a 2.20 ERA, 67 strikeouts over 82 innings, and held hitters to a .242 average. Buchholz could get hurt while reading this sentence, but with his skillset and a 259.0 ADP, drafting him late is a low-risk option you should be willing to take.
If you remember how McCullers and Noah Syndergaard (54.4) took the league storm last season, you may want to draft stash Twins prospect Jose Berrios (280.7) or Pirates righty Tyler Glasnow (251.3).
Fantasy Spring
Post Roto Files columnist Jarad Wilk ranks starting pitchers:
Top starting pitchers
Rank Player Team
1. Clayton Kershaw LA
2. Max Scherzer Was
3. Chris Sale CWS
4. Madison Bumgarner SF
5. David Price Bos
6. Jake Arrieta ChC
7. Jacob deGrom NYM
8. Matt Harvey NYM
9. Gerrit Cole Pit
10. Stephen Strasburg Was
11. Dallas Keuchel Hou
12. Jose Fernandez Mia
13. Corey Kluber Cle
14. Zack Greinke Ari
15. Chris Archer TB
16. Carlos Carrasco Cle
17. Noah Syndergaard NYM
18. Felix Hernandez Sea
19. Jon Lester ChC
20. Sonny Gray Oak
21. Johnny Cueto SF
22. Cole Hamels Tex
23. Adam Wainwright StL
24. Danny Salazar Cle
25. Tyson Ross SD
26. Garrett Richards LAA
27. Michael Wacha StL
28. Marcus Stroman Tor
29. Carlos Martinez StL
30. Justin Verlander Det
31. Lance McCullers Hou
32. Jeff Samardzija SF
33. Francisco Liriano Pit
34. Yu Darvish Tex
35. Raisel Iglesias Cin
36. Steven Matz NYM
37. Masahiro Tanaka NYY
38. Jordan Zimmermann Det
39. Michael Pineda NYY
40. Jose Quintana CWS
41. Scott Kazmir LA
42. Hisashi Iwakuma Sea
43. Drew Smyly TB
44. Collin McHugh Hou
45. Shelby Miller Ari
46. Taijuan Walker Sea
47. Jake Odorizzi TB
48. Julio Teheran Atl
49. Patrick Corbin Ari
50. John Lackey ChC
Top starting pitcher prospects
1. Jose Berrios Min
2, Tyler Glasnow Pit
3. Lucas Giolito Was
4. Blake Snell TB
5. Jorge Lopez Mil
Team name of the week
Green Eggs & Hanley (Submitted by @JoshTHowell)



