The funny thing about hype in fantasy baseball is the way it drives the price of a player to a crazy level before that player even takes the field for the first time in his career.

At the same time, when that player falters for several seasons, despite the fact he’s still in their mid-20s, he is labeled a busts or a player who never lived up to, and never will live up to, his abilities.

It is important to keep these players in mind come draft time because: a) it creates an opportunity for you to get a young, talented player with tons of potential for a reasonable price, and b) you never know when things will start click and a player turns the corner.

Tyler Glasnow is a name that has been in just about every sleeper or prospect-to-watch conversation since he was drafted by the Pirates in 2011. His performance over six years in the minors (45-21, 2.02 ERA, 11.9 strikeouts per nine, 1.065 WHIP) backed up the hype.

Unfortunately, success in the minors has not translated to prosperity in the majors. He is 4-16 with a 5.35 ERA, 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings, 5.0 walks per nine and a 1.533 WHIP over 67 big league appearances (28 starts).

So, why isn’t Roto Rage writing off this seemingly overhyped 6-foot-8 pitcher who has a 172.12 average draft position, according to Fantasy Alarm? Because he’s a 25-year-old who throws a fastball that averages between 95-98 mph and won’t cost you an arm and a leg in the draft. And, despite underwhelming numbers that seem to say otherwise, he actually improved after joining the Rays last season.

Glasnow struck out nearly 30 percent of the batters he faced in 2018 (10.96 per nine, good for 12th in the league for hurlers who pitched a minimum of 100 innings), but the most important number is the 3.1 walks per nine after joining the Rays. For a guy who has averaged 5.0 walks per nine over his career, and walked 5.5 per nine over 34 appearances with the Pirates in 2018, finding his control is a sign of improvement. (Another sign of taking the next step would be relying less on his fastball, a pitch he threw 70 percent of the time last year, and using his secondary pitches more.)

Glasnow’s numbers over his 11 starts in Tampa Bay are deceiving, too. He was 1-5 with a 4.20 ERA and 10 homers allowed, but he gave up three runs or less in nine of those starts and maintained a 1.096 WHIP. He also held opponents to a .208 average and .676 OPS, and was 1-2 with a 2.96 ERA, .231 opponent average and 24-7 strikeouts-to-walk rate over his last four starts.

Glasnow ended the season on a high note, much like another Rays pitcher who, after struggling at times during his first two seasons, entered his age 25 season in 2018 with an ADP hovering around 180 after ending the 2017 season by going 5-2 with a 3.49 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 14 second-half starts. That pitcher is Blake Snell, who Roto Rage considered the most underrated pitcher heading into last season. He only won the AL Cy Young award last year, and that wasn’t exactly expected.

Will Glasnow win the Cy Young this year? There’s always a chance. You have to expect the unexpected, and that’s why Glasnow cannot, and should not, be written off.

Here’s a look at some other late-round sleepers:

Nick Pivetta (160.36) was 7-14 with a 4.77 ERA last year, but struck out 10.3 per nine innings, walked just 2.8 per nine and had a 3.80 FIP. An improved lineup supporting him should work in his favor.

Roto Rage has always been a fan of Nathan Eovaldi (172.53), and if he can reproduce what he did with Boston in the regular season (3-3, 2.88 ERA) and the postseason (2-1, 1.61 ERA, 0.806 WHIP), you’ll get a solid pitcher at great value.

Before suffering a quad strain that took him out of the running for the Astros’ No. 5 starter gig, Josh James (185.12) was one of Roto Rage’s favorite pitching targets. Between the minors and majors last year, the flamethrowing 25-year-old struck out more than 35 percent of the batters he faced. His ADP will fall after this injury, but that just makes him a draft-and-stash guy, because he will be back and you’ll want his electric stuff on your side.

Don’t be deceived by Joey Lucchesi’s (211.04) 8-9 record or 4.08 ERA, because the San Diego lefty struck out 10.0 per nine innings and allowed three runs or less in 21 of his 26 starts.

Tyler Skaggs (233.95) is an injury risk, but he reached career-bests in innings (125 ¹/₃), strikeout rate (24.2 percent), swinging strike percentage (11.0) and ERA (4.02). Before suffering a left abductor strain, the Angels lefty was 8-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 115 strikeouts over his first 19 starts. The 27-year-old is worth the risk.

Yankee Stadium was a bad fit for Sonny Gray (268.55), as he was 4-4 with a 6.98 ERA, 1.904 WHIP and .318 opponent average in 15 games (11 starts) in The Bronx last season. However, he was solid on the road, going 7-5 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.115 WHIP and .226 opponent average. A change of scenery could be a blessing for Gray, and it won’t cost much to find out.

Two others worth taking a flier on really late are Minnesota’s Michael Pineda (347.28), who is returning from Tommy John surgery, and Miami’s Trevor Richards (375.43), who despite winning only one game in the second half last year had a 10.3 K/9 rate (12th highest in the majors) and a .229 opponent average (it was .276 in the first half) over his final 12 starts.

Starting pitchers
(Next week: second base and shortstop)

1. Max Scherzer (Was)
2. Chris Sale (Bos)
3. Jacob deGrom (NYM
4. Justin Verlander  (Hou)
5. Corey Kluber (Cle)
6. Aaron Nola (Phi)
7. Gerrit Cole (Hou)
8. Blake Snell (TB)
9. Trevor Bauer (Cle)
10. Luis Severino (NYY)
11. Carlos Carrasco (Cle)
12. Noah Syndergaard (NYM)
13. Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
14. Zack Greinke (Ari)
15. Patrick Corbin (Was)
16. Walker Buehler (LAD)
17. James Paxton (NYY)
18. Miles Mikolas (StL)
19. Jack Flaherty (StL)
20. Mike Clevinger (Cle)
21. Stephen Strasburg (Was)
22. Charlie Morton (TB)
23. David Price (Bos)
24. Mike Foltynewicz (Atl)
25. Madison Bumgarner (SF)
26. Jameson Taillon (Pit)
27. German Marquez (Col)
28. Zack Wheeler (NYM)
29. Jose Berrios (Min)
30. Chris Archer (Pit)
31. Kyle Hendricks (CHC)
32. Rich Hill (LAD)
33. J.A. Happ (NYY)
34. Robbie Ray (Ari)
35. Collin McHugh (Hou)
36. Shane Bieber (Cle)

37. Masahiro Tanaka (NYY)
38. Rick Porcello (Bos)
39. Dallas Keuchel (free agent)
40. Luis Castillo (Cin)
41. Jose Quintana (CHC)
42. Jon Lester (CHC)
43. Yu Darvish (CHC)
44. Cole Hamels (CHC)
45. Andrew Heaney (LAA)
46. Kenta Maeda (LAD)
47. Marco Gonzales (Sea)
48. Nathan Eovaldi (Bos)
49. Josh James (Hou)
50. Joe Musgrove (Pit)
51. Nick Pivetta (Phi)
52. Alex Reyes (StL)
53. Ross Stripling (LAD)
54. Jhoulys Chacin (Mil)
55. Eduardo Rodriguez (Bos)
56. Jon Gray (Col)
57. Tyler Glasnow (TB)
58. Joey Lucchesi (SD)
59. Zack Godley (Ari)
60. Alex Wood (Cin)
61. Kyle Freeland (Col)
62. Hyun-Jin Ryu (LAD)
63. Sean Newcomb (Atl)
64. Mike Minor (Tex)
65. Jake Arrieta (Phi)
66. Jesus Luzardo (Oak)
67. Carlos Martinez (StL)
68. Yusei Kukuchi (Sea)
69. Tyler Skaggs (LAA)
70. Steven Matz (NYM)
71. Kevin Gausman (Atl)
72. Brad Peacock (Hou)
73. Kyle Gibson (Min)
74. Jake Junis (KC)
75. Tanner Roark (Cin)

76. Seth Lugo (NYM)
77. Julio Teheran (Atl)
78. Dylan Bundy (Bal)
79. Robbie Erlin (SD)
80. Luke Weaver (Ari)
81. Danny Duffy (KC)
82. Mike Leake (Sea)
83. Reynaldo Lopez (CWS)
84. Dereck Rodriguez (SF)
85. Matt Boyd (Det)
86. Jose Urena (Mia)
87. Trevor Williams (Pit)
88. Anibal Sanchez (Atl)
89. Michael Pineda (Min)
90. Tyler Anderson (Col)
91. Ryan Yarbrough (TB)
92. Marcus Stroman (Tor)
93. Sonny Gray (Cin)
94. Carlos Rodon (CWS)
95. Wade LeBlanc (Sea)
96. Vince Velasquez (Phi)
97. Jeff Samardzija (SF)
98. Mike Fiers (Oak)
99. Zach Eflin (Phi)
100. Trevor Richards (Mia)
101. Brad Keller (KC)
102. Jake Odorizzi (Min)
103. Michael Wacha (StL)
104. Julio Urias (LAD)
105. Chase Anderson (Mil)
106. Andrew Suarez (SF)
107. Lance Lynn (Tex)
108. Wei-Yin Chen (Mia)
109. Yonny Chirinos (TB)
110. Ivan Nova (CWS)

Do You Cano the Way to San Jose