We discuss several MLB pitchers who have performed well in the past 30 days of play.
Last week I wrote an article about hitters on the rise and fall, and now in Week 12 of the fantasy baseball season, it’s time to write a similar article about pitchers.
Because pitchers haven’t played as many games as hitters, I’ll extend pitcher stats out to the past month instead of the past 15 days. First, let’s talk about the upward trend in pitcher performance.
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Top Pitcher
Among eligible pitchers over the past month, there are numerous pitchers with ERAs below 2.00.
The Baltimore Orioles pitcher leads the league with a 1.15 ERA, and in that span he has started six games and recorded a 4-0 record with 35 strikeouts in 39 innings.
Barnes is having a great season in his first season with Baltimore and is on pace to surpass the numbers he put up in his Cy Young Award season in 2021. It’s unlikely he’ll continue to pitch this well the rest of this season, but Barnes is arguably one of the top fantasy pitchers in the game right now and should be nearly unbeatable, so only trade him if his salary is too high.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Keller has been a bit of a surprise, posting a 1.17 ERA in five starts over the past 30 days. Keller has 30 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings and is 5-0 in that span.
Keller is on pace to outpitch his career best this season, and I would put him as a high-value candidate to sell because we haven’t seen him dominate like this before. However, I would be willing to pay a little more to get Keller out because he is simply entering the prime of his career and has a good chance of continuing to pitch at a high level for the remainder of this season.
Kansas City Royals pitcher Ragans was another surprise addition to the ERA list over the past month. He is 5-0 with a 1.20 ERA in five starts and 30 innings. Ragans has recorded 41 strikeouts in that span.
Ragans has been great since joining the Royals in 2023, and that momentum continues so far into the 2024 season. He has quietly become one of the best pitchers in baseball, exceeding preseason expectations despite being a top 100 pick. He is another player who could be sold for a high price, but I personally want to ride the wave with him for as long as possible.
The Seattle Mariners’ pitcher has emerged as one of the league’s best young pitchers. He’s 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in his last five starts, striking out 21 batters in 29 1/3 innings.
Wu’s strikeout numbers are down a bit in his second year in the MLB, but he’s a much better pitcher, and while his trade value is well above his ADP and trading him could get you a good return, I’m willing to see Wu through to the end, even if he does take some regression.
Gill has been performing well for the New York Yankees this season. In his last five starts, he is 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA, striking out 42 batters in 32 innings pitched.
Gill was an afterthought in fantasy drafts this spring, but now he’s arguably the best fantasy pitcher in the game. I don’t see any reason to trade him right now unless I’m completely surprised by the offer. Gill is simply too good at pitching and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
For the Chicago White Sox, Crochette is pitching well, going 3-1 with a 1.24 ERA in his last five starts. Crochette has struck out 39 batters in 29 innings pitched.
The White Sox haven’t had many standout performances this season, but Crochet has been a constant source of upside for the team. He’s another pitcher who went under the radar in the draft, but is now one of the best fantasy pitchers in the game. There’s a chance he’ll get traded to a championship contender one day (which would only increase his fantasy value), so he’s pretty much untouchable to me at this point.
He is 6-0 in his last six starts for the Yankees, posting a 2.19 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 37 innings.
Rodon has had a pretty good career thus far and seems to be returning to form after an injury-plagued 2022 season. While many fantasy owners will likely have him close to untouchable, I would actually consider making a trade offer for Rodon. His strikeout numbers are down significantly from last season and a regress in the ERA department could see him take a bigger fantasy drop than most of the players we’ve covered so far.
Check out the FantasySP Trade Value Chart to see if there are any players ranked close to him that you’d be interested in acquiring, and if you’re not sure if a not-so-great trade is fair, be sure to use the FantasySP Trade Analyzer before proposing a trade or clicking accept.
The Detroit Tigers pitcher also had a successful month, going 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts and striking out 31 batters in 24 innings.
Flaherty is performing well above his preseason ADP, and he’s enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, but even taking that into account, he’s a pitcher I’d like to keep, and even if his ERA and win-loss record drop a bit as the season progresses, his strikeouts per nine innings are up significantly, making him a great fantasy asset.
There are a few other starting pitchers I could talk about, but I want to touch on the relief pitchers in this story, but before I do that, I want to mention one last San Diego Padres starting pitcher.
Waldron is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in five starts over the past 30 days, including 33 strikeouts in 30 innings.
Waldron is still a streaming option at this point, but his percentages have trended up in recent weeks. We haven’t watched Waldron long enough to take a long-term look at him, but his trade value will likely be at its highest this season, so if you’re looking to acquire him and sell him at a high price, now may be the time to make it happen.
Now, let’s start by looking at the St. Louis Cardinals relief pitchers.
Helsley has recorded nine saves over the past 30 days, spanning nine games and nine innings. He struck out 10 batters but also allowed four runs.
Most closers don’t have a lot of trade value in most fantasy leagues, but Helsley does have some value as one of the top closers in saves. I suspect the Cardinals could potentially release Helsley at the deadline if they’re not in a good position for the playoffs, which would increase Helsley’s fantasy value.
The Cleveland Guardian has recorded eight saves over the past month, striking out 12 in 12 innings and also earning one win in that span, allowing just one earned run.
Clase is the best fantasy closer in the league right now, and I see no reason to trade Clase unless you absolutely want him at a bigger position.
The Minnesota Twins, Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners have all recorded seven saves in the past month, while Pittsburgh, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks have all recorded six saves.
I bring up these numbers to show how comparable many of the closers in the league are from a fantasy perspective. Your best option is to find the closer with the lowest ERA and highest strikeout rate, because that’s what truly separates one closer from the other.
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