Dallas Keuchel and Erik Bedard can help you lower your WHIP
By Mike Marteny
We are on part eight of our ten part series of available players than can help you chase specific categories in roto or H2H category leagues. The next few days will focus on the pitchers.
I will give you three players each for standard, moderate, and deep leagues. Standard league players will be available in 10-50 percent of leagues. Moderate league players will be available in 50-90 percent of leagues. The deep leagues will focus on players owned in ten percent of leagues or less.
For hitter who can help you in batting average, go here. For runs scored, go here. For home runs, go here. For RBI, go here. For stolen bases, go here.
For pitchers who can help you in wins, go here. For ERA, go here.
This installment will focus on those pitchers that can help you in WHIP. I am going mainly with pitchers that have accumulated enough innings to make a significant impact, so you will not see many, if any, relief pitchers on here.
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross (38) pitches against the Giants during the first inning. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Standard Leagues:
Dallas Keuchel, Astros: Keuchel continues to surprise for the Astros. He has gone six inning or more in every start except for his first of the season, in which he went five. His 2.92 ERA and 1.05 WHIP on the season can help you in any league. Owners are finally starting to catch on. He is now owned in 70 percent of ESPN leagues.
Tyson Ross, Padres: Ross has gone seven innings in all of his May starts, and has allowed just one run in each of them. He has struck out eight batters in each of his last three, and his WHIP for the month of May is at 1.00. He is now safe to own even in standard leagues.
Drew Pomeranz, Athletics: Pomeranz’s WHIP sits at 1.01 on the season, and he has been even better than that since joining the rotation. He has allowed just 12 baserunners in 15 innings. While this number will likely increase some, it is not unreasonable to think that his WHIP can stay in the 1.10 range.
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake (44) pitches against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Moderate Leagues:
Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies: I touched on De La Rosa’s recent dominance in a recent post. His WHIP is also following suit. His WHIP sits at 1.01 since tax day, and he is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, he has only allowed three baserunners in his last ten innings!
Mike Leake, Reds: Leake has been borderline dominant in his last four starts, but has no wins to show for it. Still, if you need WHIP help, he is providing that right now. His WHIP is at 1.00 in that span, and is only 1.02 on the season.
Phil Hughes, Twins: The 27 year old former top prospect with the Yankees may have finally figured this pitching thing out. His last five starts have been nothing short of brilliant. He has allowed only four runs on 30 hits in in 33.1 innings pitched. Oh, and he has not issued a single walk in that span. Yes, I would even start him against the Rangers on Tuesday. Despite this great stretch, Hughes is still being Rodney Dangerfielded by the fantasy community. He is only owned in 30 percent of ESPN leagues!
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Tommy Milone (57) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Deep Leagues:
Erik Bedard, Rays: Bedard has been long forgotton by fantasy owners since his ill-fated move to Seattle in 2008. Since then, Bedard’s career has been derailed by injuries and inconsistency. Now six years later, Bedard seems to have found his 2007 for with Baltimore that led him to a 13-5 record with a 3.16 ERA. Bedard has a 0.87 WHIP and a 0.78 ERA in May.
Tommy Milone, Athletics: Milone has been very good since getting lit up by the Red Sox on May 3rd. He has a 0.83 WHIp since then, and has only give up three runs in three starts. Recent brilliance aside, I’m still apprehensive about running him out there against Detroit tomorrow.
Drew Hutchison, Blue Jays: Despite a couple of starts where he was hit pretty hard, Hutchison still has a 1.18 WHIP on the season, including a 1.00 WHIP in his last six starts. Not surprisingly, he overall numbers have improved with less runners on base. He is worth owning in all deep leagues, and most 16-teamers right now.
Come back tomorrow for pitchers that can help you in strikeouts!
If there is a category that you would like to see covered that is out of the normal 5×5 spectrum, just leave it in the comments, and I will get to it when I am done with the standard ones! I aim to please!