Jul 5, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher
Ervin Santana(54) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Starting pitchers come and go. The older ones fade into the background as the younger arms move to the forefront and the good ones are around forever. But what about the ones that come back from an 80-game suspension? How do they fair? Well, just ask Ervin Santana. He made his first start this season and could be a mid-season waiver wire option.
In the July 5 start against the Kansas City Royals, he went eight innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out eight batters. Unfortunately for him, he did not walk away with a win.
Ervin Santana did not show any signs of rust in his first start since September 26 of last year. He looked in command against the Royals, using the slider to rack up strikeouts while also getting batters to roll into eight ground ball outs. He was pulled in the ninth after throwing 93 pitches, 58 for strikes. For a 32-year-old pitcher, he looked pretty good.
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Santana’s next matchup will be on Friday against the Detroit Tigers. This should be an interesting matchup for Santana and the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers rank second in home runs, third in RBI and third in batting average during seven July games.
Fantasy owners are believing in Santana’s first start. He has been picked up in 28.4 percent of leagues over the last week. With starting pitching so fickle, why not take a gamble on Santana? You pick him up and start him for a couple of games. If he pans out, great. You got yourself a bargain. If not, quickly drop him and never look back.
If you missed out on any of the younger pitchers like Mike Montgomery, Cody Anderson or Steven Matz, then Ervin Santana may be the last chance you get at a good pitcher this late in the season.