Anthony DeSclafani: Worth a Pickup for the Playoffs
By Bill Pivetz
The fantasy baseball season is coming to a close, but there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. The regular season is over is most league formats, but the playoffs are just beginning. The fantasy season ends on October 5. With teams skipping or limiting starters, it’s hard to find a pitcher that can get you the win. This leads owners to look for streamers on an everyday basis. However, there is a better pitcher that you can use every start for the rest of the season, and he is Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani.
DeSclafani had a good first month of the season. In four starts (2-1), he pitched 26.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on 14 hits and six walks while striking out 21 batters with a 1.04 ERA.
The summer wasn’t that nice to DeSclafani. In the months of June, July and August (15 starts), Athony DeSclafani finished with a 4-6 record, 73:25 K:BB ratio and a 4.11 ERA. Now with the weather cooling down, his game is heating up.
In his last August start, DeSclafani pitched seven innings of one-run ball, giving up six hits and one walk while striking out six. His next three starts have been just as good, 19.0 innings, five earned runs, 23 strikeouts, three walks and a combined 2.37 ERA.
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Anthony DeSclafani hasn’t faced bad opponents, either. His last four opponents were the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. None of them are slouches at the plate, and has lowered his ERA by a third of a run since the All-Star break.
Fantasy owners are on board with the sophomore pitcher. He’s been added in 14 percent of ESPN.com leagues, now at 36.4 ownership percentage.
His next matchup may not be the best, but if Anthony DeSclafani can pitch well against the aforementioned teams, then he should be able to pitch well against this next team. DeSclafani and the Reds will face the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. The Brewers are hitting .279 (fourth in the league) and scored 82 runs (12th) in September. Khris Davis is crushing the ball, five home runs and 10 RBI this month.
If you are in need of pitching and don’t want to go the streaming route, then Anthony DeSclafani should be a pitcher you target this weekend.