Arizona D’Backs Zack Greinke: Snakes in the Grass
By Brad Kelly
The Arizona D’Backs made it no secret that they were going to address their starting pitching this offseason. But, after Johnny Cueto rejected their substantial offer it just seemed as though they were going to have settle on a mid-tier free agent to step in and be their pseudo-ace. But, last night the D’Backs threw caution to the wind and proved that they are here to win now by reeling in the biggest free agent fish, Zack Greinke.
Arizona knew that they were going to have to outbid the Dodgers in order to get him, but they did just that by giving Greinke the highest per year ($34 mill) salary in the league. It is nice to see a team labeled as a “mid-market” club go out and spend money on a guy they targeted and consequently steal away from their division foes. The results remain unseen, but the D’Backs may have just changed the complexion of that division in one move.
I do not have to tell how good Greinke was in 2015 as we have seen his absurd stat line all over the place this offseason. It really did not matter where he would sign in 2016 either fantasy wise, as we should expect him to regress some but still able to remain a fantasy ace. While singing back with the Dodgers or Giants may have offered somewhat of a boost ballpark wise, he has managed a solid 3.34 ERA at Chase Field over 10 career starts.
More from Fantasy Baseball
- 5 fantasy baseball waiver wire pivots to replace Triston McKenzie
- Fantasy baseball mock draft 2023, 12-team: Aaron Judge over Trea Turner?
- 3 fantasy baseball sleepers being drafted too late
- NBA DFS picks December 25: Merry Bucking Christmas
- Fantasy Baseball: Hot pitchers worthy of starting this weekend
Last season he was able to lower his LD% and maintain his GB% near 48%, these numbers are the pillar to why he was successful. But, he did see a rise in his FB% rate by over 4% and his Hard Contact% rose as well, so if there was to be a concern it would be a slight uptick in his ERA as more of those fly balls will turn into HR in Arizona.
All fantasy owners know not to expect the performance that Greinke was able to carry out in 2015, because it was nearly inhuman to post those kind of numbers in the first place. He will remain a top 5 SP in 2016, and owners should expect stats that warrant that selection.
Arizona has a solid lineup anchored by A.J. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt, and their defense remains pretty solid in the infield as well if they stick with Nick Ahmed at short and Jake Lamb at third. Greinke will surrender more homers because that’s just how Chase Field plays, but fantasy owners should not be scared off of him in 2016 because his floor is just so high and the upside we have seen first hand.
Early 2016 Projections: 15 W/2.80 ERA/200 K/1.01 WHIP