Vincent Velasquez has pitched well enough this spring to earn a spot in the lineup and is one player that should definitely be on fantasy owner’s watch list for Week 1.
The Philadelphia Phillies may be in store for a long season as they retool and look towards the future, but they do have some interesting fantasy players heading into the 2016 season. In the offseason they dealt their most prized trade piece, Ken Giles, to the Astros for a bevy of young arms. The prospect with the most upside they got in return was, Vincent Velasquez.
Velasquez debuted with Houston in 2015 and offering us a glimpse of his electric stuff that he can showcase on any given night. He appeared in 19 games last season, starting 7 games, ultimately posting a, 4.37 ERA/58 K/9.4 S0/9, line. On the surface it may appear as an average line, but between his solid peripherals and his pure stuff, his season line does not paint the complete picture of his fantasy upside. Velasquez’s 3.74 SIERA and 3.46 FIP, should lead fantasy owners to see more in line of what he is capable of entering his second season.
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Vincent Velasquez entered Phillies camp having to beat out about four other pitchers to earn a spot on the staff. His spring performances earned him just that, as his, 2.25 ERA/24 K/1.10 WHIP line over four starts, showed the Phills that he was well worth adding to their staff.
Velasquez will enter 2016 at the prime age of only 24, so he still has time to further develop and their will some bumps along the way. The arsenal he currently features is a mid-90’s fastball, a nasty curveball, sharp slider, and developing changeup. The scary thing, is that he can get batters out with just his curve and fastball combo, but with him trusting his slider and change even more this season, the upside is limitless.
The first week of the MLB season is the one of the greatest times off the year, and fantasy owners should always have a watch list of players to watch other than those just on their teams. Vincent Velasquez will slide into the fifth spot on the rotation, which would make his first start of the season this weekend against the Mets. While his first start will not make or break his fantasy value completely in 2016, the Mets lineup serves as a good initial test for fantasy owners to see if he should be a prime waiver wire candidate.
Next: 2016 Fantasy Baseball RP Rankings: 10-1
Vincent Velasquez has gone undrafted in nearly every league, so he is going to be on the wire for at least the first week. For those who have not drafted yet, Velasquez is a one of the best late round SP5 fliers this season, and for those who have drafted, look to add him after this week if he is sharp against the Mets as he will surely become a hot commodity. Either way, tune in this weekend when he pitches against the Mets and decide for yourself if the hype is legitimate.