Rays Chris Archer: Fantasy Baseball 2016 Least Valuable Pitcher

By Bill Pivetz | Oct 6, 2016

Sep 23, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer (22) walks back to the dugout against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The Rays struggled in all aspects of the game this season, both offense and pitching. Especially ace starting pitcher Chris Archer, who was a big let down.

Similar to the least valuable hitter, the least valuable pitcher can be determined by a number of factors. There were plenty of injuries to pitchers that affected their overall value this season. I could write a separate article on that alone. Just look at the New York Mets’ rotation. I wanted to get away from the obvious. So, my least valuable pitcher for 2016 is Rays ace Chris Archer.

Before you turn on the caps lock and begin to yell at me, I know that Archer isn’t the caliber of some of the other top-tier pitchers drafted this season. However, when he is consistently drafted as a top-20 pitcher, he belongs in this category.

After putting up 12 wins with a 3.23 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 last season, Archer entered the season as a top-15 starting pitcher in ESPN leagues. Unfortunately, he did not pitch like that for most of the year.

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Archer was the No. 13 starting pitcher drafted with a 52.7 ADP (sixth round). This season was the worst full season of his career.

He went 9-19 with a 4.02 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 10.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 33 starts.

His win-loss record was obviously worse. But so was his ERA, strikeout and walk rates. He also pitched in 10 fewer innings and struck out 19 less batters.

For all intents and purposes, he was this year’s Shelby Miller. Although, Miller’s ERA was a run lower. Archer had decent ratio stats, but was affected by the lack of run support given by his offense. He ranked 70th in runs per start with 3.48 runs, according to ESPN player stats.

The only bright side to Archer’s game is the strikeouts. He recorded back-to-back seasons with at least 233 strikeouts. His walks total only went up one, but the decline in innings caused both ratios to go in the opposite directions.

Archer is a hard thrower. I don’t expect him to see a dip in his strikeouts. The thing is that a hard thrower is prone to a lot of home runs, which is what we saw in 2016. He allowed 19 in 2015 and 30 this season. The combination of that and the power-hitting division he pitches in does not bode well for his ratio stats.

I think his ADP will drop to outside the top 20 among starting pitchers next season.

Honorable Mention: Dallas Keuchel (44.6 ADP), Zack Greinke (45.8), Adam Wainwright (89.5)

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