New York Yankees: CC Sabathia is a Deep Sleeper in 2017

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia had a bounce back season compared to the previous two. If he is 100 percent in the spring, is he worth drafting late?

The New York Yankees starting rotation is not the team’s strength. I talked about the whole team here. This piece is going to focus on one starting pitcher. One entering the final year of his 10-year contract. One who had his best season in three years. That man is CC Sabathia.

As what seems to be the case with these veterans and their decade-long contracts, Sabathia struggled in the final years of his deal. Over his last 69 starts, he had a 4.81 ERA, 1.402 WHIP, and 360:125 K:BB ratio.

Entering last season, fantasy owners weren’t going to waste a roster spot on an aging and injured pitcher. He was going for a dollar in auction drafts and went undrafted in standard leagues. Those who did draft or add him, though, were treated to a great performance.

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In 30 starts, Sabathia finished with a 3.91 ERA, 1.319 WHIP and 9-12 record. He also recorded 152 strikeouts and 65 walks in 179.2 innings.

Sabathia had better batted ball stats last season. His ground ball went up almost five percent while his HR/FB rate went down four percent.

Keeping the ball on the ground, especially at Yankee Stadium, is in everyone’s best interest.

He finished as the No. 66 starting pitcher on the Player Rater. For an undrafted player, that’s not too shabby.

Sabathia underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery back in October. The most recent update is that he hasn’t started throwing yet, as of Dec. 14. That’s pretty scary. Two months after surgery, he hasn’t done any baseball activities.

According to Sabathia, he expects to be ready for Spring Training. I want to see how he looks when pitchers and catchers report in a couple of weeks and how he progresses throughout the month.

If things go as planned and he will be ready for Opening Day, then I think he will make for a great bench option in standard leagues. I don’t have him in my top-300 overall, but as a spot starter or off-day fill in, Sabathia could sign.

Next: Carlos Rodon poised for a 2017 breakout

The Yankees offense is still in wait-and-see mode, so don’t expect many wins from Sabathia. If he can go on stretches like he did during the summer, then his value will rise. He’s a final two pick but could finish as a top-60 pitcher in 2017. Again, it all depends on how he recovers.

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