Blue Jays JA Happ: 2017 Fantasy Sleeper Pitcher
By Bill Pivetz
The Blue Jays rotation has a couple of young stars and solid veterans. While fantasy owners avoid older pitchers, J.A. Happ is a sleeper for 2017.
The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the few complete teams in baseball. They have a great offense, even if they lost their best power hitter, a dangerous bullpen, and a good rotation. I talked about their whole team here, but this piece locks in on a starting pitcher that many will overlook, J.A. Happ.
Happ has bounced around a lot in his 10-year career. He started with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 and then went to Houston and Toronto for a couple of years each, Seattle and Pittsburgh before coming back to Toronto.
He has a career 3.98 ERA, 1.335 WHIP, and 4.16 FIP in 228 games. Though, 2016 might have been his best season to date.
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Happ made a career-high 32 starts and almost reached 200 innings for the first time. He went 20-4, only one of three pitchers to reach that plateau.
His 7.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 were in line with his previous years’ performances. The big thing was that he was able to put it all together with a 3.18 ERA and 1.169 WHIP.
The only downside to Happ’s game is his 3.96 FIP. He allowed 22 home runs and 60 walks, the most and second most of his career, respectively. Happ needs to cut back on the long ball and anchor down on his control. If he does that, he will be a top-35 pitcher this season.
It will be tough to limit the home runs because of the division he pitches in. Boston, Baltimore and the Baby Bombers in New York will hit their fair share of homers throughout the year. His fastball hovers around just under 92, so as long as he doesn’t leave it hanging in the middle of the plate and mixes in his slider and curveball, Happ should have success in 2017.
Next: Can Andrew McCutchen, Justin Upton bounce back?
Currently, Happ is my No. 52 starting pitcher. Looking at his performance from last season, he should be ranked higher. I can’t project Happ to have another 20 wins because that depends on how the offense plays. He will post a 3.35 ERA, 1.180 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 33 starts.
As a 20th round pick, Happ is a steal.