Diamondbacks Zack Greinke: Sixth-round pick with fantasy ace value

Last season, Zack Greinke was the best pitcher in the NL not on the Nationals’ roster. He deserves more attention in fantasy baseball leagues in 2018.

Arizona Diamondbacks have an ace in their rotation and fantasy owners don’t seem to care. Zack Greinke has finished in the top-5 of Cy Young Award voting in two of the last three seasons and deserves more love.

To build a competitive roster, you need one, preferably two, of the top-15 starting pitchers. The disadvantage of taking one of the big-four of Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale or Corey Kluber means that you miss out on an elite hitter.

If you delay drafting your first pitcher until the third, fourth or fifth round, you have to take a starter with some risks attached. Pitchers like Stephen Strasburg have durability concerns. Others like Luis Severino have no track record; Mets’ ace Noah Syndergaard only pitched 30⅓ innings last season and Chris Archer has produced two straight years with an ERA over 4.00.

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Last season, he tossed over 200 innings (again) with a strikeout rate of 9.6 SO/9 and a commanding 1.07 WHIP. The former first-rounder posted a 3.20 ERA over 32 starts and exceeded 200 strikeouts for the sixth time in his career.

Despite the gradual drop in velocity of his fastball (it now averages 91 MPH), Greinke’s 26.8% strikeout rate was his best since 2011 with the Brewers.

He has always been renowned as one of the most cerebral players, and in this era of triple-digit velocity, Greinke is a pitcher rather than a thrower. The right-hander’s slider and curveball are excellent, and his changeup is one of the best in the business.

The 34-year-old is being taken just inside the top-50 as the 13th starting pitcher off the board. Once you get past Scherzer, Sale and Kluber, there are very few starters that you can rely on to give you 200 innings with over a strikeout per inning, low ERA and excellent WHIP.

The Diamondbacks will be competitive again in 2018 and Greinke goes deep into games, so he should have a good opportunity to secure 15-20 wins; the toughest pitching category to predict.

Next: Pitching prospects with 2018 fantasy impact

Only two seasons (his Cy Young winning year and 2015 when he should have won the award again) were better than 2017. Whether you take him as your first or your second starter, Greinke is a must-own player this year considering his draft position. He offers a level of consistency that wins fantasy leagues.

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