Fantasy Baseball 2018: 3 Starting pitchers with RP-eligibility

Inserting starting pitchers instead of a reliever in one of your RP slots is an easy way to score points in certain league formats. Here are three SPARP for you to consider.

Utilizing SPARP (starting pitchers as relief pitcher) is a great way of gaining an advantage over your opponent in head-to-head points leagues.

Even an average starter can accumulate more points than a typical closer, thanks to the scoring system of three points per inning. Add to this the additional points for strikeouts and then the possibility of 5-7 points for a win, and you can see that even a mediocre SPARP has appeal.

In most formats, Jose Urena is not a particularly enticing player to roster, but the Marlins’ Opening Day starter will likely make two starts in week one, doubling his slim chances of picking up a win.

Regardless of whether he wins or not, he should throw at least five innings per start, which will give him 30 points straight away. Of course, he will lose some for hits, walks and runs, but gain a few back for strikeouts.

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I’m not rushing out to grab him off waivers but if he starts the season well, his dual SP/RP-eligibility will give him value in points leagues.

Another surprising Opening Day starter is Giants’ Ty Blach. If he can put together some decent starts, the 27-year-old will get an extended run in the Giants’ injury-hit rotation.

Blach had one of the lowest strikeout rates in the majors last season but has already made improvements in 2018, striking out 15 over 17.1 innings with 3.63 ERA in spring training. Although, perhaps the most impressive stat is the single walk that he has issued.

Like Urena, Blach will likely have two starts in week one but unfortunately, the first start is against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.

The third SPARP for your consideration is Joe Musgrove of the Pirates. He moved in the offseason from the Astros in the deal which sent Gerrit Cole to Houston and will start the season in Pittsburgh’s rotation.

Musgrove has a varied arsenal of pitches and can consistently throw strikes. The metrics of strand rate, HR/FB and BABIP indicate he is a far better pitcher than suggested by last season’s 4.77 ERA.

Out of the three of them, my preference is to start Musgrove, stash Blach and keep an eye on how Urena starts the season.

Due to the inconsistencies between ESPN, Yahoo and CBS, there are other starters who have RP-eligibility on one platform but not the others. You will need to check the settings in your league, but other SPARPs worth monitoring include Chad Bettis, Tyler Chatwood, Brent Suter, Mike Minor and Brad Peacock.

Next: 12 snippets from Spring Training

My particular favorites are Bryan Mitchell, who the Padres acquired from the Yankees, taking on Chase Headley’s salary to do so, and Tyler Glasnow, who will start the season in the Pirates’ bullpen but was lights-out in Triple-A last year with 1.93 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 13.5 SO/9.

If you have any suggestions for future articles or just want to chat about fantasy baseball, find Gavin on Twitter @_tramps

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