Fantasy Baseball: 5 waiver wire replacements for Frankie Montas
4. Ross Stripling, Los Angeles Dodgers
Rich Hill left his start last Wednesday night with a left forearm issue, and an MRI confirmed a strained flexor tendon. He is not expected to even throw again for 3-4 weeks after starting platelet-rich plasma therapy, and he’ll be sidelined until at least early August.
When Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu were both sidelined, Stripling’s first six outings this season were starts (2.65 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 10 walks over 34 innings). He has pitched out of the bullpen since then, with a 4.03 ERA, 16 strikeouts and six walks over 14 appearances (15.2 innings). Over that time, as it can be like coming out of the bullpen, he has pitched on back-to-back days or gone as many as five days between relief outings.
The Dodgers haven’t formally announced their plans, starting Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but Stripling is firmly in the mix and can easily be tabbed as the favorite to replace Hill in the rotation.
#Dodgers getting closer to decision on Rich Hill rotation replacement for Tuesday night start at AZ. “It will be someone from our roster, someone in our bullpen,” MGR Dave Roberts said. If you guess Ross Stripling or Julio Urias you probably wouldn’t be wrong.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) June 22, 2019
Stripling has pitched well enough overall this season (3.08 ERA, 48:16 K/BB ratio over 49.2 innings) to remain rosterable in mixed leagues all along. But the prospect of a spot back in Los Angeles’ starting rotation for the next month-plus pushes his fantasy stock up, with room to add him in all leagues right now.
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