This may seem a bit out of left field, but I’m recommending a quality back-end start from a guy who has lost six of his last seven starts.
Milwaukee hurler Chase Anderson has been rather atrocious this year, both as a starter for the Brewers and as a member of fantasy baseball teams. He’s owned in less than 5 percent of fantasy leagues and for good reason. He’s 2-6 with a 5.33 ERA, so there’s plenty of reasons to think I’ve gone crazy with this prediction for a back-end start to this week’s fantasy matchup.
However, Anderson hasn’t been as bad as his record and ERA have indicated lately. His lone win in this last seven starts was an 8.2 inning gem against the Chicago Cubs, where he allowed two earned runs and struck out six batters. He wasn’t as sharp in his last outing against the New York Mets, but he still tallied enough strikeouts to make him a worthwhile option in fantasy leagues.
He went five innings and still mustered six strikeouts, compared to only one walk. In fact, in his last 24.2 innings, he’s allowed only six walks against 20 strikeouts. That’s a good start in trying to get back into good graces with fantasy owners.
It also helps that he’s squaring off against a Cincinnati team that can’t hit a moving baseball. In the month of May, the Reds are batting .215 as a team, the third-worst mark in Major League Baseball. The Reds also have struck out more than 200 times this month, one of only five teams with that distinction, and have walked the fifth-least times in the month.
They don’t hit or walk, and they strike out a lot. That’s a solid recipe for a pitcher poised for a better outing this weekend.
Don’t get lost in Anderson’s losses. He’s ready to get into the win column and will do so against the Reds on Saturday.
