Slowly, but surely, fantasy baseball owners will begin to realize that Philadelphia pitcher Jerad Eickhoff is a reliable option on their staff.
Eickhoff is still only owned in 30 percent of leagues on ESPN.com despite rolling through competition during June. He will garner two starts this week, making him a must-add for fantasy owners.
In six June starts, he allowed eight runs in 36.1 innings, compiling 33 strikeouts in the process. For the season, he owns good numbers with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP to go along with 83 strikeouts.
His biggest issue is in the wins column, where he has only five wins, with three of those coming in June.
He’s pretty much the only starter on Philadelphia’s pitching staff still worthy of a roster spot, though.
It’s not only his stats that have me wanting him on my fantasy baseball roster this week. He squares off against the hapless Atlanta Braves on Monday at home, ensuring at least one quality start this week.
The Braves own one of the worst offenses in Major League Baseball and just completed June with the 28th-most runs in the Majors during the month with a .256 batting average.
The batting average actually isn’t that bad, but the Braves’ major problem has been timely hitting, and it again doomed them in June, registering just 93 RBIs as a team, the second-worst total in the Majors.
The week finishes with a trip to Colorado, which although isn’t friendly, isn’t all that terrible. The Rockies have been middle-of-the-road in the last week on offense, the 13th-most runs in the Majors.
He doesn’t have a ton of experience, but in his two seasons in the Majors, he’s shown to be a consistent option. He has a career 3.12 ERA with an 8.1 strikeout-per-nine-inning mark.
He’s on the waiver wire, so grab him this week for two starts. Then, reevaluate him at the end of the week to decide whether he should stay or go on your permanent roster.
