Rushing to judgment in fantasy baseball can render disastrous results.

Players are going to get off to slow starts, making them a bit useless in the early going. For the most part, though, most of the players anticipated to do well will eventually turn around.

For those who won’t turn it around, when is the right time to cut your losses and run? Here’s three starting pitchers who are heavily owned in fantasy baseball who need to turn it around fast.

Jose Quintana, SP, Chicago Cubs

Start seeking trades now.

Quintana’s main fantasy baseball attribute is his consistently low ERA. He has a career ERA of 3.59 to go along with a solid career WHIP of 1.246.

This year, though, and a bit of last year, we’ve started to see a different Quintana. Two of his three starts this year have yielded six earned runs or more. He’s giving up too many hits and his strikeout numbers are below his already not-top-tier nine-inning average of 7.8.

This all comes after a year where he recorded an ERA over 4 for the first time in his career. His strikeouts can’t make up for an inconsistent ERA. I know it’s early, but I’d be on the trading block today to get some value.

Luis Castillo, SP, Cincinnati Reds

It’s been a slow start to the season for Castillo, who’s owned in 80 percent of fantasy baseball leagues, but don’t get too worried yet.

He’s gone at least five innings in each of his first four starts. He had a shutout going into the sixth inning in his most recent start, before imploding a bit in the seventh inning.

His ERA of 6.75 so far this season is concerning, but can drop in the coming weeks. He has nasty stuff and managed a 9.9 strikeout-per-nine-inning mark in his rookie campaign last season.

That’s good enough to wade through this early season storm.

Marcus Stroman has created some concerns as a starting pitcher in fantasy baseball. Flickr/Keith Allison

Marcus Stroman, SP, Toronto Blue Jays

Be alarmed, but don’t completely panic just yet with Stroman.

He’s been brutally bad in the early going, rendering at least four earned runs in each of his first three starts.

He’s pitched more than 200 innings in each of the last two seasons, and his strikeout numbers haven’t been top-tier during those seasons. He’s never gone three consecutive seasons of heavy work, so we could be seeing some fatigue from the young right-hander.

I’m not as concerned with Stroman as I am with Quintana, but proceed with caution with Stroman. His value isn’t as high as Quintana, so the trading block won’t yield above-average results.

Keep an eye on his production for the next few weeks before pulling the trigger on sending him to the waiver wire.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*