Although Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Cody Anderson’s ownership is trending upward in fantasy baseball leagues, he still may be available in the majority of leagues.
If he’s available in your league, pick him up for a back-end start to the week.
Anderson throws Thursday at home against Houston, and he’ll look to enter the All-Star break with a below 1.00 ERA. During three starts this season, the rookie has allowed two earned runs, good enough for a 0.76 ERA during 23 2/3 innings.
What’s impressive about Anderson’s start is that he’s logged eight innings in two out of three starts. His strikeout numbers won’t overwhelm fantasy baseball owners with 10 strikeouts in three outings, but his season’s WHIP is at 0.63, giving him two categories where he’s toward the top for pitchers in the last two weeks.
When he toes the rubber against the Astros, he will face a team that ranks toward the bottom of Major League Baseball in batting average at .244. Houston is ranked 24th in that category. However, the Astros can still score runs, as they are second in MLB with 388 runs.
Anderson also will square off against a nine-game winner, Collin McHugh. McHugh has won three of his last four starts, but he was bounced in 5 1/3 innings in his loss against Boston on Saturday after allowing seven hits, three walks and three earned runs. He enters Thursday’s game with a 4.54 ERA.
Fantasy baseball owners should temper their expectations with Anderson since he’s highly unlikely to maintain his current pace. However, he is a solid option for a back-end start this week, and could be a keeper if he can develop more strikeouts in the future.
