that Fantasy Baseball The championship is just around the corner. So close.
Check out the live scores of your teams every day and track their movements through the standings.
You’re probably analyzing the standings and breaking down each statistical category to see where the moves are.
Improve your team in the right categories and you can win a trophy at the end of September.
The strikeout category is typically the one where we see movement most frequently.
Focusing on wins or quality starts can be difficult, as many pitchers pitch fewer than six innings per start, and pitchers looking to lower their ratios tend to do so with closers and/or relief pitchers.
But adding the right starting pitcher to the team could help in other areas, as well as increase strikeout numbers, which could be the difference-maker they need.
Let’s take a closer look at the Astros’ pitching staff.
Rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti seemed to figure things out in the second half of the season.
He has shown he is unstoppable, having made three consecutive quality starts and four of his past five quality starts.
But that’s not what we’re after.
What about his 43 strikeouts in his last 31 innings?
Arrighetti has recorded double-digit strikeouts in two straight games and will face the Red Sox next week, the team with the seventh-highest strikeout rate over the past two weeks.
Also worth keeping an eye on is his new teammate, Yusei Kikuchi, who has been a strikeout stalwart since being acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline.
Kikuchi has allowed just five runs in 16 2/3 innings in three starts with Houston, striking out 24 batters in that span.
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He’ll also face Boston next week, then make his second start against Baltimore, the team with the 10th-highest strikeout rate over the past two weeks.
Baseball purists will immediately look to Houston’s Spider-Tack scandal and cite the team’s history of cheating to disparage what these players are doing now.
But in a fantasy world? Who cares?
Winning a fantasy baseball championship isn’t about purism, but about accumulating the statistics necessary to win your league.
If MLB wants to investigate this massive increase in strikeouts, let them do so. No one can take away your fantasy championship.
Just ask anyone who has added Barry Bonds to their team and won a fantasy baseball title.
Howard Bender is Fantasy Alarm Follow him on X Translator Tune in to the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” weekdays from 6-8pm on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Channel. Visit FantasyAlarm.com We bring you all the fantasy baseball news and advice.
