This fantasy baseball championship is so close you can taste it.
Every day, you check your team’s live score and follow this evolution in your ranking.
You probably find yourself peeling back the rankings, analyzing each statistical category to see where movement is possible.
Improve your team’s prowess in the right category and this trophy will be yours at the end of September.
Typically, the strikeout category is where movement is most common.
Focusing on wins or quality starts can be difficult with so many pitchers throwing fewer than six innings per start, and those trying to lower their ratios tend to do so with relief pitchers and starters.
But if you can add the right starters to the mix, not only can you help yourself in those other categories, but the increase you can get in strikeouts could prove to be the difference maker you need.
Take a close look at the Astros pitching staff.
Rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti appeared to have things figured out late in the season.
He’s been an unstoppable force with three quality starts in a row and four in his last five.
But that’s not what we’re looking for.
What do you think of his 43 strikeouts in his last 31 innings?
Arrighetti is coming off two straight games with 10-plus strikeouts and hosts the Red Sox next week, a team that has the seventh-highest strikeout rate over the past two weeks.
You should also take a look at his new teammate, Yusei Kikuchi, who has been a beast of a hitter since arriving from Toronto at the trade deadline.
In his three starts with Houston, Kikuchi has allowed just five runs in 16 ²/₃ innings and has 24 strikeouts in that span.
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He’ll also face Boston next week, then make a second start against Baltimore, a team with the 10th-highest strikeout rate over the past two weeks.
Baseball purists will immediately point to the Spider-Tack scandal in Houston, cite the team’s history of cheating, and dismiss what these players are doing right now.
But in the fantasy world, who cares?
Winning your fantasy baseball championship isn’t about purism, it’s about accumulating the stats you need to win your league.
If MLB wants to investigate this massive increase in strikeouts, let them do so. No one is going to take away your fantasy championship title.
Ask anyone who has won a fantasy baseball title with Barry Bonds on their team.
Howard Bender is the Content Manager at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Visit FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball news and advice.
