Eduardo Rodriguez – Owned in 24% of Yahoo Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Eduardo Rodriguez made his return to the mound following offseason knee surgery on Sunday but lasted only 3 and ⅔ innings. He gave up five hits and walked 2, but he struck out 7 and his fastball velocity was encouraging maxing out at 94.9 mph with an average of 92.8.
The surgery Rodriguez underwent isn’t your typical knee reconstruction, and his prognosis is very positive, so seeing early indications of his stuff being back and the velocity being within reach are significant signs that he will eventually settle in.
At his best, Rodriguez is a four-category starter, especially with the high powered Red Sox offense behind him. He’s capable of more than a strikeout per inning and should have plenty of run support feeding wins. Sunday notwithstanding, he tends to keep his hits below one per inning so as long as his walk rate returns to normal, his WHIP should be healthy.
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Rodriguez will get scooped up quickly if he has a strong start his next time out, so take advantage of the tentativeness and stash him while you can. You might want to wait to see how his next start goes before using him in an active roster spot, but his upside is enormous for an in-season FA pickup.
Yonny Chirinos – Owned in 2% of Yahoo Fantasy Baseball leagues.
The final player on this list is a bit unconventional. Yonny Chirinos is part of the “bullpen day” in Tampa’s starting rotation. The 24-year-old managed to blank the Red Sox over nine innings across two appearances with the second being a five-inning start. He has 7 K with 1 BB and just four hits so far.
Unless he cements himself as the starter ever 5th day, wins will be inconsistent, but he has a chance to offer a boost to your ERA and WHIP. The strikeouts will be moderate, having a K/9 of just 7.00 so far, but as the final piece to a roster, you could do much worse.
Next: Fantasy sleepers for Week Two
He will be more valuable in deeper leagues, and there is indeed some risk in tying up a roster spot on him for a few weeks while we wait to see if he takes hold of the 5th starter spot. At the very least, he is worth adding to your watchlist. His status could change in a heartbeat.