Fantasy Baseball: Five Sleeper Pitchers for 2019

Who are five pitchers who could be sleepers in fantasy baseball in 2019?

With the new year arriving just yesterday, it means that we are that much closer to the 2019 baseball season. If you’re like me, you’re not only looking forward to new season, but to ramp up preparations for the 2019 fantasy baseball season. Hey, failure to prepare is preparing to fail right?

Let’s start 2019 on the right foot. Within this post, we are going to take a look at some pitchers who you could get late in fantasy drafts that could be of great value as the season goes along. Not only do you have to hit on your early picks, but you have to find those guys at the end that give your roster some depth and help put you over the top.

At the beginning of 2018, I’m sure no one thought that in the final player rater among pitchers, Blake Snell, Kyle Freeland, Miles Mikolas, Mike Clevinger, Mike Foltynewicz and J.A. Happ would be in the top 20.

If you rostered a couple of these guys, your staff was in much better shape, and you probably made the playoffs and maybe even won your league’s championship.

So who will be 2019’s version of Happ or Freeland or Mikolas? Who are those guys that you can grab late and will help you win a championship? Let’s take a look at five candidates, starting with a guy who should have a new address by the time the 2019 season starts but doesn’t as of this posting.

Sonny Gray

Sonny Gray will have a new home in 2019. New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman has said as much during the off-season. That deal, hasn’t happened yet, though wherever he ends up, he should be a target for you in 2019 fantasy baseball?

Why?

Well, Yankee Stadium was a house of horrors for Gray in 2018. Let’s take a look at his 2018 splits:

Home: 6.98 ERA. 45 strikeouts in 59 innings. Opponent slash line: .315/.406/.527

Away: 3.17 ERA 78 strikeouts in 71 innings. Opponent slash line: .223/.295/.320

For some context on those offensive numbers at home: Jose Altuve hit .316, Miguel Andujar slugged .527 and Christian Yelich had an OBP of .402 last year. Combine all three and that was everyone hitting of Gray at home. He had the largest home/road disparity in OPS of any pitcher in baseball in 2018.

Some guys just don’t make it in New York for one reason or another and Gray appears to be the latest across all four major sports who fall on this list.

If those road numbers can hold as his combined numbers wherever he ends up in 2019, that’s going to be a very valuable pitcher for you in fantasy baseball. Keep an on eye where he ends up.

Matt Shoemaker

You may have missed this deal as it happened just after Christmas, but the Toronto Blue Jays signed

Matt Shoemaker

to a one-year deal. It’s a bit of a flyer for the Toronto Blue Jays, but there’s no such thing as a bad one-year contract and for a team like the Blue Jays, who need the depth it wasn’t a bad move. If he cracks the rotation, he is someone you could teak a flyer on as a sleeper for your team.

Shoemaker has missed a good deal of time over the past couple of seasons, making a combined 21 starts between 2017 and 2018.

His K rate increased to 9.6 in his limited outings last season, and if his splitter is working, combined with a decent fastball and slider, being a groundball pitcher in the AL East isn’t the worst thing to be considering the offenses that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees possess.

In terms of the park he’s going to, Rogers Centre plays slightly better for pitchers than Angel Stadium, so that could help.

I’d monitor how Shoemaker does throughout the Spring. If he performs well, he could even turn into a trade chip, which could help you as a fantasy owner down the stretch.

Michael Pineda

You probably forgot about this guy last season, since not only was he recovering from Tommy John Surgery then injured his knee and needed meniscus surgery, but if he is healthy, there is no doubt that Michael Pineda will be a part of the Minnesota Twins rotation in 2019 and could help your fantasy baseball roster as well.

Pineda got into 12 innings in the minor leagues last year and may have come u to the majors had he stayed healthy. The Twins are looking to contend next year and will need arms behind Jose Berrios. There’s no doubt that if he’s healthy, he’ll get his chance.

Back in his last full season of 2016, Pineda had 10.6 K per 9. If he can continue to drop his hard contact rate and  get the fly ball rate under 30%, and a ballpark in Target Field that will be more friendly than Yankee Stadium.

Batters were making better contact off Pineda in 2017, though that could be attributed to the injury. His 3.2 WAR was 23rd among all pitchers in baseball in 2016. If he can return to that kind of level, that’s a very valuable arm to have in fantasy baseball.

Josh James

The Houston Astros starting rotation in 2019 is going to look vastly different than it did in 2018. Yes, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are still there, but both will be free agents after the season. Charlie Morton is with the Tampa Bay Rays. Dallas Keuchel is currently unsigned. Lance McCullers Jr.is recovering from Tommy John Surgery. One option for them in their starting rotation should be a sleeper option in 2019 for your fantasy team.

Why should Josh James be a sleeper option? Because he throws absolute smoke. James averaged 97.1 MPH on his fastball while with the Astros last season. His K/9 ratio was over 11 in 23 innings with the big club last season. Opponents hit just .183 against him at the major league level last year, and in the minor leagues, he struck out 171 batters in 114 innings.

Sometimes, young guys just need a chance and that small sample size may be enough for the Houston Astros to give him one in their rotation this year. If they do, and he continue to get the strikeouts he was, then he should be someone that you should target on your 2019 fantasy baseball team.