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Fantasy baseball: 3 starting pitchers who could be valuable adds

By Chris Timoney

Apr 11, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (21) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (21) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 17, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (21) pitches in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 17, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (21) pitches in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies

I had veteran lefty Kyle Freeland on my team briefly in April. I picked him up off the waiver wire but soured on him after a 2.2-inning, seven-run outing versus the Pirates and I didn’t have the patience to stay with him after his next outing, a six-inning, four-run affair in Philly. Well shame on me because since those two outings the seven-year Rockies starter has been pretty darn good. Over his last four starts, Freeland is 2-2 with a 1.875 ERA. On the season, the four-game stretch has dropped his ERA from 4.32 to 3.16 and he hasn’t exactly been pitching against creampuffs.

Aside from his most recent outing against the Phillies, a six-inning, four-hit, eight-strikeout win, Freeland has faced real NL contenders in Arizona, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. The most impressive of those outings was the road game against the Pirates where Freeland went seven innings, giving up just two runs on 100 pitches, albeit in a loss.

The Rockies have the highest runs against total (223) in the entire National League, sit in last place in the NL West and possess a -25 run differential, yet they’ve been playing well of late, having won six of their last 11. The Rockies and Freeland will certainly have their hands full this weekend in Texas against the Rangers, a team with the second highest run differential (+87) in the entire league and have scored the second most runs (266) in the league. I’ve raved about the Rangers repeatedly this season and dropping two out of three to the Braves at home earlier this week isn’t going to change my feelings about where the Rangers are headed.

It’s a tough task for the Rockies Saturday but a solid Freeland outing could land you a nice chunk of fantasy points.

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