Four articles in to this series, and it is time to update the opening paragraphs. If you are late to the party, you can always see the first three installments on the site. There was some useful information in the early article opening, at least in my opinion, but I tend to get bored publishing the same old, same old twice a week.

To recap what these articles are about, I will be discussing starting pitchers that are being drafted in the 15th round or later based on their current ADPs. Note that I am assuming a 12 team league when determining which players are going after the 14th round, and thus if you play in a smaller or larger sized league, you will need to adjust the round accordingly. The ADP pf 169 is a baseline, however, denoting where in any draft the player is being taken.

I will be profiling one (or at most two) later round options in the starting pitching realm on a twice-weekly basis, just as I did last season. If you have questions about any pitchers and their viability as a “sleeper” pick, hit me up at ia@fantasyalarm.com and I will do my best to provide some insight. Also, I am always available to answer starting pitching (or other fantasy baseball) questions all season long.

Robbie Ray– LHP – Arizona Diamondbacks

2016 Stats: -174.1 IP, 4.90 ERA, 218 K, 1.47 WHIP

Current ADP

Mock Draft Army ADP: 191.43 (based on current ADPs generated by Howard Bender’s Mock Draft Army results)

National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC): 216.62

FSTA Draft on January 23rd, 2017: Drafted 17th round (220th overall)

Availability

Well, he has late round access but you may want to grab him earlier to avoid losing him to another owner. He has the ability to provide big K numbers.

Upside

This is a player that contributes in the K category tremendously. I do think that he will provide better ratio stats this season, much better than he did in 2016. He is still going to hurt you in your ERA and WHIP categories. So, he is a player to target, but only in late rounds.

Downside

The ratio stats are going to hurt you if you take Ray in your early rounds. I do think you will get decent production out of him just not that which will push you over the top in your league.

Summary

If you need strikeouts late in your draft, this is the guy to seek out. The ratios will not be great, although should be substantially better than in 2016, There are plenty that want to roster him late, though, so beware of getting sniped.