Sonny Gray makes the cut list and a buy-low candidate
Sonny Gray of the New York Yankees hasn't had the stellar year that most of us hoped he would with his first full season with the club and plenty of run support.
So far this season Gray has a 4.93 ERA, 1.44 WHIP to go along with 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings. His record for the year is 5-5.
So how does this compare to the same time last year on June 24th? Last year to the day, Gray had a 4.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a record of 2-3. Nearly identical numbers, which tells me this is how Sonny Gray plays for the first half of the year.
In 2017, he finished the season with a 3.6 ERA and 1.23 WHIP which means he had a very strong second half to the season as a member of the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees.
Gray is the prime candidate for a buy low pitcher who could have a stellar second half. If you are willing to take that risk then go right ahead. After all, he does play for the Yankees and they have been on fire since April despite his poor play.
For owners of Gray, it's time to let go. He was literally unstartable for the entire first half of the season. There hasn't been a single week where a fantasy owner might feel good about starting him in a pinch, which means he's just taking up a roster spot. Most pitchers go through streaks of quality starts and Gray has only managed TWO quality starts in a row all season. All of those quality starts are sandwiched between terrible starts.
Players that just take up a roster spot at this point in the season need to be let go and if that means you miss out on a stellar second half then so be it. BUT. And this is a big but, you should only drop him for a viable pitching candidate that you feel is worth it.
If Gray has been plaguing your roster and you need to open a slot up to try for a guy like Daniel Mengden, Chase Anderson, or Shane Bieber then go for it.
So in summary, it all depends on your situation as a team if you want to either drop him, trade him away, or trade for him. I would be absolutely okay with any of these scenarios. Gray is currently owned in 88% of leagues and starting in a remarkable 80% of leagues.
As for me? I dropped him for Shane Bieber and am rolling the dice.
