Rangers' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Draft Preview | Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Jose Leclerc, Andrew Heaney and More
Discussing the top fantasy pitchers from the Texas Rangers, the defending World Series champions.
The fantasy baseball season is closing in quickly. FantasySP has published a number of articles about the top players at every position, and while those kinds of stories will continue until the regular season starts up, we wanted to make sure we covered as many fantasy players as possible, so it’s time to start looking at options on a team–by-team basis.
We’ll kick things off by discussing the 2023 World Series champions, the Texas Rangers.
Texas has a loaded roster, so we’ll break their story into two parts, hitters and pitchers. Here, we’ll cover the pitchers.
Get ready for draft season! Check out our Mock Draft Simulator, Average Draft Position list and Draft Genius!
Top Fantasy Pitchers
While there’s plenty of hitters to keep an eye on in Texas, the pitching is less than stellar.
Nathan Eovaldi is shown as the first one off draft boards, and his Average Draft Position is 151.
He went 12-5 last season with a 3.63 earned run average. He struck out 132 batters and walked 47 over 144 innings and 25 starts. There’s some injury/durability concerns, but anytime you can land a team’s No. 1 probable option that late in fantasy drafts, it’s not a bad thing.
Max Scherzer is the next Texas pitcher off the board at 158. He’ll miss at least a couple months after having back surgery in the offseason.
With the Rangers and New York Mets last season, Scherzer went 13-6 with a 3.77 ERA and 174 strikeouts across 152 2/3 innings. He made 27 starts.
With an uncertain return date, it’s risky drafting Scherzer, even if you have IR spots to stash him in. He’s more likely a waiver wire addition later in the season.
As he nears a return, that’s when you should add Scherzer. He might be nearly 40 years old, but he’s still one of the best pitchers in the league, and it translates pretty well to fantasy baseball too.
Reliever Jose Leclerc has an ADP of 168. He and David Robertson are expected to battle for the closer role, with a winner being determined during spring training.
Leclerc had an 0-2 record last season, but a 2.68 earned run average. He struck out 67 batters over 57 innings and 57 games. It was the second straight season in which Leclerc had a sub 3 ERA.
Robertson has 175 saves over his 15-year MLB career. Last season, Robertson had 18 saves between stints with the Mets and Miami Marlins. He had a 3.03 ERA and 78 strikeouts across 65 1/3 innings and 62 games pitched.
With no closer set in stone, it’s risky drafting Leclerc or Robertson if your fantasy draft happens soon. With no defined leader right now, there’s a decent chance both guys pick up saves at points this season, but of course, you’d want to spend a draft pick on the guy who's got the best chance of getting the most saves, and we might not know that until closer to opening day.
Keep a close eye on news surrounding the closer battle. I’d try to look elsewhere for saves until a closer is named. Both guys are solid options from a fantasy perspective.
Starter Jacob deGrom is the next Rangers’ pitcher going off draft boards. He’s got an ADP of 172.
Injuries continued to decimate deGrom’s career. He hasn’t made over 15 starts in a season since 2019. It’s a shame, because he’s got a career 2.53 ERA and can rack up strikeouts with the best of them.
Last season, deGrom made only six starts, finishing 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA. He struck out 45 batters across 30 1/3 innings.
The veteran pitcher is hoping to pitch by August, so unless you are in an extremely deep league, or a draft and hold league, you probably don’t want to draft deGrom. Once July rolls around, he’s worth taking a flier on and stashing before his return. He’s one of the best fantasy pitchers in the game when he’s out there, so be sure to take advantage of his appearances when you can.
Jon Gray is a starting option that should be available from the start of the season. He’s slotted in to be the team’s No. 2 starter after Eovaldi and has an ADP of 173.
Gray has dealt with injuries of his own over his career, but has made at least 24 starts in three straight seasons. Across 29 starts and 157 1/3 innings last year, Gray went 9-8 with a 4.12 ERA, striking out 142 batters along the way.
You’re not going to find too many No. 2 options this late in fantasy drafts. He’s obviously not a perfect fantasy asset, but you get pretty good value for that ADP.
Andrew Heaney is likely the No. 3 option after Gray. Heaney’s ADP is 177.
Heaney appeared in 34 games a season ago, making 28 starts and covering 147 1/3 innings. He struck out 151 batters and had a 4.15 ERA.
There’s better fantasy options out there, but again, for this point in a draft, that’s decent production and value. He might get pushed out of the rotation when the starters are all healthy, so keep that in mind too.
Dane Dunning is the last pitcher that has an ADP below 200 right now. He should be the team’s No. 4 starter and has an ADP of 181.
Dunning appeared in 35 games last season, making 26 starts. He had a 3.70 ERA and 140 strikeouts across 172 2/3 innings pitched.
Those are pretty solid numbers, and many were career bests, so there could be some regression coming. This late in a draft though, there’s not much risk involved, so he’s worth a flier. He probably gets bumped from the rotation with Scherzer and deGrom back, but he could still start for three or four months before that happens.
#rangers #2024-fantasy-baseball-draft
