Pitchers to Add at the Quarter Season Mark

Starting Pitcher

Eduardo Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox (48% Owned)

Rodriguez currently sports a 4.02 ERA, but when you look at his .312 BABIP and 3.61 FIP you'll see that he has been pretty unlucky this season. With a 15.9% line drive rate, I would expect that BABIP to decrease. With a 12.0% swinging strike rate it is possible we see that strikeout rate stay around 28%, but I would expect that to drop down to around 25%-26%. This strikeout rate is still very good and makes Rodriguez a must add in almost every league.

Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics (28% Owned)

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Cahill has always been a solid strikeout option, but his improvements at minimizing free passes makes him a must add. The question is, will it last?

Looking at plate discipline stats, we'll see that he has made significant improvements in all the essential categories to limit walks. His zone percentage, swing rate, and chase rate are up around 3% from what they were last season. Although his 5.4% walk rate may not continue at its current pace, if he has an 8% walk rate or lower he constitutes an add in any 12-team leagues out there.

Mike Soroka, Atlanta Braves (18% Owned)

Soroka is currently on the DL but should return within the next couple of weeks. With no highly touted pitch in their repertoires, Soroka and Lucchesi are proving that having three average to above average pitches is good enough to succeed at the major league level.

The one question concerning Soroka was his strikeout potential, and he has answered those concerns by posting a 27.6% strikeout rate at Triple-A and a 21.7% strikeout rate at the major league level. With great command and an improved strikeout rate, Soroka is another rookie who could constitute an add in your fantasy league.

Other Notables: Jack Flaherty (57% Owned), Fernando Romero (55% Owned), Andrew Heaney (39% Owned), Joey Lucchesi (32% Owned), Nick Kingham (16% Owned), Luiz Gohara (9% Owned), Shane Bieber (3% Owned), Trevor Richards (>1% Owned)

Relief Pitcher

Chad Green, New York Yankees (25% Owned)

If you missed out on your chance to pick up Josh Hader, go out and give Chad Green a try. It is a tragedy that we are still underestimating the value of middle relief pitchers, and Green is wildly under-owned because of it.

Green had an astonishing 40.7% strikeout rate last season and currently sports a 33.7% strikeout rate this season. Although his strikeout rate has dropped, so has his walk rate as he has a career low 5.0%. With the number of swings and the number of times he throws in the zone, I could see that number staying around that mark as well. If you are looking for some relief help, look for this Yankee bullpen arm on your waiver wire.

Amir Garrett, Cincinnati Reds (8% Owned)

Garrett was terrible as a starter last season but has been dominant out of the bullpen, posting a 2.05 ERA and 30.8% strikeout rate. With a 13.3% swinging strike rate, Garrett's dominance out of the pen should continue in 2018.

Archie Bradley (50% Owned), Chris Devenski (32% Owned), Jose Alvarado (19% Owned), Michael Lorenzen (>1% Owned)