Fantasy Baseball: Which Mid-Tier Pitchers Could Emerge as Aces in 2017?

Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays

Pray that your league mates are only looking at Archer’s final line from 2016 -- if that’s the case, he could be the steal of the draft.

Those who dig into the 2016 peripherals for the young Tampa Bay Rays' ace will notice that Archer’s 4.02 ERA was the product of some terrible homer-to-fly inflation, with a 16.2 percent homer-to-fly-ball rate that was a career-worst by some margin. All of his other metrics (hard- and soft-contact percentage, strikeout rate) virtually mirrored his 2015 breakout, which means that a positive regression should be in order for the electric righty.

If you’re punting the ace tier outright, Archer is one of the most attractive second-tier pitchers available -- one who can both anchor a rotation and potentially break out as a top-five overall pitcher.