MLB

Fantasy Baseball: 5 Top-Tier Starting Pitchers to Avoid

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Feb 6th, 2019
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Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

NFBC ADP: 36th
Starting Pitcher (SP) Rank: 10
Draft Round (12-team league): 3rd

Arguably the greatest pitcher of this generation, Clayton Kershaw missed some time yet again last season. After throwing 170-plus innings every year from 2009-2015, the dominant southpaw has only cracked that mark once in the last three seasons. But has the hate gone too far for a hurler with a 2.45 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate, and 11.0% swinging-strike rate?

In a word -- yes. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything to be concerned about.

Kershaw's fastball velocity dipped nearly two miles-per-hour last season (to 90.9), his swinging-strike rate dipped by over three percentage points, and his hard-hit rate of 36.1% was by far the worst mark of his career.

While he still can be a very solid contributor, his draft price requires him to be an ace, and that just looks unlikely at this stage of his career.

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