Procuring undervalued players in fantasy baseball drafts is an outstanding building block for a championship run. Here are 10 undervalued pitchers and must-have picks at or slightly before their average draft position (ADP). Below we dive into a few notable names to target in fantasy baseball drafts.
Must-Have Pitchers
Cole Ragans (KC – SP/RP) – 103.5 ADP
Many things went correctly for the Rangers on their path to winning the World Series. However, they were unable to unlock Ragans. The lefty was an ace for the Royals.
In 12 starts totaling 71.2 innings for Kansas City, Ragans had a 2.64 ERA, 3.28 xFIP, 3.57 SIERA, 1.07 WHIP, 9.4 BB%, 31.1 K% and 29.1 CSW%. The southpaw also had a 101 Stuff+, 102 Location+ and 104 Pitching+. Ragans wasn’t a fluke. The 26-year-old blossoming stud is worth a top-100 pick.
Andres Munoz (SEA – RP) – 138.0 ADP
Munoz is projected to close for the Mariners after saving 13 games for them and closing the season in that gig in 2023. The rocket-armed righty had a 2.94 ERA, 3.00 xERA, 3.12 xFIP, 3.08 SIERA, 1.27 WHIP, 10.4 BB%, 31.8 K%, 35.9 CSW% and 59.0 GB%.
Munoz’s walk rate is the only underwhelming stat in his profile. Yet, his elite strikeout rate and high groundball rate will allow him to work around an elevated walk rate successfully. Munoz is an ideal RP2 for fantasy squads.
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX – SP) – 206.3 ADP
Eovaldi was initially penciled into 10 Pitchers to Avoid because of a disastrous finish to the regular season. The oft-injured hurler was on the Injured List (IL) from the end of July until early September. His velocity was diminished when he returned, and opponents crushed him.
Eovaldi would be toxic for fantasy teams if his season ended with the regular season. Instead, Eovaldi was lights out in the playoffs. In six starts spanning 36.2 innings in the playoffs, Eovaldi had a 2.95 ERA, 3.05 xFIP, 3.14 SIERA, 1.12 WHIP, 6.5 BB% and 26.8 K%. Equally important, Eovaldi recaptured his missing velocity in the playoffs. Eovaldi has a ton of upside at a minimal cost.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
