When navigating a draft room, you must know when and where to take certain positions. When it comes to starting pitchers, the aces and top-end starting pitchers go in the first 10 rounds. Then we head to the middle rounds, where many solid arms bring a lot of upside.
This draft season, I have only been taking a couple of pitchers in the middle rounds of most drafts as I prefer taking my chances later in the draft. However, there are still some nice ones in the middle rounds. Here are a handful of mid-round upside arms to target.
Fantasy Baseball Mid-Round Pitching Targets
Shota Imanaga (SP – CHC)
Shota Imanaga joined the Cubs this season after pitching eight seasons in Japan. Imanaga was one of the better pitchers in Japan, where he compiled a 2.66 ERA over 24 games last year. He threw 159 innings with 188 strikeouts and will look to bring those skills to America this year. Imanaga has showcased strong strikeout skills early in the spring. A big 2024 could be in store. Imanaga is one of my top SP3 targets in drafts.
Hunter Brown (SP – HOU)
Hunter Brown had a rollercoaster of a rookie season in 2023, finishing with a 5.09 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. However, there were some positives, as Brown had a 3.74 SIERA and 18.5% K-BB. You can also see Brown wore down as the season went on, which happened in his first big league campaign. He had a 4.12 ERA in the first half compared to a 6.57 ERA in the second half, a 19.7% K-BB in the first half and a 16.7% K-BB in the second half. Brown brings a lot of talent to the mound. With an entire season under his belt, he should see some substantial gains in 2024.
Bryan Woo (SP – SEA)
Bryan Woo was solid in his nine Double-A starts last year and decent in his 18 big league starts. He finished the year with a 4.21 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. June and July were up and down for Woo but his finishing month was strong, firing off a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings. Walks were an issue for Woo, but strikeouts were available, and his overall skills were excellent. Oh, and he is only 24. A breakout season could be coming up.
Cristopher Sanchez (SP – PHI)
Cristopher Sanchez was solid in his 18 starts for the Phillies, pitching 99.2 innings with a 3.44 ERA. He racked up an outstanding 20.2% K-BB with the Phillies, helping in large part to a 4% walk rate. Sanchez possesses a great changeup, which helped collect a 57% groundball rate. Sanchez’s profile resembles a bit of Framber Valdez. Sanchez makes for an excellent ratio target with plenty of strikeouts to boot.
Brandon Pfaadt (SP – ARI)
Brandon Pfaadt was a highly-touted prospect entering the 2023 season. He had quite an up-and-down season but in the end, he showcased his great skills. He finished the second half with a 4.22 ERA compared to a 9.82 ERA in the first half. Pfaadt also improved his K-BB% to 23.6% over the final month of the season. Those improved skills carried over to a strong postseason. I am all about the improvements we saw and am targeting Pfaadt in most of my drafts.
Kutter Crawford (SP – BOS)
Continuing the approach to young arms with upside, insert Kutter Crawford. Crawford made 31 appearances for the Red Sox in 2023, including 23 starts. He threw 129.1 innings and collected a 4.04 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 18.8% K-BB. Crawford finished with a 3.86 ERA over the season’s final month with an impressive 22.5% K-BB. Crawford showcased continued improvements that have carried over this spring. He should get plenty of runs in the Red Sox rotation this year and could be one of the next big young arms in the game.
Expert Fantasy Baseball Draft Advice
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