Corey Pieper | Mon, Sep 23rd 2024, 11:46am EDT

10 Burning Questions: David Peterson, Landon Knack, Bo Bichette (Fantasy Baseball)

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the last week of the regular season. With that in mind, be ready for some weird lineups and pitcher usage this week. While only the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians have clinched their divisions, many teams are on the precipice of doing so. Once they’ve clinched, teams will begin planning how to line up their playoff rotations.

So, if you were relying upon Freddy Peralta or Tanner Bibee this week for a win, it’s highly unlikely they’ll pitch deep enough into their games. There are updates below on pitchers and hitters as we wind down the season with the last of ’10 Burning Questions’ for the 2024 season.

Fantasy Baseball 10 Burning Questions

Do we have to keep rostering Christian Scott in dynasty leagues?

Christian Scott was called up in May to make his Major League Baseball debut. He was demoted again in June before being recalled in July. The demotion wasn’t due to ineffectiveness but to manage his workload. The news from last week would indicate the plan didn’t work.

Scott hasn’t pitched since July with elbow discomfort. There was optimism the elbow was healing, especially when he began throwing bullpen sessions in August. It’s unclear what happened, but something went wrong as we learned last week that he is undergoing a hybrid surgery that involves both Tommy John and the internal brace procedure. Considering the timing, don’t expect to see him until the 2026 season. If you have a strong team in a dynasty league, he may be droppable when it comes to roster cutdowns.

Was this a breakout season for David Peterson?

Statistically, this was the best season we’ve seen from David Peterson. He already set a new career-high in innings pitched with 114 and will get at least one more start to increase that total. The innings also come with a career-low ERA and his lowest WHIP since his 49-inning debut in 2020. However, the underlying data is not optimistic of this being a full breakout.

Let’s start with the strikeouts. His 19% strikeout rate is the worst of his career. Yes, that comes with a career-best walk rate of only 8.8%. That’s not enough of an improvement to make up for the decrease in strikeouts. While the ERA looks good, that’s attributable to a low home run rate, which is largely luck-based. When evaluating Peterson next season, take heed that all the ERA indicators view him as a pitcher whose ERA should be a run higher.

Is Landon Knack staying in the Dodgers’ rotation?

The Dodgers couldn’t have asked for more from Landon Knack this season. Whatever they’ve asked from him, he’s delivered, whether as a starting or relief pitcher. With the Dodgers’ recent pitching transactions, he may have finally found a home in the rotation.

Tyler Glasnow will not be pitching the rest of this season with his elbow injury. Continued ineffectiveness forced the demotion of Bobby Miller to the Minors. On the same day those transactions became official, Knack delivered seven strikeouts over five innings without an earned run. It’s his seventh start this season of at least five innings pitched with no more than two earned runs allowed. He’s only made 11 starts to show his efficiency on a per-start basis. His last start lines up to be against San Diego.

Didn’t Bo Bichette come back from his injury?

Bo Bichette missed over two months with a calf injury. He returned last week by going 2-for-5 with an RBI. It was a productive return, but it was short-lived.

Bichette was out of the lineup the very next day. We learned later that it was a new finger injury. He broke the middle finger on his right hand while fielding groundballs. It forced him onto the injured list (IL) and ended his season early. It was a disappointing season with only four home runs, five stolen bases and a .225 batting average. His draft value will drop substantially next year, which may make him a value.

What has changed with Jose Quintana?

While it has gained little fanfare, Jose Quintana has carried fantasy teams to championships over the last month. Over his last five starts, he has allowed only one earned run while pitching 32 innings.

It’s not that he is suddenly striking out batters at an increased rate. He only has 20 in the 32 innings. It’s the groundballs that are coming in droves. He has a 63% groundball rate during this stretch compared to his season-long percentage of 47.4%. The highest mark among qualified pitchers is Framber Valdez at 60.5% to show how high a 63% mark is. If he can maintain that groundball rate the next few starts, he will continue to prevent runs.

Where is CJ Abrams?

While the second half had been a step back for CJ Abrams, it was still shocking to see him demoted to Triple-A on Saturday morning. Especially so when you consider he was 10-for-21 over his last six games with a home run and three stolen bases. As the day progressed, we learned why the move happened.

On Friday, the Nationals and Cubs played a day game where Abrams went 0-for-3 with a walk. The issue wasn’t his performance but rather what he had been doing mere hours before that. There was pictorial evidence he was in the casino throughout the night until 8 a.m. on Friday. The Nationals sent a message to Abrams as to what he should be prioritizing. Given his volatile skill set and now off-field concerns, he’ll be a fascinating discussion next spring during fantasy draft season.

Has Julio Rodriguez quietly bounced back?

No matter how you slice it, it’s been a disappointing season for Julio Rodriguez. It appears he’ll finish with career-lows in each of the five rotisserie categories. What is hidden is that he looks remarkably like himself in the past three weeks.

It’s an arbitrary endpoint, but if you start on August 28th, Rodriguez has performed like the first-round talent he was drafted to be. In the 23 games since then, he has 22 runs, eight home runs, 23 RBI, five stolen bases and is batting .363. His resurgence has been driven by more flyballs. For the season, he has only hit 35.5% of his balls in the air. Since August 28th, that number is 45%. While he won’t necessarily come as a first-round selection next season, we all know he can perform like one.

What is wrong with Mitch Keller?

This question about Mitch Keller came via request. Keller had a blowup start of eight earned runs in only 3.1 innings on Friday, which bounced many teams from their fantasy playoffs. Unfortunately, blowups have been an issue for him this season.

This was Keller’s third start this season with seven or more earned runs, all of which have come since the beginning of August. It now puts his statistics at nearly identical marks to last season. While it’s not what Keller’s owners want to hear, this is just who he is. There will be stretches of greatness, but too many home runs allowed can lead to bad starts at any time.

Can Luisangel Acuna be a league winner?

Last season, Ronald Acuna Jr. carried fantasy teams to championships with his historic season. It’s only been eight big league games, but his little brother Luisangel Acuna has shown he could also be a league winner as a late pickup.

In his eight games, Acuna has six runs, three home runs and six RBI with a 385 batting average. Surprisingly, he hasn’t stolen a base. All of the production has been a bit surprising with his minor-league track record. In 131 games at Triple-A, he only had seven home runs but stole 40 bases. While he has provided unexpected power early in his career, the speed should be coming.

Who is the closer in Arizona?

If you’re looking for some late saves to boost your fantasy team, there has been a quiet change to the bullpen in Arizona. Justin Martinez has operated as the closer for the past couple of months, but A.J. Puk has seemingly taken that job.

It’s not only that Puk earned the most recent save, but his usage in the very next game also tells a story. On Friday, Martinez was called upon to pitch the seventh inning, with Puk called upon to earn the save. One-off saves can be written off as a fluke or a matchup-based situation. We haven’t seen another save opportunity since that game to know for sure, but each player pitched the next day with Puk getting the eighth inning and Martinez the ninth. If you want to go with who has pitched better, Puk has allowed only one earned run since joining the Diamondbacks over 25 innings, which is a 0.36 ERA.

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