Jacob Turner (SP-CHN). Turner had yet another rough outing on Sunday against the Dodgers, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits over 5 innings, increasing his ERA to an even 6.00 for the season. Once the Tigers' top pitching prospect, Turner has never been able to find consistent success at the major league level. Having said that, Turner has shown signs this season that he could be able to be at least a back-end NL-only starter next year. Turner has shown improved control (2.62 BB/9 rate this year vs. 4.12 BB/9 last year) and his ERA is being extremely negatively impacted by a .358 BABIP and a 61.4% strand rate. Given a normalization of these two numbers, his ERA next year could be expected to be closer to his 3.99 FIP. Turner rolls ground balls at an elite rate (66.9% career GB rate), but he has never been able to miss enough bats at the major league level (career 14.8% K rate) to have any fantasy value. Still, if he wins a spot in the Cubs' rotation next year, he could be worth a late round flier in NL-only leagues on the off-chance that he finally manages to realize his potential.
Stephen Strasburg (SP-WAS). Strasburg picked up his 13th win of the season on Sunday, tossing 7 innings of shutout ball against the Marlins . As someone who has been heavily invested in Strasburg this year, I have to say his 13 wins and 3.23 ERA have been somewhat disappointing. This is probably unfair,since most owners would happily take these numbers, but for a high draft pick, I expected more. Strasburg's peripherals indicate that he should have better numbers, as evidenced by his 2.98 FIP and 2.57 xFIP. Strasburg has been victimized by an uncharacteristically high 13.5%. Assuming this rate normalizes next year, Strasburg should be able to put up numbers more in keeping with his customary draft position.
Nathan Eovaldi (SP-MIA). Eovaldi pitched six solid innings against the Nationals on Sunday, giving up only 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 4. Unfortunately, he was matched up against the good Stephen Strasburg, and he left the game on the short end of a 2-0 score. Eovaldi got off to a hot start to the season, but fell on hard times around midseason and, even with today's solid outing, his season ERA is an unsightly 4.44. Eovaldi has probably pitched a bit better than that, as he has a 3.38 FIP and a 3.80 xFIP, but his biggest problem has been an inability to generate Ks, despite an average FB velocity of 95.5 MPH. Eovaldi has simply been unable to find a second pitch to play off his FB to enable him to put batters away. Unless he can develop such a pitch, Eovaldi will continue to be irrelevant in most fantasy formats.
Jacob deGrom (SP-NYN). DeGrom had another impressive outing agaisnt the fading Braves on Sunday, as he gave up only 1 run over 6 innings, while striking out 10. DeGrom has performaned better than the more heralded Mets' pitching prospects, as his ERA now sits at a stellar 2.63 and he has struck out an astonishing (given his minor league K rates) 144 batters in 140.1 innings. Although deGrom's underlying stats (2.66 FIP and 3.03 xFIP) seem to support his performance, I would be cautious about overvaluing deGrom for 2015, as his major league K rate of 24.8% far exceeds the rates he posted in the minors, making me skeptical about his ability to maintain his current level of strikeouts. If you can get him for a reasonable cost/reasonable draft position, I would recommend adding him, but be careful not to overpay.
Arismendy Alcantara (OF/2B-CHN). Alcantara went 1 for 4 with an RBI on Sunday afternoon. Alcantara has been a mixed bag for fantasy owners - the good: 10 HR and 8 SB; the bad - .215 BA and a 28.5% K rate. So what can owners expect from Alcantara in 2015? First, he'll have to win a job, since Kris Bryant will presumably be playing either 3B or an OF corner and Javier Baez will presumably be playing second or third, depending on where Bryant winds up. That would leave CF as the most likely landing spot for Alcantara. Assuming he can win a starting job, I like Alcantara a lot, because, with 20 games played at 2B, he will qualify as a MI in most leagues. Given that position qualification and the fact that between AAA and the majors combined he has hit 20 HR and stolen 29 bases, he makes for a particularly intriguing late round flier, especially since his BA should improve, as it is currently being dragged down by a .265 BABIP. If Alcantara can win a job, he is a recommended target in 2015 drafts.
