A common draft strategy includes loading up on hitting early and taking high-upside pitchers late. It’s a viable play because of how many starting pitchers there are in baseball. And these days, there’s a lot of young ones with exciting upside.
If these guys are floating around on your wire, snatch them up:
1. Jeff Samardzija, CHC – I talked about this guy before the season right here, so hopefully you jumped on board. The ex-reliever posted eight strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings on Sunday and walked none. That’s huge, considering the only concerns were about Samardzija’s control.
2. Lance Lynn, STL – Lynn will likely be forced out of the rotation when Chris Carpenter gets healthy, but in the meantime he’ll be a stud. Another ex-reliever that misses bats with ease.
3. Juan Nicasio, COL – That neck injury looked just fine on Sunday. He hits the mid-90s on his fastball and has a ton of upside despite pitching in Colorado’s thin air.
