Points Leagues: Relievers Who Start

Sometime shortly before or after this article goes live, MarmosDad’s weekly Top 100 Starting Pitchers will be available for you to read. Me doing a second ranking of pitchers in a given week seems silly, and doing it on the same day just wouldn’t make any sense at all. So I’m not going to do that. Read his piece once you’re done here, and make your general starting pitching choices accordingly.

When it comes to closers, JKJ does an excellent job, and the new Autopen tool he and Rudy put together is fantastic. You should use it.

So what are we doing here? Well, there’s one thing neither of those guys really focuses on, and that is the strange and unusual creature that is the starting pitcher who is relief pitcher eligible.

For roto or head-to-head categories leagues, those guys aren’t particularly noteworthy. Either there aren’t designated relief pitcher spots in your lineup, or having actual relievers is necessary for the sake of acquiring the almighty Save. In points leagues, though, you don’t care about saves beyond the points they accrue. However, a good starting pitcher will often provide more points in a given week than a closer, and that’s especially true in a two-start week. As a result, guys who start but qualify as relievers are often highly valued, and in some cases can be something of a cheat code in this format.

The question before us today is two-fold. First, who are those pitchers who fit that category? And second, are any of them actually any good this year?

The Good(ish)

Braxton Ashcraft, PIT

• MarmosDad covered him well in his article last week. He then went out and delivered 5 2/3 innings with 2 ER and 7 K. Easily the cream of the crop so far.

Joey Cantillo, CLE

• His outing on Sunday wasn’t inspiring, and the same could be said for many of his underlying metrics. In a single-start week, he’s not such a sure thing that you should just ignore his matchup, but with as rough as a lot of closers have been so far, I would feel fine using him most of the time. This is particularly true if my second closer was someone in that Jeff Hoffman/Pete Fairbanks/Seranthony Dominguez area, or worse.

Reid Detmers, LAA

• The xERA is sparkling (2.53). The Chase% is elite (94th percentile). The Whiff%, K%, and BB% are all in the top quarter of the league. But he’s still Reid Detmers, he of the career 4.71 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Even this year, for as good as the metrics look, he’s only lasted long enough to qualify for a win in 2 of his 4 starts. Starting him in a two-start week like this week lines up to be justifiable. Maybe he proves himself worthy of being used apart from those weeks. But don’t feel like you need to be super committed to holding him if things go south.

The Not So Good

Ryne Nelson, ARI

• I liked Nelson a lot coming into this year, eligibility aside. So far, that has proven to be a misplaced affection. He’s not nearly as bad as the complete disaster that was his last start, but he’s certainly not without flaws. I’d want to see him actually put up a good start before using him again.

Steven Matz, TB

• His ERA is 3.80. His xERA is 4.42. He’s 34 years old and has been around for more than a decade. You know who he is. Pitching in and for Tampa should help him be the usable but boring guy he’s almost always been.

Justin Wrobleski, LAD

• His xERA is more than a run and a half higher than his actual ERA. He doesn’t get any whiffs and thus doesn’t get any strikeouts. He’s the sixth starter on a team that cycles through starters more than anyone, even if they aren’t injured. None of those things shout “Use me!” But he’s the sixth starter for the Dodgers. Which means if he has a job and doesn’t fall on his face, he’ll be in line to get wins. That just makes him worth throwing out there if the matchup is right.

Foster Griffin, WSH

• He’s going to give you 5 innings, and about a strikeout per inning. He’s on the Nationals, if that gives you a hint as to the likelihood of him earning you points for wins. In a two-start week, he might be worth it. Beyond that? Meh.

Nick Martinez, TB

• Zzzzzzzzz

Carmen Mlodzinski, PIT

• I’m actually cautiously optimistic about the Pirate righty. At the very least, I want to see what he does his next time out. There’s at least a chance there might be something here.

Eric Lauer, TOR

• It was fun when he opened the season with back-to-back 5.1 IP, 9 K outings. But nothing about what he’s done since then suggests you should expect anything close to that going forward. He’s better than his current 7.13 ERA, but there’s not much of a ceiling for guys who aren’t ever allowed (or able) to finish the 6th inning.

The Bad

Jesse Scholtens, TB

• Scholtens has yet to give up a run in his two outings this season. He is also yet to actually start a game, though he is currently lined up to make two this week. He’s 32 years old and has not been good in what we’ve seen in the majors in the past. Unlike the names to follow, he hasn’t disappointed you yet this season. But he will. This is not the arm you’re looking for.

Anthony Kay, CHW

• I wish I could put him in the tier above. His ERA is a shiny 2.60! The issue is that he deserves an ERA closer to 7. Woof. He also doesn’t get many strikeouts, has pitched 5 innings once in four outings, and has followed an opener in two of those. I liked him as a super late pick during draft season, but whatever hopes I had have been pretty well snuffed out. You’d think I’d learn to get my hopes up about players on the White Sox. Alas.

Kyle Leahy, STL

• There was some preseason hope he’d make a solid transition to the rotation after spending a couple years in the bullpen. That has not happened.

Peter Lambert, COL

Taijuan Walker, PHI

• Just don’t with these guys, please. I’m talking to you, particularly, Philadelphia Phillies management.

Well, that was certainly underwhelming. Some years, this is a category of guys with some real difference makers. Some years it’s…this. One thing that possibly could have added a little excitement and upside was if White Sox were to actually try and stretch out Grant Taylor as a starter. They’ve used him as an opener on four occasions so far this season, and his stuff is electric. There were a few whispers that they were going to, but they quickly got shut down. Alas.