Sunday, June 16, 2013

Trade Review: Montezuma's and Cowhide

Cowhide receives:
SP Jordan Lyles HOU
19th rounder

Montezuma's receives:
SP Corey Kluber CLE
22nd rounder

Of the unsexy trades, this may be the unsexiest.  But I like Kluber; almost picked him before Dave did and he continues to impress. Like Lyles, the overall numbers are skewed by one really bad outing in a year that started in the minors. Kluber however is 12th in the league in xFIP (fielding independent pitching) among some of the top performing pitchers in fantasy this year. That with a very good walk rate (1.8 BB/9), good homer rate (1.1 HR/9) and striking out a batter per inning (19th in the league among starters) makes him a very interesting speculative addition. Mind you, not one worth giving up much more than a few rounds of upgrade due to his lack of pedigree or impressive upside, but he's certainly got ability if you watch him pitch and could be a great source of value for little cost. Or he could be back on the wire next week. He doesn't have a high GB% at 44%, so that might show up in the box score from time to time. Lyles meanwhile has been excellent and recently Kd 10 batters to add to a string of very good starts for the lowly Stros. He was a decent prospect and has had sporadic success in the majors, so he's one worth monitoring. The major difference between the two is Lyles higher walk and lower K rate and the level of competition Kluber has faced, which is noteworthy. Either way, low risk/potentially high reward move for myself. Go me.

2 comments:

  1. I have to disagree. I think trading any pick for a guy like Kluber is bad practice.

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  2. I see it this way: the players I tend to go for in round 19 are usually there in 22. And I wouldn't make the deal for someone I thought was a fly-by-night guy. I've got a level of conviction, based on underlying stats, that show he's for real. His latest gem yesterday is further evidence. Even if he end up as just a solid middle of the rotation guy, that's worth far more than a few rounds late in the draft.

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