After writing about five Buy Low starting pitchers, it’s time to take a look at the other end of the spectrum.
Getting rid of pitchers who are pitching well is hard to do, but it’s better than watching a pitcher implode and wreck your season.
Here are five pitchers who would be better off on someone else’s team.
- Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox – Beckett has been amazing this year and is currently the 11th best player in Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball leagues. He only has 11 wins, but he’s amassed 100 strikeouts and has an ERA of 2.12. But, based on Beckett’s injury history (notably with blisters), he’s a risk for the rest of the season. He’s at the peak of his trade value right now, so get as much for him as you can and don’t look back.
- Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds – Cueto has been dynamic since starting the season on the DL. He’s struck out 52 batters in just under 90 innings, has a 2.01 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and 12 quality starts. But, hitters are only hitting .199 against him, more than 50 points below his career batting average against. He’ll still probably finish with a career best ERA and WHIP, but his opponents should start hitting for a higher average against him as the season wears on, and that means his second half will be worse than his first half.
- Jeff Karstens, Pittsburgh Pirates – The Pirates are in first place in the NL Central, but they are going to need Karstens and the pitching staff to continue their amazing pitching if they are going to win the division. But, Karstens has an ERA that is more than two whole points below his career average. There’s no way he can keep up this pace for the whole season. He’ll have the best season of his career, but he won’t be in Yahoo!’s top 100 players when the season ends.
- Josh Tomlin, Cleveland Indians – Tomlin is 11-4 this year for the surprising Cleveland Indians. But, his ERA has been steadily climbing since the start of June. If it climbs much higher, the wins will get harder and harder to come by. Trade him now before all of his trade value is gone.
- Kyle Lohse, St. Louis Cardinals – Lohse has only won once since the start of June. His ERA has also climbed from 2.13 to 3.32 in that time frame. He’s in the same boat as Tomlin, if you wait too much longer to trade him, no one will want to take him. Get rid of him before he either gets hurt or has his ERA climb above 4.00.