Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports
New York Mets SP Shaun Marcum made his season debut Saturday after dealing with neck issues since Spring Training, and pitched reasonably well in limited innings.
Marcum was on a pitch count in his first start back and was taken out after four innings. He throw 71 pitches and gave up three earned runs on five hits while striking out three. He has struggled with injuries of late but throughout his career has been a very consistent middle-of-the-rotation guy who will have fantasy baseball value when healthy.
He came into his own in 2007 with the Toronto Blue Jays and had three good seasons with them before moving to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011. Marcum pitched very well in his first year in the National League and went 13-7 with a 3.54 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 158 strikeouts. Last year he was off to a decent start and had nine quality starts out of 13 before he went down with an injury in June and wasn’t able to return until mid-August.
A nice signing by the Mets this off-season, he suffered a neck injury in spring training and fell off the draft boards of most fantasy baseball owners. Currently owned in less than 3 percent of ESPN leagues, Marcum should be on everyone’s radar in most leagues and may even be a smart add right now in deeper leagues.
He is slated to face a tough Atlanta Braves lineup on Friday so it’s probably wise to remain patient, but those looking for help in quality starts, ERA and WHIP can find value in Marcum.
Rich Arleo is a fantasy sports expert with Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Rarleo, ‘Like’ him on Facebook and add him to your networks on Google.
