Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
After starting the 2013 fantasy baseball off 6-0, Boston Red Sox SP Jon Lester was on top of the world. He was over his abysmal 2012 season (4.82 ERA/1.29 WHIP) and many fantasy owners were comfortable giving him the start week after week.
However, Lester had a pretty big hiccup in the middle of the season. During an eight-start stretch in the middle of the season, Lester had a 7.14 ERA. He was getting beat up each start and was back on the bench in most fantasy formats.
Related: Fantasy Baseball Owners Exhale, Target Baltimore Orioles’ Manny Machado
After the All-Star break, though, Lester once again found his grove. He had a 7-2 record with 74 strikeouts in 87.2 innings. If that’s where Lester’s season ended, he would have once again been drafted as a third or fourth starter.
The veteran hurler carried his second-half success right into the postseason, though, and Lester had an incredible 4-1 record in five appearances. Through 34.2 innings, the superstar southpaw finished with an 1.56 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts. Not to mention his 2-0 record with a 0.59 ERA and 15 K’s in two World Series starts. He was a large reason for the team wining the World Series and fantasy owners will no doubt bump him up a couple spots this off-season due to the great championship run.
Lester’s regular season line was 15-8 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, but he blew those numbers away in the postseason. Lester’s immaculate playoff run will only cause his value to go up in 2014 fantasy baseball drafts. He will now be drafted as a SP2 in drafts this summer, so fantasy owners should plan their off-season accordingly.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
