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The Boston Red Sox are fresh off another brilliant World Championship run. Despite the constant media buzz surrounding the team, though, most fantasy baseball fans have lost site of one of team’s hurlers, Clay Buchholz.
Bucky was unhittable last season. He had a sizzling 1.74 ERA and 1.02 WHIP through the first 16 games of the season. He was 12-1 at that point and was easily a frontrunner for AL Cy Young. It was a masterful start to the 2013 fantasy season.
Unfortunately, the injury bug once again reared its ugly head. Buchholz missed three months of the regular season due to shoulder problems and didn’t suit up again in the regular season. He tried to come back around the All-Star break, but the team chose to be cautious with the veteran and keep him sidelined until the playoffs.
However, Buchholz didn’t have the best postseason showing either. In 20.2 innings, Buchholz recorded a high 4.65 ERA and gave up three critical home runs. It was literally the tale of two halves for the fireballer.
Heading into the 2014 season, Buchholz has been taking things easy. He isn’t working too crazy in camp and the fireballer is mainly working on strengthening his shoulder right now. He is only 29 years old, so his career is far from over, and he should be able to walk right back into his number two spot in the rotation this season.
Buchholz is too risky to grab as a number one after his injury-plagued 2013 campaign, but he could potentially be a steal as a second or third starter. So when you are scrolling down your cheat sheet on the draft day, don’t be afraid to call out Buchholz anywhere after the seventh round.
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.
