2014 Fantasy Baseball: Atlanta Braves’ Alex Wood Among Key SPs To Own in Week 13

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Gavin Floyd has a fractured elbow in his pitching arm, and all logic points to Alex Wood being called up and becoming a permanent fixture in the Atlanta Braves‘ rotation.  What more does Kansas City RoyalsDanny Duffy need to do in order to get fantasy managers’ attentions? Kevin Gausman is holding his own in the ball-bashing AL East for the Baltimore Orioles, and 30-year-old Yohan Pino of the Minnesota Twins could be another Jesse Chavez this year.

Alex Wood, Braves (50 percent owned in Yahoo leagues): For some reason, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez thought Floyd was better suited in his rotation. He figured Wood would benefit more by eating innings in Triple-A instead of getting work out of the bullpen. Except for Wood has not been eating innings and has been used sparingly. It appears the Braves are keeping his arm fresh, should a future need arise. Well, the future is now. Wood’s ERA sits at 1.40 for Gwinnett, and it was 3.43 with a K/9 of 9.4 across 18 appearances and seven starts in 2014 before he was sent on assignment.

Danny Duffy, Royals (21 percent): As I mentioned back in April, this guy is going to be good. If you did not see an opportunity to improve your pitching staff and stash him then, surely you will now if you lack depth or talent. What has Duffy done since becoming a full-time starter? Just gone five for his last eight in quality starts en route to a season ERA of 2.80 for the surging Royals. He has played a large hand in their recent success, as Duffy is 2-1 in his last four outings. Last night he was a tough-luck loser, with a line of 7IP-3H-2ER-1BB-5K.

Kevin Gausman, Orioles (18 percent): Gausman is in the midst of his second stint with MLB in 2014. So far, so good. He plays in the AL East which is a hitter’s paradise. Since being called back up on June 7, he has faced the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. Two of those three teams can really, really hit and are in first place in their respective divisions. The results have been very promising, as across those three starts, Gausman lasted 19 innings total, allowing a combined two earned runs. He also picked up wins in all of those trips to the bump and has witnessed his ERA fall from 11.25 in May to a currently respectable 2.74.

Yohan Pino, Twins (N/A): This is funny, because since when can a guy with a 9-1 record and an ERA of 1.92 in Triple-A not be on Yahoo’s radar? Even more so, how can Yahoo be late to recognize a man whose line was 7IP-5H-2ER-1BB-7K in his major league debut? Is the Venezualan a late bloomer? Is he the real deal? Who knows, but he’s probably worth streaming while he’s hot or until major league hitters figure him out — if they ever do. He struck both Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu out twice last night and Alexei Ramirez once. Pino will take Mike Pelfrey‘s place in the Twinkies’ rotation.

Taking a look back in time, I would consider myself three for four with my forecasting, with the exception of course being Edinson Volquez. Even still, if you own him and played your matchups right, he is two for three in quality starts over the last two weeks. But like the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, I guess I get no respect.

Jordan Wevers is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanWevers, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.


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