Fireballers are the stuff of fantasy, but the reality is leagues aren’t won on the radar gun.
Fastball velocity is seductive, especially when you consider strikeout-stacking studs Stephen Strasburg and David Price rate 1-2 in that category among starting pitchers.
Ninety mph isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A hundred mph.
But it’s unwise to discriminate against the soft-tossers, the junkballers, the spit-appliers.
Just look over to Queens, where the Mets’ 37-year-old righty R.A. Dickey — the highest-rated pitcher in fantasy this season — threw his second straight one-hitter Monday night with a dancing knuckleball and a spot fastball traveling a speed that probably doesn’t get you pulled over on the Van Wyck.
The next night, Rays reliever Joel Peralta was ejected (and later suspended) in Washington for hiding a helping of pine tar in his glove, and — whether this strikes you as cheating or good ol’-time ball-doctoring — this 36-year-old journeyman with a middling fastball has 36 Ks and a 0.97 WHIP in 29 innings. So …
This week Roto Files offers a change of pace by suggesting a few hurlers who won’t pop the mitt but could give you a pop in the standings:
Trevor Cahill, Diamondbacks
A free agent in over half of ESPN leagues, the fourth-year big leaguer (with a sinking fastball clocked at an average of 88.7 mph, according to FanGraphs) has stepped up in his past six starts, with four wins, a 2.83 ERA and 36 Ks in 41 ¹/₃ innings. His extreme ground-ball rate makes him somewhat immune to Arizona’s homer-heavy Chase Field.
Alex Cobb, Rays
Another available ground-ball righty who just occasionally cracks 90 (89.6 average), the 24-year-old had 32 strikeouts (7.6 per nine) and a legit-looking 1.16 WHIP through six starts backed by a good defense on a good team. A heavy dose of changeups makes him tough on lefties (.235 opposing average).
Ryan Vogelsong, Giants
He doesn’t have the name recognition or electric stuff of his San Fran rotation mates, but the soon-to-be-35-year-old can serve as a good ERA (2.49) and WHIP (1.15) suppressor with a spacious home park. On top of a 90-mph fastball, he mixes in a cutter, curveball, and changeup to produce useful strikeout numbers (6.4 per nine) as well.
Jason Vargas, Mariners
Whereas the value of the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte is at a peak, Vargas’ sunk to a new low after he was shelled for 10 runs on Wednesday. He has been victimized by terrible luck on fly balls (12.4 percent for homers) — leading to 16 longballs in 10 road starts. Once that trend reverts to the mean, he’ll become a sneaky low-WHIP innings-eater who may soon move to a better team in a trade.
jlehman@nypost.com