It wasn’t all that long ago Tim Lincecum was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, and a perennial Top 5 fantasy pitcher.
Those days appear to be, for the most part, gone. He seems to be a fantasy afterthought. You see his name and you’re like, “What happened to him? Didn’t he used to be good?”
On Wednesday, Lincecum showed up and threw his second career no-hitter.
It’s an impressive feat, even if it came against the Padres (he also no-hit them on July 13, 2013), a team that not only has the league’s worst batting average (.213) and OPS (.610), but has also scored the least amount of runs (238) going into Friday night. It’s not exactly like no-hitting the Tigers, Blue Jays, Dodgers or Rockies (like Clayton Kershaw did on June 18).
After throwing a no-hitter, one might expect a bump in fantasy value (like Josh Beckett after his May 25 no-no against the Phillies) — especially a hurler with Lincecum’s resume and the fact he’s on a first-place team and is in no danger of losing his rotation spot.
Yet, there wasn’t a mad rush to pick up the two-time Cy Young award-winner, or an increase in trades made including the Giants right-hander. It was actually the opposite.
As of Friday afternoon, he was owned in 37.2 percent of ESPN leagues, which was actually down 0.3 percent from earlier in the week. The lack of movement is justified.
Beckett, who has been injury-prone and mediocre since finishing ninth in Cy Young voting and making the All-Star team in 2011, has gone 2-3 with a 1.66 ERA and 36 strikeouts since his feat versus Philadelphia, and is currently owned in 100 percent of ESPN leagues.
Beckett has one fewer win than Lincecum and just five more strikeouts.
So, what makes Beckett, a three-time All-Star, more valuable?
How about the fact Beckett has a 2.11 ERA and his 1.00 WHIP, while The Freak has a 4.42 ERA or that 1.34 WHIP? How about the fact Lincecum’s six wins came against the Padres (two), Mets (one), Twins (one) and Braves (two), all of which are ranked in the bottom 10 in batting average?
Lincecum still has fantasy value, but he’s more of a streaming option against weaker teams (or if you’re in need of strikeouts).
The no-hitter is a great accomplishment to add to his Cy Youngs and two World Series rings, but, in the long run, it won’t help you win a fantasy title. Roto Files feels he can’t be trusted against big bats, not after allowing 248 earned runs and 202 walks since 2012.
We would much rather own the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta (22 percent available), who is 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA and 38 strikeouts over his last five starts, and hasn’t lost since May 27.
We would rather have the Mets’ Bartolo Colon (45 percent), who hasn’t suffered a loss since May 6 and is 6-0 with 39 strikeouts and a 1.58 ERA in his last seven starts, or Miami’s Henderson Alvarez (54 percent available), who is 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA over his last seven starts.
Just say no-no to The Freak.
Quick Hits
Here’s your pickup of the week: J.D. Martinez, who was 24-for-69 (.348) with seven homers, 21 RBIs and a 1.12 OPS this month before Friday…Keep an eye on Taijuan Walker being added to the Mariners’ rotation after throwing a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts for Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday…Scooter Gennett is hitting .392 with a 1.10 OPS, three homers, 11 RBIs, 12 doubles and a stolen base this month, yet is still available in 66 percent of ESPN leagues. Go get him!…Last week’s Roto Files pointed out J.J. Hardy hadn’t hit a homer in 63 games and the next day he hit one. So, let’s try this: Yasiel Puig’s last homer came on May 28. What’s up with that?…Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos returned from the disabled list, which means you have about two weeks of solid production before he’s either injured again or kidnapped.
Fantasy Team Name of the Week: Vanilla Bryce.