2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings & Projections
Starting Pitcher #49
49. John Lackey CHC
Record - 12-9
ERA - 3.54
WHIP - 1.26
K - 157
Saves - 0
37 year old John Lackey continues to defy Father Time as he's entering his 14th season in the Majors. Lackey, who pitches behind a 6' 6" 235 pound Texas-born frame, posted a career low 2.77 ERA in 2015 and managed a 1.21 WHIP, tied for the second lowest WHIP of his career.
Record - 12-9
ERA - 3.54
WHIP - 1.26
K - 157
Saves - 0
37 year old John Lackey continues to defy Father Time as he's entering his 14th season in the Majors. Lackey, who pitches behind a 6' 6" 235 pound Texas-born frame, posted a career low 2.77 ERA in 2015 and managed a 1.21 WHIP, tied for the second lowest WHIP of his career.
His 2015 success can be attributed to his career high 82.6% left on base rate and the third highest chase rate (32.7%) at pitches thrown outside of the strike zone. My main concern with Lackey is his climbing career pitch count. John has thrown over 2,500 innings in the regular and postseason combined, that's not to include his minor league numbers. That's roughly 40,000 Major League pitches and then some if you include his time in the minors. I'm also worried about the underlying numbers that he put up last year that scream regression. As I mentioned earlier, Lackey posted a 2.77 ERA last year, what you need to know is that he had a 3.57 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) and a 3.77 xFIP (Expected Fielding Independent Pitching). With that in mind, I'm staying away from Lackey in Fantasy leagues this year. |
On a historical note, Lackey was drafted in the 1999 MLB Draft in the second round (68th overall) by the club formerly known as the Anaheim Angels. He was picked 16 spots behind Carl Crawford, 11 spots behind Brandon Phillips and 334 spots ahead of Albert Pujols.