Starting pitching is always at a premium in fantasy baseball. You can never have enough of it and you are always trying to get more. It’s been an even more difficult year to acquire pitching due to the numerous Tommy John surgeries and other injuries. Fortunately, at least one big starter has come back.
Mat Latos missed the first two months of the season, but finally returned to the mound on June 14 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Latos dominated the Brewers lineup, allowing just two hits in six shutout innings. It was his first start back from the disabled list, so he was pulled just 87 pitches through six innings. Four strikeouts may not stand out, it’s a solid number considering the circumstances. Many hoped Latos would build on his return and have an even better the following week.
Unfortunately, Latos ran into a bad matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays in Great American Ball Park. Facing a Toronto lineup that is third in runs (368), fourth in on-base percentage (.330) and first in home runs (102), it wasn’t exactly the best matchup to have.
Things were going well for Latos until the third inning when Edwin Encarnacion blasted a three-run home run over the left field wall to give Toronto a 3-0 lead. The hits were adding up for Latos and it finally came back to bite him. He did respond with two shutdown innings but unraveled again in the sixth. He gave up three straight hits including an RBI single before he was pulled. One of the runs would later come around to score and Latos’ book was officially closed with five runs allowed. In total, Latos gave up nine hits and two walks along with just two strikeouts.
This is certainly not the type of outing you want to see from an ace, but it had to be expected given the circumstances. It’s already a tough assignment for pitchers in Great American Ball Park and the Blue Jays didn’t make it any easier. Latos now sits with a 3.86 earned run average in two starts as he prepares for his next start on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs.
Facing the Cubs on the road is an ideal bounce back matchup for Latos. The team ranks 28th in runs (281), 29th in batting average (.232) and strikes out often (648). Latos has dominated the Cubs over the past three seasons, posting a 1.98 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched. You couldn’t have asked for a better matchup and Latos is certainly a must start.
Going forward, there is plenty of reason to believe Latos is an ace going forward. The 26-year-old really settled in with Cincinnati last season, with a 3.16 earned run average, 187 strikeouts and a 1.21 WHIP. It took him a year to really get adjusted to making the transition from Petco Park to Great American Ball Park, but he has finally settled in. Latos is still very young and his knowledge of what pitches to use and how to pitch for outs, will be huge for him going forward.
You can absolutely rely on Latos as another fantasy ace who you start each and every time he is on the mound. If a fantasy owner is overreacting to one bad start and concerned about injuries, take advantage and go acquire Latos.