Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
One fantasy baseball pitcher that has severely struggled this season has been San Diego Padres SP Clayton Richard. The right-hander was drafted as a low-end starter in many 14-man leagues this spring, but has caused every owner to question if he is worth a roster spot this season.
On April 23rd against the Milwaukee Brewers, Richard lasted just 1.2 innings and was absolutely shelled. He gave up six hits, six earned runs, and picked up his second loss of the year.
In his start this past Monday night versus the Chicago Cubs, Richard was once again beat up. He lasted 5.2 innings, allowed seven hits, and gave up another five earned runs. In his last two outings combined, Richard has allowed an embarrassing 11 earned runs and has killed the week of any fantasy owner that has started him.
Richard now has an awful 7.94 ERA and his 1.89 WHIP is one of the worst among fantasy starters. In three of his five starts this year, Richard has allowed five earned runs or more. He is missing his location on every pitch and has had more pitches bounce in the dirt than actually hit the catcher’s glove.
The 29-year-old threw 200 innings last year and managed to keep his ERA under 4.00 (3.99), so many fantasy owners pegged him as a late sleeper in 2013. However, since his ERA is growing by the minute, and he actually failed to get out of the second inning in a start this year, Richard is clearly not the pitcher we thought he was.
It is simply time to let go of Richard. He doesn’t appear to be throwing the ball anywhere near the strike zone and the friendly confines of Petco Park can’t even salvage this righty’s ERA. Cut ties with Richard now and try to add one of the youngsters about to get called up.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
