Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
One of the biggest surprises of the first half of the fantasy baseball season has been Oakland Athletics SP Bartolo Colon.
Colon currently has 13 wins, which is pretty shocking, but the fact that he only has three loses is even more jaw-dropping. The 40-year-old also has a sizzling 2.70 ERA to go along with an equally impressive 1.11 WHIP. Colon has looked like a Cy Young contender through his first 20 starts and has outpitched some of the best arms in fantasy.
Colon has a career-best 2.52 ERA with 1.08 WHIP and the right-hander has pitched like a legitimate number two fantasy arm. In his first start after the turn, Colon lasted nine scoreless innings and allowed just four hits in a 6-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. It was his best start of the season, which says a lot.
However, the way Colon is pitching right now, it seems almost impossible that he can keep it up. He is 40 years old and at some point all the innings have to start to catch up with the middle-aged pitcher. Colon has also thrown his fastball 84.7% of the time this year and eventually his shoulder will simply start to wear down.
Even more concerning is that Colon has been in the middle of the Biogenesis controversy. He may not draw the attention of Ryan Braun or Alex Rodriguez, but the starter could see a serious suspension in the next couple weeks, especially considering that he was also docked 50 games last year for PED use. If he is suspended down the stretch, like Braun was this past Monday, it could be another devastating blow to the fantasy world.
Either way, Colon can’t possibly keep up this ridiculous pace, so fantasy owners should be prepared for a bit of a let down over the second half of the season.
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.
