John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
When the season started everyone was expecting the Kansas City Royals to make a real push. The team was filled with promising sticks and had a rotation loaded with veteran arms. However, the team is currently 52-51 and is in third place in the American League Central.
One of the team’s problems has been a lack of quality starts from their starters. It has frustrated fantasy baseball owners all year and the inconsistency recently forced Kansas City to mix up their starting rotation. The pitcher that was just moved into the rotation was Bruce Chen.
Since rejoining the rotation, Chen has pitched like a mid-level fantasy option. He has lasted at least six innings in each of his three starts and has rejuvenated his fantasy value. Chen has only allowed three total earned runs over that span (18 innings) and has a glimmering 1.50 ERA.
Chen has only struck out 13 batters over that stretch while walking three batters. The southpaw has never been a strikeout pitcher, though, so the lack of K’s shouldn’t be too surprising. He has always been a command style of hurler that rarely misses his targets.
The 14-year pro has shown that he has something left in the tank after all. Chen could be a great waiver wire addition as the playoffs approach. He has all the potential of a strong SP4 in deeper leagues and could be a sneaky two-start option in the final weeks of the season.
If Chen is still available in your 14-man league, I would advise grabbing the veteran as soon as possible.
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.
