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If you are in need of a very solid starting pitcher to add to your pitching staff early into the 2014 fantasy baseball season, look no further than New York Mets starter and seemingly ageless wonder, Bartolo Colon.
Colon is off to a fast start for the Mets and is proving many offseason naysayers wrong following his impressive 2013 campaign with the Oakland Athletics, when he went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA. Many in fantasy circles thought the 40-year-old could not continue on the pace he set with Oakland, but he has impressed in two starts for the Mets, going 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.15 WHIP after throwing seven scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves last night in Atlanta.
While Colon will never overwhelm in the strikeout department (6.2 per nine innings so far this season), he forecasts to win around 12 games and will very rarely get blown out. He will accumulate innings making him an ideal middle-of-the-rotation starter in overall points leagues where innings pitched counts. Anticipating an ERA that fluctuates between slightly under or over 3.00 is a fair assumption, assuming he stays healthy all season.
Colon is currently available in 44 percent of ESPN leagues and 49 percent on Yahoo. He is an ideal streaming candidate in high-transaction leagues and will not last long on the waiver wire if he continues on this pace. His next start is against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim on Sunday. His outing against the Angels could indicate just how solid Colon will be for the season considering that their high-powered lineup is somewhat familiar with him after facing him multiple times last season with Oakland.
If he performs again I do not anticipate that he will continue to be available — so act accordingly.
Timothy Downs is a fantasy sports writer for www.RantSports.com. You can add him on Google or follow on Twitter @Tidow1212.
