Top Relievers Qualified as Starters

One pitcher subset I like to exploit is relief pitchers (RP) with starting pitcher (SP) qualifications. In leagues with each SP and RP slots and daily lineup changes, these pitchers can be extremely useful. Starters can only throw every five days and then can’t accumulate any stats the rest of the time. On their off days, a SP qualified RP can be moved into the SP spot to help with rate stats and in a few rare cases, accumulate Saves. These pitchers got abused in Ottoneu to the point the rules got changed. Not all leagues ban them yet. Today, I am going to look at some of the better pitchers who may fill this requirement.

League have different rules on who qualifies for SP or RP. I am going to go with the generous value of five starts or relief appearances as the minimum to qualify at either position. In 2013, 48 pitchers met this qualification. Here they are with an average of their 2014 projected stats (order by ERA):

Name	ERA	FIP	K/9	BB/9
Andrew Cashner	3.34	3.36	7.6	2.7
Tony Cingrani	3.43	3.67	9.8	3.5
Michael Wacha	3.50	3.51	8.0	2.6
Tom Gorzelanny	3.59	3.97	8.4	3.3
Alex Wood	3.60	3.41	8.1	3.0
Tyson Ross	3.77	3.62	7.7	3.6
Joe Kelly	3.83	3.96	6.2	3.3
Carlos Torres	3.87	3.99	7.4	2.8
Tanner Roark	3.89	3.81	6.5	2.7
Carlos Villanueva	3.89	4.12	7.3	2.9
Alfredo Figaro	3.90	3.95	7.0	2.8
Jeanmar Gomez	3.92	3.92	5.8	3.0
Kevin Gausman	3.93	3.74	8.0	2.6
Chad Gaudin	4.06	4.03	7.5	3.5
Garrett Richards	4.08	3.93	6.2	3.1
Alfredo Aceves	4.09	4.52	6.9	3.5
Alexi Ogando	4.13	4.41	6.6	3.0
Justin Grimm	4.14	3.92	6.9	3.1
Hector Santiago	4.18	4.41	8.2	4.2
Brett Anderson	4.20	3.97	7.1	3.1
Joe Blanton	4.20	3.91	6.9	1.9
Carlos Carrasco	4.23	4.02	6.8	3.2
Dallas Keuchel	4.26	4.20	5.8	2.8
Wade Davis	4.27	4.15	6.9	3.5
David Phelps	4.27	4.13	7.9	3.4
Jerome Williams	4.28	4.29	5.8	2.7
Roberto Hernandez	4.32	4.34	6.0	2.4
Jose Alvarez	4.33	4.35	5.7	2.6
Erik Bedard	4.33	4.28	7.8	4.0
Jeff Francis	4.33	4.01	6.2	2.3
Bruce Chen	4.34	4.63	6.2	2.6
Luis Mendoza	4.36	4.34	5.3	3.5
Kevin Slowey	4.36	4.26	6.7	2.0
Ross Ohlendorf	4.43	4.39	6.7	3.0
Wade LeBlanc	4.46	4.44	6.2	2.8
Donovan Hand	4.46	4.56	5.9	3.0
Lucas Harrell	4.47	4.36	5.9	4.1
Esmil Rogers	4.48	4.27	7.2	3.1
Brandon Maurer	4.54	4.30	7.0	3.7
Tyler Thornburg	4.55	4.46	7.8	3.9
Jeremy Bonderman	4.56	4.65	5.2	3.1
Philip Humber	4.67	4.58	6.0	3.0
Tom Koehler	4.74	4.62	6.5	4.2
Chad Bettis	4.75	4.46	6.8	3.1
Dylan Axelrod	4.87	4.68	5.8	3.2
Ethan Martin	4.90	5.03	7.8	5.4
Barry Zito	4.94	4.99	5.6	3.6
Paul Clemens	5.18	5.14	6.1	3.5

Not all these pitchers can will be useful. The pitchers need to be in the bullpen (not Cashner) and need to be in a short relief role so they can come out throwing hard. What you need are starting pitchers headed to the bullpen. They are a little harder to target and a person must look into a team’s depth charts to find them.

After looking over the available pitchers, a couple stand out.

Whoever doesn’t make the Cardinals rotation. – The Cardinals have a plethora of starting pitching (reminds me of the Braves a couple years ago). Either Joe Kelly or Lance Lynn will have to move to the bullpen and should dominate. In leagues with only one start as a requirement to be a SP, Carlos Martinez would be one to target.

Wade Davis – Horrible starter, good reliever

Role: K/9, BB/9, ERA (career values)
Starter: 6.3, 3.4, 4.57
Reliever: 10.5, 3.7, 2.24

I will probably pick him up after I stash a couple drafted players on the DL. I don’t expect him to be on anyone’s radar.

Alfredo Figaro – Looks like he will be starting in the bullpen, but his talent is on the low side. His projected 2.5K/BB is not ideal for sure.

Kevin Gausman – His role has not been set yet with the Orioles. If he does officially get moved to the bullpen, it may be a good time to swoop in and pick him up from a disappointing owner.

Keep an eye on Alexi Ogando – I don’t think Ogando has the durability to start, but with Derek Holland’s knee surgery, Ogando is going to have to start until he breaks also. If the Rangers can find a way to move Ogando back to the bullpen, I like him more than anyone else I profiled.