Astros in Fantasy: Scott Feldman

By Eric Huysman | Mar 20, 2015

For today’s Astros in fantasy post, we will look at the Astros opening day starter for last year, Scott Feldman. Before the 2014 season, Feldman signed a three-year deal with the Astros to be the veteran in the rotation that was really young and lacked experience. A Max Scherzer type of pitcher, Feldman is not. However, he does pitch pretty effectively. With the emergence of Dallas Keuchel, Feldman has been named the number two starter for 2015.

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The Astros seem to be a much better team on paper, but how will the offseason additions affect Scott Feldman’s fantasy value in 2015? Where should he be drafted during 10-team, 12-team, or 20-team fantasy league drafts? The deeper your league, the more useful Feldman becomes.

What happened in 2014 for Feldman

Scott Feldman entered spring training as the defacto ace for the Astros in 2014. Early in the season, he pitched like an ace. However, with exception of April and September, Feldman struggled at times.

April: 2-1/ 1.69 ERA/ .938 WHIP

September: 0-2/ 1.91 ERA/ 1.024 WHIP

Moral of the story is that the Astros need to have a calendar in their locker room that says April for the first few months of the season, and says September the other months. In the table below, we have included a comparison of Feldman’s stats in 2013 to 2014.

While his overall numbers stayed consistent, the biggest changes that pop out is the decrease in wins and strikeouts from 2013 to 2014. The decrease in wins can be explained by an offense that struggled at times and a bullpen that gave up the lead far too many times. The Astros believe that they have improved both of those categories for the 2015 season, but only time will tell how good the Astros could be.

Fantasy Rankings for Scott Feldman

According to Fantasy Pros, Scott Feldman ranks as the #142 overall pitcher for 2015. This ranking includes relievers. His best ranking that factored into his ranking was #90 by Roto Champ, and his worst ranking was #144 by Rudy Gamble at Razzball.

In a 10-team league, depending on the owner, most teams will have between 10-12 pitchers on their team. The pitching depth in a typical fantasy league would be in between 100 and 120 pitchers, so unless you are a big Astros homer, Feldman is probably undraftable.

Looking at the average draft position, Scott Feldman has been drafted as the #634 player taken in draft and #186 overall pitcher.

Fantasy Projections for Scott Feldman

Fantasy Pros also offers a consensus projections of most baseball players, they refer to it as Zeile Consensus. Here is his consensus projections.

The projections show a regression for Feldman from 2014 in terms of ERA, but most of his other numbers look to improve.

Final Thoughts

Scott Feldman would be a great pitcher to have on your team if you are a pitcher streamer, he has a good matchup, or if he is in the midst of a hot streak. That is what Feldman is- someone to leave as a free agent until the stars align or you are desperate. That’s the world of fantasy baseball for you, where it’s not good to be an average pitcher. The Astros welcomed him as a middle of the rotation guy, and he has established projectable stats with his recent experience.

In the words of Barney from “How I Met Your Mother,” use Feldman for one night, then drop him ASAP before you get attached to him.

January 2nd, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 1: Astros Top 10 prospects

January 9th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 2a: George Springer

January 16th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 3: Evan Gattis

January 23rd, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 4: Jose Altuve

January 30th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 5: Chris Carter

February 6th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 6: Dallas Keuchel

February 13th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 7 : Luke Gregerson and the Big 3

February 20th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 8: Jed Lowrie and Luis Valbuena

February 27th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 9: Colby Rasmus

March 6th, 2015 – Astros in Fantasy Part 10:Jon Singleton

Next: Get To Know Your Astros Top Prospects Part 1

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