Who Should I Draft?
Luis Castillo or Jack Flaherty (2021)
Experts' Pick | Experts' Pick | |
| Luis Castillo SP - CIN  | Jack Flaherty SP - STL  | |
Expert |
50% Recommended by 25 of 50 experts |
50% Recommended by 25 of 50 experts |
| Rankings | ||
| ECR | # 11 | # 10 |
| Best Rank | # 6 | # 7 |
| Worst Rank | # 17 | # 18 |
| ADP | ||
| Composite | # 27 | # 32 |
| Best Rank | # 24 | # 27 |
| Worst Rank | # 38 | # 34 |
| Projections | ||
| Strikeouts | 216 | 205 |
| Wins | 13 | 12 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| ERA | 3.52 | 3.48 |
| WHIP | 1.18 | 1.11 |
| Misc | ||
| Injury Alert | - | - |
| Expert Ranks | ||
| Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports | # 12 | # 9 |
| Site Projections RotoChamp | # 14 | # 13 |
| Grey Albright Razzball | # 11 | # 8 |
| Greg Smith The Fake Baseball | # 14 | # 7 |
| Jeff Boggis Fantasy Football Empire | # 12 | # 10 |
| Dalton Del Don Yahoo! Sports | # 15 | # 12 |
| Luke Gloeckner Mr. Cheatsheet | # 12 | # 8 |
| Dave McKay The Fantasy Sports Brain | # 11 | # 10 |
| Jake Ciely The Athletic | # 12 | # 10 |
| Chris Meaney FTN | # 11 | # 8 |
| Andy Singleton Expand The Boxscore | # 11 | # 10 |
| Heath Capps Fake Teams | # 12 | # 11 |
| Mario Mergola Sporfolio | # 14 | # 8 |
| Nick Pollack Pitcher List | # 13 | # 10 |
| Mike Maher FantasyPros | # 14 | # 8 |
| Donkey Teeth Razzball | # 11 | # 10 |
| Dan Harris FantasyPros | # 11 | # 10 |
| Ariel Cohen FanGraphs | # 9 | # 8 |
| Ryan Amore Pitcher List | # 17 | # 9 |
| Todd D Clark The Fantasy Fix | # 13 | # 11 |
| Carmen Maiorano FantasyPros | # 14 | # 13 |
| Lucas Spence Pitcher List | # 13 | # 8 |
| Brad Camara FantasyPros | # 13 | # 8 |
| Joe Pisapia FantasyPros | # 13 | # 11 |
| Nicklaus Gaut RotoBaller | # 15 | # 8 |
| Max Freeze Freeze Stats | # 6 | # 8 |
| Corbin Young FantasyData | # 6 | # 11 |
| Pierre Camus RotoBaller | # 7 | # 10 |
| Brendan Tuma FantasyPros | # 7 | # 11 |
| KJ Fantasy Team Advice | # 7 | # 11 |
| Chris Clegg Fantrax | # 8 | # 10 |
| Nick Mariano RotoBaller | # 8 | # 16 |
| Michael Waterloo FantasyPros | # 8 | # 13 |
| Andy Behrens Yahoo! Sports | # 8 | # 12 |
| Steve Gardner USA Today | # 8 | # 13 |
| Michael Petropoulos BRoto Fantasy | # 8 | # 11 |
| Jordan Eisen Field of Vision Sports | # 8 | # 11 |
| Rudy Gamble Razzball | # 8 | # 10 |
| Dennis Sosic Fantasy Six Pack | # 9 | # 11 |
| Jacob W. Dunne New Life Fantasy | # 9 | # 12 |
| Mick Ciallela Fantrax | # 10 | # 11 |
| Andrew Gould FantasyPros | # 10 | # 11 |
| Andrew Seifter FantasyPros | # 10 | # 11 |
| Joe Bond Fantasy Six Pack | # 10 | # 11 |
| Staff Rankings Roto Ranks | # 10 | # 11 |
| Adam Ronis Fantasy Alarm | # 10 | # 15 |
| Wayne Bretsky BretskyBall | # 11 | # 18 |
| Tim McCullough Baseball Prospectus | # 11 | # 12 |
| Nate Miller FantasyPros | # 12 | # 14 |
| Muntradamus Beast Dome | # 12 | # 13 |
| Luis Castillo SP - CIN | Jack Flaherty SP - STL | |
| 2020 Stats | ||
| Games Played | 12 | 9 |
| Games Started | 12 | 9 |
| Innings Pitched | 70.1 | 40.1 |
| Wins | 4 | 4 |
| Losses | 6 | 3 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Blown Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Holds | 0 | 0 |
| Hits Allowed | 62 | 33 |
| Earned Runs | 26 | 22 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 5 | 6 |
| Strikeouts | 89 | 49 |
| Walks | 24 | 16 |
| ERA | 3.34 | 4.91 |
| WHIP | 1.23 | 1.21 |
| Luis Castillo SP - CIN | Jack Flaherty SP - STL | |
| 2021 Projections | ||
| Games Played | 31 | 31 |
| Games Started | 31 | 31 |
| Innings Pitched | 183.9 | 173.0 |
| Wins | 13 | 12 |
| Losses | 9 | 8 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Blown Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Holds | 0 | 0 |
| Hits Allowed | 154 | 138 |
| Earned Runs | 72 | 67 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 21 | 23 |
| Strikeouts | 216 | 205 |
| Walks | 63 | 54 |
| ERA | 3.52 | 3.48 |
| WHIP | 1.18 | 1.11 |
| Luis Castillo SP - CIN | Jack Flaherty SP - STL | |
| News | ||
| Luis Castillo allowed four runs on seven hits -- including two home runs -- over five innings in a no-decision against the Giants on Tuesday. He struck out seven and walked none. Connor Rooney Wed, Apr 14th | Jack Flaherty pitched six innings in a victory over the Nationals on Monday, giving up six hits, five runs (two earned), two walks and notching five strikeouts to improve to 3-0 on the season. Lucas Spence Mon, Apr 19th | |
| Luis Castillo (1-1) earned the win Wednesday against the Pirates. He threw seven scoreless innings while allowing four hits and one walk. He struck out five. Connor Rooney Wed, Apr 7th | Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty got the better of Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night, pitching five innings (96 pitches) of one-run ball while yielding only three hits and striking out six. Lucas Spence Wed, Apr 14th | |
| Luis Castillo (0-1) allowed 10 runs (8 earned) on eight hits and two walks over 3.1 innings in a loss to the Cardinals on Thursday. He did not record a strikeout. Connor Rooney Fri, Apr 2nd | After struggling in his season debut, Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty pitched six scoreless innings against the Marlins on Wednesday, yielding only one hit while issuing four walks to go along with six strikeouts while picking up his first win of the season. Lucas Spence Wed, Apr 7th | |
| Reds RHP Luis Castillo threw live batting practice on Monday for the first time this spring. Brendan Tuma - Too Much Tuma Mon, Mar 8th | Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty had a rocky season debut on Thursday, lasting only 4.1 innings while surrendering six hits, six earned runs, and two walks to go along with four strikeouts. Lucas Spence Fri, Apr 2nd | |
| Luis Castillo agreed to a one-year, $4.2 million deal with the Reds to avoid arbitration. Jon Mathisen Fri, Jan 15th | MLB Network's Jon Heyman reports that Cardinals manager Mike Shildt has confirmed Jack Flaherty will be the team's Opening Day starter against Cincinnati. Lucas Spence Thu, Feb 25th | |
| Notes | ||
| Castillo turned in another excellent season last year, cutting his walk rate and striking out batters at a higher rate than he ever had in his career. His WHIP increased to a career-worst 1.23, but that was largely due to bad luck, as batters hit .232 against him despite an expected batting average of just .212. Nevertheless, Castillo kept runs off the board, largely because he was able to avoid home runs (just five in 70 innings) and limit free passes. Castillo is capable of fronting a fantasy pitching staff, though he's more of a low-end ace, and there are plenty of trade rumors following him around. But, given his reliable production and increased strikeout rate the past two seasons, he can be drafted with confidence. Dan Harris - FantasyPros | Flaherty ended up with a 4.91 ERA, but that hardly represents his actual performance, given that he allowed nine runs in a three-inning start in September. If you take out that outing, Flaherty had just a 3.13 ERA, and he didn't allow more than three earned runs in any of his eight other starts. Given that Flaherty's season was shorter than most due to the Cardinals' COVID-19 issues, it's fair to essentially throw out at that one abysmal outing, considering his other numbers were relatively consistent from 2019. Indeed, his swinging strike rate improved, as did his K/9 rate and ground ball percentage. With his devastating slider, Flaherty should still be considered one of the top pitchers in the real and fantasy game, and is capable of fronting a fantasy staff. Dan Harris - FantasyPros | |
| The word that keeps coming up for Flaherty's fantasy analysis is rhythm. In the second half of 2019, which is when Flaherty put together one of the most impressive second halves in baseball history, he had rhythm. Meanwhile, the Cardinals' 2020 season lacked anything resembling a routine. Flaherty and his teammates dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak as well as a plethora of doubleheaders late in the year to make up for lost time. And yet, if it wasn't for one disastrous start, Flaherty still would've been a borderline ace last summer. When you take out his worst start of the year, Flaherty's ERA drops from 4.91 to 3.13. I'm betting that 2021 goes more smoothly for St. Louis. Brendan Tuma - FantasyPros | ||
