Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

Here's a guy you just can't go wrong with. He has immaculate control, ace-level stuff, a really high floor and an exceptional Cy Young-level ceiling. Flaherty only pitched 78 innings last season due to shoulder and oblique injuries, but he didn't suffer any structural damage in his shoulder - it was just a strain - so that shouldn't have any lingering impact this season. He's otherwise been pretty durable. One thing to consider is that after being limited last year, Flaherty may have a cap of about 140-150 innings.

Wainwright found the fountain of youth last year, pitching to a 3.05 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP and totaling 17 wins, his most since 2014. He benefitted greatly from the weak NL Central and an outstanding defense, but the bottom line is that Wainwright was just . . . good. His curveball remained effective, his sinker worked well, and he topped 200 innings pitched. Expecting this again as he enters his age-41 season would be overly optimistic, but if you have a strong staff and just need a filler for the back end of your rotation, then Wainwright is your guy.

Montgomery was fine last year (3.83 ERA, 1.28 WHIP), but he didn't take the step forward that many had envisioned. His curveball is an elite pitch, and his changeup isn't far behind, but his sinker (.412 wOBA against) just gets crushed. If he leans further into his changeup and curve, you could see a giant step forward, especially since his whiff rate is already solid and his walk rate is above average. But if not, it's probably going to be yet another mediocre season for him, particularly with the tough lineups he'll face routinely.

Matz had a surprisingly effective year despite moving to the AL East and Toronto, pitching 150 2/3 innings with a 3.82 ERA. We know what he is by now in his career - a strikeout rate that won't hurt you, a decent walk rate that isn't enough to keep his WHIP in check, and a ceiling of about 160 innings. Moving to St. Louis is a great thing for him, however, as he'll benefit from the Cardinals' excellent infield defense (Matz has a 47.1% ground ball rate). But he's essentially a replacement level fantasy starter at this point, and entering his age-31 season, we're probably not going to see much growth.