Colin Henderson: Run to add Vladimir Gutierrez
Colin Henderson breaks down Cincinnati Reds P Vladimir Gutierrez's recent tear and how he could provide a boost for fantasy managers as the season winds down.
Video Transcript
COLIN HENDERSON: Reds rookie, Vladimir Gutierrez, pitched perhaps the best game of his very young career on Sunday, striking out a career high eight batters across seven innings, giving up only one run against the Marlins. He induced 17 swinging strikes and finished with an elite 39% CSW percent. The strong start improved Gutierrez's season line to 9 and 4 with a 3.68 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 73 strikeouts across 93 innings.
The nearly 26-year-old has been on a roll of late, as he now has six straight quality starts, and has only giving up more than two runs in a game once since the start of July. Fueling this recent stretch of success has been his ability to limit the free passes. Over his last five starts, he has only walked seven batters, averaging just over one per game. Prior to that, he had been averaging just shy of three walks per start.
Meanwhile, he is starting to get consistent strikeouts, averaging six punchouts per game over his last six starts, while averaging under four strikeouts in the 10 starts prior. Still available in over 40% of Yahoo leagues, managers should be running out to grab the rookie if he is still available, especially in keeper and dynasty formats, as he could be a huge late boost as managers love to secure a title.
