Crawford: Add Nestor Cortes before it's too late
Chris Crawford breaks down Nestor Cortes' stellar start to the season and urges managers to add the Yankees pitcher to fantasy rosters.
Video Transcript
CHRIS CRAWFORD: When you think of all those who miss bats, you probably think of arms like Gerrit Cole or Robbie Ray or Max Scherzer. You probably don't think of Nestor Cortes. And while you'd be forgiven and accurate to not put him in that group, you might want to start thinking about him for your fantasy roster. How it came against the Baltimore lineup, that isn't exactly chock-full of stars. But Cortes was sensational over five innings on Sunday.
Striking out a dozen, while not allowing a run over his five innings and walking just one. The veteran southpaw also shut down the vaunted Blue Jays' lineup in his season opener with 4-1, third scoreless frames and five strikeouts. So it's fair to say, his campaign is off to a bright start. It'd be one thing if this was just a sample of a pair of outings, but Cortez was quietly a strong performer last year with an expected batting average allowed of 214, and a solid strikeout percentage of 27.5%.
Cortez can pitch. And while his lack of velocity makes him a risk of giving up a long ball or two, he's proven he can overcome it. He should be rostered now before it's too late.