Marlins' Pablo Lopez providing legit fantasy value
NBC Sports EDGE's Colin Henderson highlights how Marlins' Pablo Lopez can help managers rack up stats across fantasy formats.
Video Transcript
COLIN HENDERSON: Marlins righty, Pablo Lopez, pitched a gem on Saturday. Throwing seven innings of shutout ball against the Cubs, allowing only one hit while striking out seven. The strong start improved his season line to 3 and 4 with a 2.86 ERA. 1.07 WHIP, and 85 strikeouts in 85 innings. Lopez has been very strong so far this year, having given up two earned runs or fewer in 12 of his 15 starts, with eight quality starts in there.
While not a high strikeout pitcher, averaging only one punchout per inning, Lopez continues to generate a ton of soft contact. He's in the 93rd percentile on average exit velocity and in the 90th percentile on hard hit percentage, thanks to an excellent changeup to go along with three different fastballs, all with different spin. Well he doesn't have overpowering stuff, he disguises it well as he's one of the best in getting hitters to chase pitches outside the zone without issuing many free passes. While the 25-year-old continues to excel on the mound in regards to ratios, his lack of high strikeout totals keeps him from being an elite arm. That, coupled with a below average offense, has not helped in turn his successes into wins, which has capped his value for now. However, Lopez's future remains bright and he should be owned in all leagues and locked into lineups against all but the most elite offenses.
