Texas Rangers Ross Detwiler: A Fantasy Baseball Lament

There comes a time in fantasy baseball where one has to take a leap of faith. As I am in an insanely deep league, and faced with a slew of injuries to my pitching staff, I needed to get a start from someone today in order to help my performance in my head to head league this week. There, among the dregs of baseball was a possible glimmer of hope – the Texas Rangers Ross Detwiler.

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Yes, Detwiler had struggled during the season. His performance through his first three games was truly atrocious. However, Detwiler maintained that his issues were due to a mechanical flaw, and that he knew how to fix his problem. Given that Detwiler had only allowed three runs on nine hits and four walks in his previous 12.1 innings, while recording 12 strikeouts, he seemed worth the risk.

Detwiler was also facing the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes, the Rays are over .500, but heading into last night’s action, they ranked 12th in the American League with a .687 OPS. Besides, the other options available were thoroughly unappealing, like Bruce Chen or Jeremy Guthrie. Detwiler had to be the best choice, right?

Sigh. Instead of continuing his solid pitching, Detwiler looked like the pitcher from his first three starts. Pitches were being left up in the zone, and Detwiler was pounded for five runs on five hits and three walks in his four plus innings of work. It was a truly brutal performance.

Obviously, this negatively impacted my fantasy squad as well. While I had been hoping for a solid start from Detwiler, I instead received a player who was worth -1.4 points in my league. That’s not exactly helpful when trying to come back from a fifty point deficit.

I trusted you, Ross Detwiler. I trusted that the past was the past, and that your recent performance was an accurate representation of what was to come. I should have known better, but I took a chance to see if it would work. Never again.

The Texas Rangers may be sticking with Ross Detwiler going forward, but for me, I think I will try my luck again on the waiver wire tomorrow. Maybe I should look at Wandy Rodriguez. He is, after all, facing the Rays…..

Next: Texas Rangers Mailbag: Are Trades on the Horizon?