5 Sell-High Options for Season-Long Fantasy Baseball Leagues
Jason Vargas, SP, Kansas City Royals
Much like Santana, Jason Vargas is an older pitcher who appears to have found some late-career magic -- until you look under the hood, that is.
Vargas' traditional stats are pretty dope. He boasts a 12-4 record with a 3.06 ERA, putting him ninth in ERA and second in wins. That's made him a top-24 fantasy starting pitcher.
But it's mostly been a smoke-and-mirrors act.
Vargas is the owner of the sixth-highest strand rate (83.1%), and his batted-ball profile -- 29.9% hard-hit rate and 44.1% fly-ball rate -- isn't anything to write home about. He doesn't own much upside, either, thanks to his 18.6% strikeout rate, the 19th-worst rate among qualified pitchers.
In all, Vargas is sporting a 4.68 SIERA, so while his ERA is a career-best mark for a full season, his SIERA is on pace to be a career-worst clip. Ain't baseball great?!
His luck may already be turning as he's allowed 12 earned runs and 5 dingers across 7 2/3 innings in July. Throw out offers now before Vargas' value craters.