MLB

Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers to Stream for Week 22

Tom Whalen  —  @tomcwhalen Aug 27th, 2017
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Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds

Start: September 1st at Pittsburgh Pirates
ESPN ownership: 37 percent

One surprising element to Luis Castillo's strong run of recent work (2.41 ERA and 3.50 FIP over the last month) is that the Cincinnati Reds' rookie hasn't posted overwhelming strikeout-rate numbers despite his highly touted velocity.

Indeed, even with a fastball that sits at 97 miles per hour (MPH) and a 12.1% swinging-strike rate on the season, Castillo second-half success has come with a modest 26% strikeout rate (22nd among starters over that span), as the young righty has favored coaxing weak contact (23.1% soft-hit rate in the relevant sample) rather than blowing hitters away.

Castillo's 57% ground-ball rate in the second half should play well against the Pirates. Pittsburgh is a top-three squad in terms of ground-ball percentage since the All Star break, and overall, they are one of the weakest-hitting offenses in the majors across the season.

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