Strategies
Clayton Kershaw earned his big pay day now he is earning his value in fantasy. Kershaw dazzled the baseball world on June 18th throwing his first no hitter of his career and one that could be the best of all-time. Kershaw through nine innings of no hit ball the only blemish keeping him from a perfect game was an error committed by Hanley Ramirez at the top of the 7th inning.
Kershaw finished the game with a career high 15 strikeouts to add to his young stellar MLB career. For fantasy owners the no hitter didn’t show up in the fantasy stat sheet, but the nine innings pitched, zero earned runs and 15 strikeouts along with a win earned him in some daily leagues 28 points. Kershaw has been sharp in all but one outing this year, making him a must start fantasy pitcher in any daily fantasy league.
On Tuesday Night Kershaw didn’t disappoint fantasy owners, despite not finishing with a no hitter or complete game. Kershaw picked up his eighth win of the season as the Dodgers beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0. Six hits were all the Royals could pick up as Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings striking out eight batters.
In 11 starts in 2014, Kershaw has averaged 16.4 fantasy points per game and has only allowed 3 or more runs in three of them. As you analyze the rest of his 2014 numbers he has struck out seven or more batters in 10 of 11 outings this year. He has six games with at least nine strikeouts. His earned run average dropped to 2.24 after his latest start with much of the success coming from his four outings this year that he allowed zero earned runs.
This is what fantasy owners have come to expect from Kershaw in each of his starts. Over his previous four seasons Kershaw averaged 14.7 fantasy points per game in 2013, 13.6 per game in 2012, 15.3 per game in 2011 and 12.6 per game in 2010.
In his next possible five outings Kershaw will face the St. Louis Cardinals twice, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants. Three of these starts will come before the All-Star game against the Cardinals, Rockies and Padres. On the season, Kershaw has faced the Rockies twice picking up wins in each contest. In the two starts Kershaw had pitched 14 innings, allowing just three hits, one earned run and struck out 24 batters.
For fantasy owners over the next few weeks Kershaw looks to continue to be one to start!
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