Edinson Volquez had another strong start Tuesday night in a loss against the Reds. Volquez pitched 7.0 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on just 5 hits and 1 walk.
Analysis: Volquez has 28.0 innings under his belt this year and thus far he’s sporting a 1.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and he has 16 strikeouts. Yes, his strikeout rate is down a bit from past years but his walk rate has improved a ton. Volquez has a 1.7 BB/9 rate this year compared to a 4.0 BB/9 rate last year and a 4.7 BB/9 rate for his career. Simply put- he’s throwing more strikes and avoiding deep counts.
We haven’t seen enough of Volquez to determine exactly where he fits in from a fantasy perspective, but he is a must own right now. Obviously, his ERA and WHIP will level out but it may settle into a middle to low tier fantasy starter range. He does need more help from the Pittsburgh bats but Cutch and Pedro are not playing up to potential thus far this season.
Currently, Edinson Volquez is available in 50-80% of fantasy leagues.