RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target ~170
CURRENT ADP: 211
ANALYSIS: The San Diego Padres pitching staff was one that could be largely ignored and/or avoided in 2017, but that all changed when Dinelson Lamet was recalled from Triple-A El Paso in May. Lamet was solid initially, but proceeded to give up seven earned runs in consecutive starts. It didn't take long for him to make the right adjustments, however. Lamet made a point to keep the ball in the zone more and managed to cut his walk rate down while still inducing whiffs. He struck out 12 in his next start and proceed to mow down 139 batters in his first 114.1 IP. Even better, he walked three or fewer batters in 15 of his 21 starts.
Lamet isn't guaranteed to win many games for a young club that is still finding its way, but he is sure to pile up strikeouts. He finished with a 10.94 K/9 that matches his minor league average. If he can avoid the occasional disastrous start while performing better on the road (4.94 ERA), Lamet could round into a mid-rotation arm with tremendous upside sooner rather than later. He is worth gambling on in the middle portion of the draft, especially if you failed to secure an elite pitcher early on.
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