Now that the calendars have flipped over into May, let’s take a look at the baseball players who have had the most disappointing April for their fantasy owners (pitchers edition). Two days ago I did the “hitters edition” and you can view that by clicking HERE.

*Note* All fantasy rankings used are from Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball

Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

Last season, Jacob deGrom was just flat out deGrominant. His impressive numbers earned him a Cy Young and everyone expected him to pick right up where he left off. But that hasn’t quite been the case this year. Ranked #9 best overall fantasy player heading into the season, deGrom has slipped to #534 currently by an inflated 4.85 ERA and just two wins and two quality starts. He has dealt with elbow trouble this year, which is never good, but deGrom insists his struggles are due to mechanics being “out of whack.” Either way, Mets fans and fantasy owners were not expecting his season to start like this. He’ll get it together though, because he’s simply too good not to (that is if his elbow holds up).

Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

Chris Sale has to be the biggest fantasy pitching upset of the season so far. After years of pure domination, it’s mind-boggling to see him at 0-5 this year with a 6.30 ERA. His strikeouts are down and opposing batters are hitting .271 against him (his career average in that category is .219). Beginning the season as the 13th best fantasy player, he now ranks at 862nd due to his poor stats. This one just doesn’t make any sense at all to me. He’s only 30, so it’s not like you can attribute it to declining age. I guess we’ll just chalk it up to the World Series hangover because that sounds as good as anything. As to when he figures it out, your guess is as good as mine.

Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians

Like Chris Sale, I can’t figure out Corey Kluber’s deal this year either. After years of dominance and several teams wanting him badly in the offseason, Kluber is 2-2 this season with an inflated 5.81 ERA. He has just two quality starts as well. Ranked 25th overall before the season, Kluber is now 939th, which is mind numbing. Now he’s 33 and you can start to factor age a little bit, but that doesn’t count for that much of a fall off. It would be different if he’d been declining, but instead he’s been so sharp prior to this season. Fantasy owners hope he will turn things around soon so they won’t have to sell low on such a good player.

Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

You can’t factor older age with this guy, as he’s just 25 years old. What is fair to ask though, and some people might question me on this, is whether last season was a fluke or not. He’s gotten better since entering the league in 2015, like he should being a young pitcher, but was never much above average until last year when he was great, and a CY Young candidate. Everyone just assumed he was here and will be a dominant force for years to come, but this year he’s only gotten two wins, two quality starts, and a 5.68 ERA. From being ranked 34th pre-season, he’s fallen to 921st now. When will he bounce back? Will he ever bounce back to the stellar form he held last season? Only time will tell.

Photo: Charles Fox/The Philadelphia Inquirer

Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians

Corey Kluber isn’t the only one on the Indians staff who’s disappointed so far this season. Carlos Carrasco hasn’t put up good numbers either, with a 5.86 ERA, two wins, and one quality start. Opponents are hitting .295 against him this season which tells you everything you need to know. I think he’ll be back in usual form soon though because the strikeouts are still there. He’s got 41 of them in just 27.2 innings so far, along with just seven walks. He just needs to lower that ERA and be consistent in the later innings of his starts.

Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets

Another teammate on here, this time it’s deGrom’s teammate Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard has fallen even more than deGrom on the fantasy ranks though. Starting the season ranked as the 42nd best fantasy player, he now ranks at a lowly 913th. He’s just 1-3 on the season with only one quality start. For those who are wondering what I mean when I say quality start, the stat is defined as pitching at least six innings, giving up three earned runs or less. So it’s a stat that truly reflects the pitcher’s performance and doesn’t hinge on run support. Syndergaard also sports a lofty 6.35 ERA so far this season.

Other Pitchers Who Haven’t Lived Up to Expectations So Far

Miles Mikolas

Yu Darvish

Chris Archer

Kyle Hendricks

Nathan Eovaldi

Rick Porcello

Garett

The Most Disappointing Fantasy Baseball Players So Far This Season (Pitchers)