MLB Pitchers Trending Downward: Pablo Lopez, Kutter Crawford, Dylan Cease, Tyler Glasnow, Jhoan Duran and More

We just covered which pitchers are trending upward, and now it’s time to look at some pitchers headed in the other direction.

We’ll look at stats from the past 30 days of play.

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Struggling Pitchers

Usually the pitcher with the lowest earned run average over the past month is a streaming option, but this time around, it’s a well-known player in Minnesota Twins’ Pablo Lopez.

Lopez has made five starts over the past 30 days and sits with a 1-4 record and 8.00 ERA. He’s struck out 24 batters over 27 innings. Lopez has allowed seven home runs and nine walks across those five starts.

Lopez has been a very consistent pitcher over the past three or four seasons, but has taken a big step back so far this season. With as much positive history as Lopez has, along with solid strikeout numbers still, I see Lopez having better results soon. He’s a big-time buy low trade option right now - you could simply stash him on your bench until you’re ready to unleash him.

Boston Red Sox’s Kutter Crawford is another big name with a high ERA of late. 

Crawford is 0-4 with a 6.43 ERA over his past five starts. He has 25 strikeouts over 28 innings pitched. He’s allowed four home runs and nine walks.

Crawford was owned in just about every fantasy league just a few weeks ago, but is down to 77% owned now. Even after a few rough starts, Crawford still has a career-best 3.51 ERA this season. He’s probably rightfully a streaming option right now, and once he gets back on track, he should be owned in nearly every league again, so keep a close eye on him, or just stash Crawford until he turns things around.

San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease has a 5.08 ERA over his past six starts. He’s 1-3 with 41 strikeouts over 33 2/3 innings.

His high strikeout numbers have helped Cease still be a decent fantasy option despite some rough outings of late. He also maybe got back on track on Monday with a six-inning outing where he struck out eight and allowed just one run. If you are interested in trading for Cease, now would probably be the time to try, as his value is probably about as low as it’ll get for the season. 

Tyler Glasnow is another surprise name on the list. He’s got a 4.66 ERA over his past five starts. He’s 0-4, but does have 43 strikeouts over 29 innings pitched.

While it’s been a rough go of things for Glasnow of late, his high strikeout numbers still mean his fantasy outings aren’t too rough. Still, his high ERA isn’t what fantasy owners want to see. I view Glasnow pretty similarly to Cease, in that his value is a little lower right now, making it the perfect time to try to acquire him.

San Francisco Giants’ Kyle Harrison is 1-2 with a 4.94 ERA across his past five starts, but his 1.46 WHIP figure is what is most concerning. Harrison has 23 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings pitched in that stretch.

His gamelogs for the past five games actually don’t look too awful in the runs allowed portion - with four runs being the most he’s allowed, but he’s done that twice, and allowed three runs twice as well. I expected a better second season from the second-year pro, but he’s only marginally better with his ERA so far. 

What it means is that Harrison is a streaming option in a lot of leagues right now. Definitely target him against weaker-hitting offenses, along with ones that strikeout at a high clip. Once he gets a couple positive outings in a row, I’d ditch the streamer tag and roster Harrison permanently. 

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jared Jones is 2-1 over his past five starts, but with a 4.28 ERA and1.39 WHIP. He’s punched out 23 batters over 27 1/3 innings, while walking 11.

Walks were an issue for Jones coming into the season, and after a hot start to the season, they are popping up during his toughest stretch as a starting pitcher. Because of how he started the season, Jones is still owned in 91% of leagues. If you believe in Jones (I do), now would be the time to try to acquire him, as his value is as low as it’s been all season.

We could talk about several more starters, but I also want to get to some struggling relievers before we wrap up today’ article. Some of these guys were mentioned in the trending upward story, but only because they had high save numbers.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley was mentioned for leading the league with nine saves over the past 30 days, but he’s also allowed four runs over his nine innings pitched.

It doesn’t sound like too many runs, but a 4.00 ERA for any top-end fantasy pitcher is not a great number. Helsley gave up nine hits and four walks in those nine innings, which is definitely something to keep in mind. If you can find someone who wants to trade for Helsley, you’d probably get a pretty big return because of his high save numbers. 

Minnesota’s Jhoan Duran has seven saves over the past 30 days, but a 7.45 ERA as well. He’s 1-2, but hasn’t blown a save chance. Duran has eight strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings, but has given up three home runs and five walks as well.

Again, with Duran’s high save numbers, you might be able to trade him away for a solid return - if you don’t trust Duran in the long run that is. I think Duran is too talented to struggle this much for much longer.

Cincinnati Reds’ Alexis Diaz continued to struggle over the past 30 days. He was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA and a blown save. Diaz has 11 strikeouts over 10 innings pitched. He allowed just one home run, but eight walks.

Diaz has struggled for a good portion of the season, so I can’t imagine too many fantasy owners would be interested in trading for him. He’s actually been dropped in about 15% of leagues already, so if you are really interested in “buying low” on him, you might be able to scoop him off the waiver wire if he struggles for another couple weeks.

Colorado Rockies’ Jalen Beeks isn’t a star closer, but any closer is on a fantasy owner’s radar, so let’s discuss him a bit.

Beeks was 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA over the past 30 days. Beeks blew half of his six save opportunities and has a 1.54 WHIP figure across 11 2/3 innings. Beeks did have 13 strikeouts to offer some fantasy value, but the two home runs and six walks that he allowed did him no favors.

His recent struggles took him from a possible waiver wire addition to someone to completely avoid in most fantasy leagues. He’s just not pitching well enough right now, and the Rockies’ closer situation is one to just avoid for the time being. Just keep an eye on the team’s closer situation in case someone steps up soon.