That championship is so close, you can tastāe it.
Each and every day, you check your teamās live scoring and track that movement through yošur standings.
You probably find yourself disāsecting the standings, analyzing each statistical category to see where movement is possible.
Enhance your teamās prowess in the right category and that trophy is yours come thše end of September.
Typically, the strikeouts categorÜ«y is one where movement is most often founād.
Focusing on wins or quality starts can be difficult with so many pitchers throwing fewer than six innings per start, and those who are trying š¦¹to lower their ratios tend to do it with closers and rešÆlief pitchers.
But if you can add the right starters to the mix, not only can you help yourself in those other categories, šbut the boosšt you can get in strikeouts could prove to be the difference-maker you need.
Take a long look at the Astros pitching staff.
Rookie ršight-hander Spencer Arrighetti seems to have ź¦”figured things out late in the season.
He has beš³en an unstoppable force with thź¦”ree straight quality starts and four in his past five.
But that is not what weāre chasing.
Hš¦©ow about the 43 strikeouts over his past 31 innings?
Aš§rrighetti is coming off back-to-back doubš«le-digit strikeout games and gets the Red Sox next week, a team that has the seventh-highest strikeout rate over the past two weeks.
You also shoāuld look at his new teammate, Yusei Kikuchi, who has been a strikeout beast since coming over from Toronto at the tršade deadline.
In his three starts with Houston, Kikuchi has allowed just five runs oveš“r 16āĀ²/ā innings and has 24 strikeouts iź¦æn that span.
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He also will take on Boston next week then has a second start against Baltimore, a team with the 10th-highest strikeout āØrate over the past two weeks.
The baseball purists immediately will turšn to the Spider-Tack scandal in Houston, cite the teamās history of cheating and dismiss what these players are doing right now.
But in the fantasy realm? Who cares?
Winning your fantasy baseball championship isnāt about purism, itās about accumulating the š„stats you need to win youšr league.
If MLB wants to investigate this massive increase in strikeouts,ź¦ let them. No one is taking away your fantasy championship.
Just ask āanyone who won a fantasy šbaseball title with Barry Bonds on their roster.
Howard Bender is the head of content at Follow him on X and catch him on the award-winning āFantasy Alarm Radio Showā on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. for all your fantasy baseball news and advice.