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Washington Nationals Fantasy Impact 2017: Tanner Roark

By Frank Ellis |
Sep 14, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Tanner Roark (57) throws to the New York Mets during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Tanner Roark (57) throws to the New York Mets during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

In 2016, Tanner Roark had a triumphant return to the Washington Nationals starting rotation and his fantasy baseball owners reaped the benefits. Can he do the same in 2017?

Tanner Roark finished 2016 with 16 wins, a sub three ERA and was the Washington Nationals number two starter in the playoffs. He emerged as a workhorse for the Nats. Most fantasy owners were surprised to see this type of success after spending a year in the bullpen. This year, Roark has one big fantasy baseball question and that is, can he do it again?

According to Fangraphs, Roark only let up more than three runs in four games last year and he once again had a very high ground ball rate. That ground ball rate (48.7%) is going to be what keeps fantasy owners interested. It is something that he can repeat and it could lead to him having a low ERA once again in 2017.

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Last season, Roark finished 13th among all starting pitchers on ESPN’s player rater. That is ahead of much more recognizable names such as Jose Quintana, David Price, Masahiro Tanaka and just behind an NL East rival, Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard is going to be one of the top five pitchers drafted in most leagues

This year, we finally may have found a Washington Nationals pitcher you can get sneaky value from in fantasy. Roark won’t be going before many pitchers he did better than in 2016.

This is partly because he is less proven than most pitchers and has a lower strikeouts per nine innings rate. With that being said, in his two full years as a starter, he has been nothing short of great for the Washington Nationals.

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Keep Roark in mind as a late round steal in your draft. If you are able to take him, he will likely lead your team to success. It has been said many times before that steals and breakouts are what win fantasy leagues. Roark could fall into that steal category one more time this year. I promise if he repeats his 2014 and 2016 success again, you will never be able to “steal” him again.

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