Stephen Kolek DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Stephen Kolek twirled a gem on Saturday, tossing a complete-game shutout in his second career start in the majors, picking up the win in a 21-0 blowout victory over the Rockies. The 28-year-old scattered five hits and two walks over nine innings while striking out seven. A week ago, the righty tossed five and one-third innings of shutout ball, leaving his ERA at a spotless 0.00 after two starts. The former 11th-round draft pick threw 46 2/3 IP for the Padres in his debut last season, but as a reliever, so this is somewhat uncharted waters for him, although he's worked as a starter in the minors. The 6-foot-3 hurler's next start lines up with a surprisingly stout Mariner lineup, and his recent success should allow the Padres to give Yu Darvish (elbow) as much time as he needs to build up his arm for a return to the mound.

San Diego Padres right-hander Stephen Kolek will remain in the team's starting rotation and make another start on Saturday at hitter-friendly Coors Field against the division-rival Colorado Rockies. Kolek will get another starting opportunity for the Friars after he tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings with two walks and four strikeouts for his first win of the season last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 28-year-old will get another amazing matchup against the last-place Rockies, but the venue in the thin air in Denver will also make him a pretty volatile fantasy streamer. Still, Kolek will be a pretty interesting streamer coming off a strong first outing against a Colorado offense that ranks second-to-last in team OPS at .623. If Kolek continues to pitch well in a starting role, he could remain in SD's rotation until the Padres get right-hander Yu Darvish (elbow) back.

According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Stephen Kolek will be stretched out during spring training to potentially see time as a starting pitcher. Kolek made his major-league debut last season in San Diego and was deployed exclusively out of the bullpen. Across his first 46 2/3 innings in the majors, the 27-year-old posted a 5.21 ERA with a 1.52 WHIP. While he showed strong command with a 5.7 percent walk rate, he was unable to generate many strikeouts and posted a low 18.5 percent strikeout rate. He also generated a strong 56.4 percent ground-ball rate but allowed hard contact at a hefty 41.0 percent rate. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his progress during spring training, as he could contend for a spot in the back of the rotation if he performs well.