Ron Rigney shares his Consistency Triple Play each week. Ron tells you who he believes will turn it around and who won’t. Follow Ron on Twitter – @RonRigney
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Nick Castellanos, PHI – OF
The 31-year-old Philly has been a professional hitter for a long time. He’s not a superstar but has been a steady offensive piece in fantasy since 2017. In 2022 he had a bit of a down year with counting stats posting his lowest totals in homers (13), RBI (62) and runs (56). I was one who was able to get Castellanos in drafts at an extremely affordable price heading into 2023, and the payoff has been tremendous. Thus far he’s 60% consistent on the season, recording a Clutch Week in 3 of 5 scoring periods. I don’t think we see 30 homers, but I will gladly take his 22-25 homers, 90 RBI, 90 runs along with a respectable slash. His .410 BABIP isn’t going to last, but in the Philly lineup that just got Bryce Harper back, Castellanos should have no problem getting opportunities to continue his consistent ways.
Justin Steele, SP – CHC
I feel like I’ve been writing about more Cubs than I should be, but the Northsiders have given us some surprisingly consistent performers. Currently, we have just two starting pitchers that are 100% consistent, and you guessed it, Steele is one of them. It’s been a long road to The Show for the former fifth round pick, but after posting a solid 2022, he’s picked up right where he left off. Averaging just 7.93 K/9, Steele isn’t blowing batters away, but his ability to place his fastball/slider combo is producing major results. He’s currently third in all of MLB with a 1.49 ERA, trailing just Sonny Gray and Gerrit Cole. Steele is sporting a 56% ground ball rate, as well as a 6.9% HR/FB% so he’s consistently limiting hard contact (24.5% HardHit%). His 86.5% strand rate shows he’s able to pitch out of jams when he does allow baserunners. I’m expecting some regression here, but thus far it’s been quality starts in five of six outings and even if there is a dip in the stats, he’s still going to be a key piece of fantasy squads moving forward.
Jeremy Pena, SS – HOU
If you own Pena in an OBP league, you’re probably wondering why he would be included here. Despite his .288 OBP, Pena is 80% consistent on the season. He’s not doing you any favors in the BA department either (.236) but those counting stats are earning him Clutch Games. At the time of this article, Pena has six homers, six steals, 21 runs and 17 RBI. His power/speed combo makes him a 25/25 threat, but the new rules in 2023 have him just five steals short of his 2022 total of 11. He’s never going to be a contributor in your slash categories until he learns to walk a bit more than his 3.8% BB%, but he will continue to be a value pick at a deep position. At age 25, there’s still some hope he can learn to take more walks, but don’t hold your breath. You aren’t drafting him for that slash line anyway.
