Red Sox David Price: Is He Worth Drafting as a Top-30 Pitcher?

Red Sox big free-agent signee David Price struggled throughout the 2016 season. Is he still a top-30 starting pitcher next season?

The Boston Red Sox were very active in the offseason. The big move was bringing in starting pitcher David Price. He was very familiar with the American League East and succeed for years. This season did not look the same as those seasons. Is he worth drafting again as a top-30 starting pitcher?

I highlighted Price’s regular season success in a previous article. In that article, I asked the question, “Do The 2015 Playoff Struggles Hurt His 2016 Value?” Looking at his ESPN ADP, fantasy owners did not seem to care. He was a third-round pick, 27.2 average pick. At the end of this season, his peripherals did not look good and fantasy owners were left angry. Again.

Price made 35 starts, a career high. He finished with a 3.99 ERA, 1.204 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. The strikeout and walk rates weren’t that bad, but the season-long numbers did not help him. He allowed 227 hits, second most, 50 walks, 102 earned runs and 30 home runs.

The AL East is and has been a tough division for pitchers. With the favorable right-field fence in Yankee Stadium and power-hitters on three of the teams, Price was in for a world of hurt.

His numbers aren’t anything you can blame on his defense either. He had a 3.60 ERA, which is very close to his ERA.

Price had some good starts to end the season, but two five-plus run starts ballooned his September ERA to 4.08.

All of this lead to Price finishing as the No. 70 player on the Player Rater. He finished behind Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana. That isn’t bad, but considering owners spent a third-round pick on him, he was a bit of a letdown.

Price is locked in with the Red Sox through the 2022 season and he’ll be 36 at the end of his contract. Unless Boston decides to trade him and free up some of that money, we should expect to see some inflated numbers for the rest of his time there.

Price can still pitch a great game, he had 23 quality starts this season. But, he also had some eye-popping ones, in a bad way. He is undoubtedly still worth drafting, but not as a third round pick. With the emergence of some young pitchers and those returning from injury. A top-30 pitcher? It’s close, but likely.

I would go elsewhere for my No. 2 starting pitcher.