Just twice since 2000 have we seen at least 16 starting pitchers strike out 200 batters or more; 2015 and 2017. Chicks dig the long ball, but baseball purists and fantasy players across the world are addicted to the strikeout. The strikeout has become such a large part of the game as a whole, offensively too. Guys are not only striking out batters 200-plus times a year with regularity, but hitters are striking out over 200 times themselves. The game of baseball is changing and as fantasy owners, we have to change the way we think and draft because of it.

In standard fantasy leagues, things are normally broken down 5x5 and strikeouts obviously factor into the pitching department. With each league personalizing their settings, the value of the strikeout varies, but in reality, the more the merrier. We’re drafting Max Scherzer for his season long dominance each year as well as his two-to-three games every single year in which he punches out 15-plus and single handedly puts our fantasy teams on his back. Sure we’re drafting Chris Sale because of his constant good health and the fact he takes the ball every single fifth day, but the 10.55 K/9 he’s amassed since entering the league back in 2010 is the real reason why.

If we look at last years leaderboard and compare it to this year’s average draft position, eight of the top 10 coming off the board in drafts this year posted 200 strikeouts or more. The only two in the top 10 that didn’t reach the 200 strikeout mark were Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard and both had injury plagued campaigns that cut their seasons short. The way hitters are striking out these days, would it surprise me if we reached 20 starters with 200 or more strikeouts? It would not. Not one bit. Here are a few guys I’m high on that didn’t reach 200 strikeouts last season that could in 2018;

Is each guy a lock for 200 strikeouts? Not at all. But each has a real chance if they’re able to put together a full season’s workload. Noah “Thor” Syndergaard jumps off of the page immediately. A Cy Young candidate just two years ago, Thor will be amongst the lead leaders in punch outs if he’s able to stay healthy. The 25-year old struck out 218 batters over 183.2 innings in 2016 and had a 10.68 K/9. There’s a reason he’s the eighth pitcher coming off of the board based on Fantasy Alarm’s ADP tool.

James Paxton is someone that is damaged more by injury than he is by opposing hitters. He posted a 28.3-percent K-rate in 2017, which with a full season’s workload would have tied him for 10th in the league with Carlos Carrasco. Paxton is generally being drafted somewhere between the sixth and seventh rounds. If he stays healthy, you could have an SP1 with 200-plus strikeouts that you drafted in the seventh. Here’s to hoping for a clean bill of health!

The Phillies Aaron Nola’s stock is really rising. Not only has he climbed all the way to an average ADP of 69 -- higher than guys like Paxton, Cole, Arrieta, Berrios -- and he’s been drafted as high as 31! The 24-year old should have the shackles removed this year as his innings were monitored heavily by year’s end last season. He’s opening the 2018 campaign as the Phillies Ace and it’s warranted. He had an elite K/9 of 9.86 along with an elite K-rate of 26.6-percent.

Nobody has ever disputed that Danny Salazar has tremendous stuff and when he’s going well he truly is one of the more dominant pitchers in the game. The issue has been consistency, plain and simple. He struck out 145 batters in just 103 innings last year! He had a 33-percent K-rate and a 12.67 K/9 mark, which are both top-five ranks in the league over a full year. Salazar has only been able to eclipse the 140 inning mark once in the five years he’s been a big leaguer, unfortunately. He’s going to get another shot in the Indians rotation to prove himself this year and his 14th-to-16th round evaluation right now could be an insult by years end.

Breaking down someone we like on each tier, Dinelson Lamet is a guy with massive strikeout potential. He struck out at least seven batters in 11-of-21 starts last year and in 12-of-21, he struck out at least one batter per inning. If Lamet can improve against left-handed hitters this year, he’ll be even more lethal than he was at times in 2017. He notched a 33.6-percent K-rate against righties but that dropped drastically to 24.1-percent against lefties. That is primarily the reason as to why Lamet’s stock isn’t higher, but it’s something that he can improve on.

But the strikeout isn’t only a starting pitchers thing as relievers can be huge strikeout artists in their own right. Middle relievers, to be more specific, are all the hype this offseason. These are not just any ordinary relievers either. These are relievers with big arms that strike out a lot of batters. There were nine middle relievers or setup men that struck out 90 batters or more. Standard leagues have nine pitching slots, and having nine starters isn’t going to win you many leagues with other categories. Andrew Miller is currently being drafted in the 14th round and he had two saves last season, but  had a 13.64 K/9 mark which was the seventh highest mark in the league amongst relief pitchers; closers included. That value is very specific to what we’re looking for. The Andrew Miller’s of the world are coming in for one-to-two innings and giving us multiple strikeouts each and every outing which could make up for a poor performance from a starting pitcher we may own that might have gotten shelled on a particular day.

One of the more interesting things about drafting middle relievers is who is still on the board -- in terms of starters -- when you draft them? Well here are four middle-relief pitchers I’d highly suggest taking thanks to their massive K-rate;

Devenski is the crème de la crème when it comes to multi-inning middle relievers. He had 19 appearances last season in which he pitched multiple innings and 25 appearances with multiple strikeouts. The issue with taking Devenski is he’s being drafted similarly to starters such as Garrett Richards, Michael Wacha, Blake Snell and Dinelson Lamet. As much as I love Devenski, I’d probably rather have all four of those starters over him. If he slips, however, I’m all in on him.

Robertson’s ADP is a bit easier to figure out. He’s being drafted right after Lamet and the crop of starters surrounding him in drafts aren’t that elite. Robertson’s near 13 K/9 mark is significantly better than what we’ll find on the market and the Yankees showed last season they’re not afraid to use him for multiple innings.

Chad Green is the wild card of them all. He was arguably the most dominant middle reliever in the game last year but pitches on a team with three household relievers and one in Andrew Miller who’s been dominant for a longer period of time than Green. Green had 30, yes 30, multi strikeout appearances last season. His ADP company in terms of pitching is something we have to love. Green will be one of our last picks and is almost a lock for multiple strikeouts if he takes the mound.

Somewhat of a sneaky draft-pick, or someone we may be able to snipe off of the waiver wire, is Josh Hader. Hader appeared in just 35 games for the Brewers last year, but managed 16 multi-inning appearances. The Brewers view Hader as someone they will use in their rotation one day, but he will come out of the bullpen exclusively in 2018, but all that says to me is more long outings for the young southpaw. His 12.84 K/9 plays anywhere and can be an elite option if you slide him into one of your last pitching slots on your roster.