In the 2016 Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide Ray Flowers breaks down the pitching categories and lets you know which stats are worth targeting when deciding who you want to draft for your fantasy roster this upcoming season.

Here is a sample of some of the content inside the BRAND NEW 2016 Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide that is available online RIGHT HERE. 

2016 MLB Draft Guide: Pitching Targets To Know

By: Ray Flowers

How do you construct the ideal pitching staff in fantasy baseball? You should take into account a player’s health or lack thereof. You should consider how old the hurler is and how much mileage he has on his arm. You should consider the mechanics he possesses when he takes the bump. You have to consider role as well – is there a role of prominence ahead or are we simply hoping the skills will force his manager to use him in high leverage situations? Those are all valid starting points when breaking down the men who throw the ball for a living.

However, what do you do for the next step? Of course, we have to talk about the performance of pitchers if we’re trying to build a unit of skilled performers to help us win in the coming season to that end, I’ve put together a series of numbers to use as the baseline for our review of the 2015 pitching season. Which pitchers had success last season? What numbers should you be targeting when you’re putting that staff together? Explore shall we.

THE STRIKEOUT

Starters: At least a K/9 of 6.75
Relievers: At least a K/9 of 7.75

2015 Starters Average: 7.4 per nine
2015 Relievers Average: 8.4 per nine
2015 Major League average: 7.76 per nine

The strikeout is a sign of a pitcher’s ability to dominate hitters. It's also one of the five main categories in 5x5 fantasy leagues. The fewer balls that are put in play, the less likely a batter is to get on base, I’m a genius. Hence the power of the strikeout. Note that in most instances I'm still rather unlikely to roster a starter with a K/9 mark under 7.00 or a reliever with a mark under 8.00.

THE WALK

Starters: A BB/9 mark below 3.00
Relievers: A BB/9 mark below 2.90

2015 Starters Average: 2.72 per nine
2015 Relievers Average: 3.29 per nine
2015 Major League average: 2.92 per nine

I have no time for hurlers who can't seem to locate their pitches and neither should you. Free passes lead to runs and you want no part of that. When a pitcher cannot locate his pitches all manner of problems result.

You can read the rest of this article and much more by purchasing the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide found HERE