Fantasy Baseball: 5 Under-the-Radar Pitchers to Target in 2017

Statistically speaking, it can be easy to put more weight on a player’s early-season numbers than what they do later on in the year. After all, whatever happens early in the season is backed by the fact that all these things start at zero.

And whether a player digs a big hole, plays really well or is just somewhere in the middle, baseball is clearly a game of adjustments. Few players are like Noah Syndergaard was this season -- where a guy has basically the same first half (2.56 ERA, 10.8 strikeouts per nine) as he does in the second (2.65 ERA, 10.4 strikeouts per nine).

In fantasy sports, those second halves can be pivotal for offseason research, and doubly so for exploiting potential value as it pertains to undervalued assets moving forward. Playing better in the second half doesn’t always mean a player will pick up where they left off in the spring, but a lot of times, those few days off for the All-Star Game can result in some tweaks being made, or ultimately, a player just figuring some things out on their own. Nevertheless, it provides a clean, natural break in the middle of the season for two halves that can be analyzed individually -- perhaps even overly so.

But the goal here is to take a look at some guys who had ridiculously good second halves -- perhaps unbeknownst to anyone but their most fervent followers -- and try to provide you with some sneaky picks heading into next spring’s drafts.