I realize I've been shirking a duty, here at SB Nation St. Louis, in my Cardinals coverage: I haven't thought enough of the fantasy baseball sleeper-hunters who, catching Lance Lynn's scorching start to the season, picked him up just in time to see him take his first loss of the season Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. I offer this, by way of condolences: He still looks great, new fantasy baseball owners, and he had to have an average day eventually.
↵And average is the word—he pitched a "quality start," and did it while striking out seven batters in those six innings and not allowing a home run, so his peripherals are better than the already acceptable line score would suggest.
↵Speaking as someone who's watched Lynn for actual-baseball reasons, allow me to reassure: I was as surprised by his hot start as anyone, and he probably isn't an ace, but he looks great. His fastball is outstanding—which is important, since he throws it more than twice out of every three pitches—and his other pitches are just good enough that he doesn't look like a life-long reliever.
↵And he's still 6-1 with an ERA of 1.81 and a strikeout an inning. If he were any better, my fantasy baseball friend, nobody would have been sleeping on him anyway.
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