Valdez, K. Marte, Schwellenbach, Vaughn, Herrera

Can Valdez turn second-half gains into full-season results?... Over the last three seasons, Framber Valdez (LHP, HOU) has established himself as a reliable starter, generating $20+ in rotisserie value each year. But in the second half of 2024, he seemed to find another level, posting a 2.08 ERA and 0.96 WHIP—is any of that repeatable over a full season?

Year	IP	ERA	xERA	BB%	K%	K-BB%	GB/LD/FB	H%	S%	HR/F	xBB%	SwK%
2020	71	3.57	2.99	6%	26%	21%	60/20/19	32%	69%	14%	7%	10.6%
2021	135	3.14	3.33	10%	22%	12%	70/15/15	28%	78%	21%	10%	10.5%
2022	201	2.82	2.85	8%	23%	15%	66/17/16	29%	77%	13%	7%	11.5%
2023	198	3.45	3.35	7%	25%	18%	54/20/25	29%	72%	14%	8%	11.9%
2024	176	2.91	3.00	8%	24%	16%	59/19/20	28%	76%	14%	8%	11.9%

There was some luck involved, but some skill growth suggests it wasn't all just a fluke:

• Valdez did get...

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