Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox is an Undervalued Fantasy Ace

Many fantasy baseball players underestimate Jon Lester or do not understand his true value.

Jon Lester's last three seasons:

2008: 16 wins, 3.21 ERA, 1.274 WHIP, 152 SOs

2009: 15 wins, 3.41 ERA, 1.230 WHIP, 225 SOs

2010: 19 wins, 3.25 ERA, 1.202 WHIP, 225 SOs

In 2009, people began treating Jon Lester as a pretty good fantasy pitcher. In 2010, people saw Lester as a really good fantasy starter, but not an ace. Now at last in 2011, people finally consider him an ace. Except if you were like me, you have treated him like an ace the past two seasons, and you have reaped the benefits of his dominance and consistency.

Personally, I suggest not drafting pitchers earlier, but for where Lester is going in comparison to other fantasy aces, I feel the value is too good to pass up in some drafts.

Jon Lester's ADP (average draft position) of 26.7 places him in the third round. I have even seen him drop to the fourth round in some fantasy drafts! I rarely seen him taken in the second round.

Lester's has been a rock of consistency in a very unstable fantasy position. As seen in the statistics I listed above, he posted the same exact SOs in two consecutive years. Lester has also never registered below 15 wins in his full MLB seasons. This year with a powerful Boston offense featuring Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, Lester should receive even more run support. It is a very real possibility that Lester may finally win 20 games. 

Don't spend a second round pick on Tim Lincecum, Felix Hernandez, or Cliff Lee when you can get Lester in the third or fourth round.