Gray is going to be one of the most hyped sleepers going into drafts, but I’m not buying the hype. First of all, his ultimate role is still in question. Is he a starter or a reliever? As an A’s fan I’ve seen Gray pitch a lot in the majors and triple-a and he currently doesn’t have the arsenal to throw 200-plus innings year over year. He’s a two-pitch pitcher which makes him more hittable the second time a team sees him. For example, look at the swings made in game two of the ALDS and compare the swings to game five. You’ll see they were not fooled as much and Gray’s pitches found more barrels. There’s a question about his size; standing at 5’11 he lacks the prototypical size and body to hold up to a starters workload; he receives a lot of comps to Tim Hudson because both of the similar stature and the immediate success they earned in the majors.

In terms of his 2013 performance you couldn’t ask for a better fantasy combination. He strikes out a lot of batters, generates a lot of ground balls, plays in one of the best pitcher’s ballparks and behind one of the best defenses in the majors that recently got better with the additions of Craig Gentry (who I believe will be more than a platoon hitter) and Nick Punto. That said, I’m still not sold. I bet Gray has a great first half and falls off afterward; that said if the changeup develops then he can be a monster. If the changeup doesn’t develop he will be a great set-up man.

If you are looking for his statistical projections please go here and download my latest projections.