Jacob deGrom has shown enough flashes of potential over his last few starts that you wouldn't be wrong to take a flier on him in a 12-team mixed league, especially since the waiver wire, at least in competitive leagues, no longer abounds with starting pitcher talent.
But taking a flier on him isn't the same as putting your trust in him, and I'm not quite ready for the latter yet.
For one thing, his high strikeout rate is mostly the result of four starts: an 11-strikeout effort May 31 at the Phillies, a seven-strikeout effort June 21 at the Marlins, an eight-strikeout effort July 2 at the Braves and the latest 11-strikeout effort Tuesday, also against the Braves.
The Marlins have struck out the most of any team in baseball, and the Braves have struck out the fourth-most. The Phillies aren't quite as bad, but they've struck out the ninth-most and have several notable high-strikeout hitters.
deGrom wasn't a strikeout pitcher in the minors, never averaging more than 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings in a full season -- and that was in the lower levels. He wasn't a pitcher of any note in the minors, compiling a 3.62 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 58 starts, and if you look at his game log, you'll see he's been just as spotty so far in the majors, with his innings and walks varying as much from start to start as his strikeouts.
But watching him pitch, I'll admit he looks better than the numbers would suggest, and I would have said the same for Corey Kluber early last year. For that reason, I'm not overlooking deGrom in Fantasy. I'm just not ready to commit to him yet.