With a 2.28 ERA in his last four starts, the Pirates' Charlie Morton has emerged as a useful Fantasy option. Unfortunately, "useful" is probably the most he'll ever be.
I'll stick to just those four starts to explain why. As hot as he's been, his WHIP is a modest 1.19 -- good for a full season, but not for a stretch of starts that's supposed to put him on the map in Fantasy. Hits are to blame. During that four-start stretch, he has allowed 8.8 hits per nine innings -- a rate that would rank 57th among the 89 qualifying pitchers if extended over a full season. And again, that's with Morton at his absolute hottest.
So how has he pulled it off? Well, he's an extreme ground-ball pitcher, and as an extreme ground-ball pitcher, his ERA doesn't take the hit that most other pitchers' do every time they surrender a home run. The tradeoff is more singles. Ground balls yield a higher batting average than fly balls, so no matter what Morton does, he'll always surrender about a hit per inning.
He can't control when exactly he gives up those hits, making him more susceptible than the average pitcher to less-than-quality outings. The seven strong innings he'll provide from time to time aren't worth it to me, especially with so few strikeouts in between.