Chris Flexen Fantasy Stats

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that after the team placed right-hander Jameson Taillon (calf) on the 15-day injured list on Friday, right-hander Chris Flexen is "a candidate to be stretched out for sure. He's prepared to do a little bit more." Fantasy managers searching for rotation help or streaming options in deeper leagues should have Flexen firmly on their radars, especially with how well he's pitched for the Cubs this year in a relief role. The 31-year-old veteran is a perfect 5-0 with a stingy 0.62 ERA and 0.83 WHIP while striking out 15 and walking eight in 29 innings out of the bullpen. He also has one save. Flexen has a sharp 6.5 K-BB% and plenty of experience as a starter in his seven big-league seasons, so he could get some run in a starting role while Taillon is out.

Chicago Cubs right-handed pitcher Chris Flexen earned his first save of the season during their demanding victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday evening. Flexen was called on to log the last three innings of work after starter Ben Brown tossed six shutout frames. With the Cubs holding a sizeable lead throughout the evening, they did not call on their typically high-leverage options. Flexen allowed just one hit and two walks across his three innings of work. He did not allow a run and struck out four. This was the 30-year-old's first appearance for the Cubs this season. He opened the campaign with Triple-A, but given the season-ending injury to Justin Steele (elbow), the Cubs may opt to keep Flexen on the MLB roster. Last summer, the veteran tossed 160 innings of work to the tune of a 4.95 ERA with the White Sox, operating primarily as a starting pitcher. He could eventually earn spot starts, but for now, he should not be targeted in any formats, serving in a bulk relief role.

The Chicago Cubs called up right-hander Chris Flexen from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, sources told ESPN's Jesse Rogers. The 30-year-old veteran gets the call to the big leagues after going 3-0 with a 1.16 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 21 strikeouts and eight walks in 23 1/3 frames over five starts at Iowa to begin the year. Flexen's solid results on the farm have come after he made a change to his arm slot. It remains to be seen if he can continue to be that successful in the big leagues with the Cubs, where he's expected to work in a long-relief role out of the bullpen, at least initially. Flexen won't have much fantasy appeal, even in deep leagues, unless he eventually earns a starting-rotation spot. In his seven big-league seasons, Flexen has a 4.95 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with a weak 16.4% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate in 153 outings (110 starts), so not much will be expected of him.

The Chicago Cubs signed free-agent right-hander Chris Flexen to a minor-league deal on Monday that is pending a physical, sources tell The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma. Flexen will stay in Chicago in 2025 after going 3-15 for the White Sox with a 4.95 ERA (4.80 FIP) and 1.52 WHIP with 123 strikeouts and 63 walks over 160 innings in 33 appearances (30 starts) in 2024. He was even worse the prior season with the Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies, going a combined 208 with a 6.86 ERA (6.22 FIP) and 1.67 WHIP with 74 strikeouts and 38 walks in 102 1/3 frames over 29 outings (16 starts). The 30-year-old veteran has a career 4.95 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with a well below-average 16.4 percent strikeout rate in his seven MLB seasons. Flexen will enter spring training with the Cubs as pitching depth and should be avoided in all fantasy leagues.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Flexen was on his game in Thursday's 7-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, tossing 6 frames of shutout ball and earning his third victory. Flexen limited the Angels to five hits and a walk while notching seven strikeouts. While the 30-year-old has been good in three of his last four starts, it doesn't do much to salvage a season where he went 3-15 with a 4.95 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. Hopefully next year Flexen won't be on the White Sox and can be a viable streamer in the right matchups, but he has a long way to go.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Flexen is scheduled to toe the slab to begin the second half of the season in Friday's series opener against the division-rival Kansas City Royals. Flexen hasn't been particularly relevant in fantasy in 2024, posting a 4.82 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 71:36 K:BB over 97 innings, but he should draw some interest in deep leagues against a middling Royals lineup on Friday. In four appearances versus Kansas City in his career, the 30-year-old soft-throwing right-hander has a 2.25 ERA and 12:4 K:BB across 20 frames during this stretch. Consider Flexen a low-end streaming option for fantasy purposes in his first start post-All-Star break.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Flexen threw six innings of one-run ball in Wednesday's 4-1 victory over the Rays. Flexen allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out eight. The 29-year-old's previous high-water mark for strikeouts this season was four. The win brings his record to 2-3 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Over his last five appearances (three starts), Flexen has pitched well, posting a 1.61 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and a 7:18 BB:K over 22 1/3 IP. While that is commendable, you likely aren't trusting him for fantasy with a career ERA of 4.90 and 1.47 while pitching for the second-worst team in baseball.

Chicago White Sox right-hander Chris Flexen is lined up to start on Friday against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. It will be Flexen's fourth start of the season. The 29-year-old former 14th-round pick by the New York Mets in 2012 has appeared out of the bullpen for the Pale Hose his last two times out and is now sporting a 6.41 ERA (5.75 FIP) and 1.42 WHIP with seven walks and 11 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings pitched. Flexen has been more effective in his two relief appearances than his three starts, and the matchup against Tampa doesn't really make him attractive as a streaming sleeper in deep fantasy leagues on Friday. He'll be making the start on three days of rest. Flexen could be sent right back to Chicago's bullpen once Mike Clevinger is finally ready to make his season debut.

Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz said Tuesday that newly-signed pitcher Chris Flexen is expected to be part of the team's starting rotation and provide a starter's workload in 2024, per MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The 29-year-old has served as both a starter and a bulk reliever throughout his career, functioning as both in 2023 with the Mariners and Rockies. While Flexen has produced serviceable ERA marks at times in his career, he offers little strikeout upside and pitches to contact, resulting in high WHIP marks. Flexen went 2-8 with a 6.86 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, and 15.9% strikeout rate in 29 appearances (16 starts) and 102 1/3 innings pitched in 2023. While he should be able to provide innings for the White Sox, fantasy managers may not want to turn to him for value to their teams.

Free-agent right-hander Chris Flexen is in agreement on a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. Flexen will have a chance to pitch out of the rotation for Chicago. He was ineffective last year, making 16 starts between Colorado and Seattle. The 29-year-old pitched to a 68 ERA+, 32 percent worse than league average. Flexen was running a WHIP near 2.00 for the Mariners before being traded to and subsequently released by the Mets. He then moved on to Colorado and pitched to a 5.92 FIP. It's been a few seasons since he was an above-average pitcher. Even though he had an ERA of 3.73 in 2022, his ERA+ was 99 and his FIP registered at 4.49. It wouldn't be surprising if Flexen didn't make Chicago's rotation at all out of spring training.