Top 50 Starting Pitchers for 2020: Balls Don’t Lie

There’s one big question on everyone’s mind: what type of balls will 2020 bring? Will they be wrinkly? Sweaty? Blue? People are wondering about the baseballs, Donkey. Oh right, baseballs, thanks random italicized voice!

Let’s face it, we have no idea what next year’s balls will look like. Hopefully they aren’t engorged, lumpy, or discolored, but we just don’t know. And we won’t know for certain until early April 2020. What we do know is, regardless of how salty next year’s balls taste, there will be a bunch of pitchers drafted early who get hurt or just flat out stink (see: Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Blake Snell, Carlos Carrasco, Jameson Taillion, & Luis Severino from 2019) and there will be lots of pitchers drafted late, or not drafted at all, who sneak into the end of season top 25 starting pitchers (see: Lucas Giolito, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Sonny Gray, Mike Minor, Lance Lynn, Mike Soroka, Domingo German, & Jake Odorizzi from 2019). Grey has almost fully brainwashed me over at his Fade Top Pitchers School of Philosophy and Sexuality. Yes, it’s just as weird as it sounds over there.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Learn more about our 2025 Fantasy Baseball Subscriptions!

The best daily/weekly player rankings/projections (hitters, starters, and relievers) for each of the next 7-10 days + next calendar week starting Friday. Kick-ass DFS lineup optimizer and projections for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!.

I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!

Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.

See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Sat 8/16
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| OAK

SAGNOF: Rebel Yelich

September 9, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, SAGNOF | 2 Comments

by: Roto-Wan

There haven’t been any big callups and there may not be again this year. The cards are mostly on the table. Best of luck in your final push for fantasy greatness. Hopefully you’re flush with Yelich’s and Lindor’s but a Moore or Rojas may do in a pinch. Like Billy Idol said, and I think it was in reference to September steals in fantasy baseball, we need “More, more, more. More, more, more.”

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: deGrominate It

September 9, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: Thomas Howland

Sometimes chalk is chalk. Jacob deGrom, incredibly, is only the second highest cost pitcher on today’s slate at $10,600. That is a value of at least $1,000 over most of his starts. He still has a 2.76 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He’s facing an Arizona Diamondbacks team that is much less ferocious on the road, and even in ideal situations hits deGrom to a lowly .200 batting average in 80 at bats. Now to the rest of the picks.

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Eugenio Is Out Of The Bottle

September 9, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 328 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”464411″ player=”10951″ title=”FantasyBaseball2019BuySellHold23″]

They say New Jersey can only be appreciated by people from New Jersey, which seems stupid. Where else can you get your ass beat over a sub while meeting the love of your life in a Wawa parking lot? Where else can you say you’re from New York when you’re from New Jersey? Where else can you win loose Newports in a boardwalk claw machine? Is there anywhere else you can simply lower the window to hide the smell of a fart? I think not! Similarly, maybe you have to own Eugenio Suarez (3-for-4, 3 RBIs and his 43rd and 44th homer, hitting .269), to appreciate him, but I just dug in on him, and there’s some concerning stats for 2020. His HR/FB% is goofy high, even though he’s hitting the ball less hard and more in the air. That’s a recipe for a plummeting batting average, and the skyrocketing Ks won’t help. His exit velocity is that of Amed Rosario; his average feet per homer is Piscottish (totally a word) and not Soleresque. The ball dripping of juice could fix all of this, but Suarez looks a lot more like a 32-homer, .255 hitter vs. this new incarnation. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Two Start Pitchers, Week 24: Holy Calamity, Scream Lynnsanity

September 8, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers | 16 Comments

by: B_Don

Starter Notes for Week 24…

- The Padres and Athletics are both throwing a 6-man rotation this week.
- The Dodgers are giving Hyun-Jin Ryu a pass on his next start, but haven’t announced when he will make the next one yet, or how the rotation will work this week. While Ryu will be skipped, the Dodgers are also getting Rich Hill back this week, which could maintain the 6 man rotation.
- How the Dodgers handle the rotation means that Walker Buehler may or may not have 2 starts this week. The good news, of course you’re starting Walker Buehler. The bad news, not sure that he’s getting 2 starts, but he’d be a ‘No Doubt’ guy if he does.
- The Yankees Tuesday starter has yet to be announced, but should be a 2 start option whoever they throw. My best guess right now is that it’s a bullpen game with Chad Green starting.

Fantasy Baseball Streamers, Week 23: Ride the Wave

September 8, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Streamers | 16 Comments

by: The Real Joey Bart

It’s playoff times ladies and gentlemen, which means picking the right streamers is more important than ever. What’s frustrating about that for this week is the fact that we have a weak group of two-start streamers. It seems to be either high-owned studs or low-owned risky players, so we’re going to try our best to offer up some good options that are widely available. With that in mind, let’s get into these streamers!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Who’s A Good Boy? Gerrit Cole Is A Good Boy

September 8, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: NichFields

We must really love baseball. Today we have an 11-game FanDuel Main Slate, but the large format contest sizes have been chopped by about 90%, I’m guessing because today is National Hug Your Hound Day and FanDuel figures people will be too busy celebrating. Maybe. Just a quick aside, while we may enjoy it, our hounds definitely do not enjoy being hugged and are likely, at the very least, confused by this action. Ask them. It’s true. Let us not hug our hounds, even on National Hug Your Hound Day, it’s a selfish expression of affection we assume they appreciate, but the benefit is wholly one-sided. Instead, try showing affection for by licking. They love it.

So, our large-format contests are not so large. What do we do? We can adjust our lineups to incorporate more safe plays, such as we would for cash contests, and fewer of the high risk, high upside plays we need to have a shot at soloing a 50k+ tournament, without reducing our expected value.

A player like Gerrit Cole, SP: $12,000, fits the bill nicely. He is very expensive, so we’d better have good reason he’ll be worth the expense. The reason he should be acceptable today is he is facing a strikeout-prone Mariners lineup, which has proven to be overmatched by Cole. The last time he faced the Mariners, back on June 30^th, Cole managed 58 points from 10 strikeouts over 7 innings. This performance seems like the average outcome we should expect today, which is right in the range of value we are seeking.

Still reading? Wow. You deserve a treat! Stay here and read on for some winning DFS picks.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Prospect News: Mr. Marvel’s Debut

September 8, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects |

by: The Itch

Welcome back to the mad scramble that is September in the prospect world. The commotion is dying down like a house party with an empty keg, but there’s still ample opportunity to make a connection, to link eyes across a room, to trade smiles through the backbeat, and to gain a few standings points or add a key piece for your head-to-head playoffs. Coffee is for closers, so get yourself some caffeine, block out the Antonio Brown noise, and finish strong like Kolten Wong.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Going Deep

September 7, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: Thomas Howland

It’s FanDuel slate value starting pitching time and today’s contestant is Jonathan Hernandez ($5,500) of the Texas Rangers. He’s facing the Baltimore Orioles and their 12th ranked offense. Now on to the rest of the picks to use up all those free dollars.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Edman Rockin’

September 7, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 8 Comments

by: Dan Pants

Tommy Edman continued his hot hitting Friday night going 2-for-4 with his sixth and seventh home runs and 3 RBI. Have a day, rook! He’s now batting .344 with 8 runs, 2 home runs, 4 RBI and two steals in the past week. *Pro tip* that will help your fantasy team! Tommy Boy struggled a bit to adjust after his initial call up but he hit .308 in August and seems to be have locked down the starting third baseman job in St. Louis. The Cardinals sit atop the NL Central with a 2.5 game lead and Edman could be a big reason why. Of the Cards starters, only Kolten Wong is hitting for a higher average and that could be the craziest sentence I’ve written all season. Did I mention that one of Edman’s shots pegged a Pittsburgh fan right in the groin? Lol! Take that you smug, yinzer! So pleased with yourselves regarding all this Antonio Brown drama. Smh. A home run ball right in the crotch should take you down a few pegs. So, are you convinced yet? Edman steals bases, he hits dingers, he’s eligible at multiple positions, he hits for average and he even knows how to stick it to Steelers nation. Did I mention he has a three game series at Coors starting on Tuesday? Yes, please! I’d add Edman everywhere I needed some speed with some pop and he could be a good addition to any team who’s in need of a solid bat for the rest of the season.

Here’s what else I saw Friday night in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bear or Bull: Wong Has Never Been So Right

September 7, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 16 Comments

by: Son

Change is always a difficult endeavor to endure. I smoked for over 25 years before I decided to try and quit. I don’t even remember how many times it took, but eventually after many years, and many attempts, I was finally able to do it. That shit was hard, so props to any of you that have done it. For those thinking about or are currently in the process of quitting, email me at [email protected] or DM on the Twitter machine @Stan_Son if you need someone to talk to. Maybe my experiences can help in some way. Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming. During the process of quitting smoking, I got addicted to the CVS menthol cough drops. Now I can’t stop! And I gained a ton of weight. So I’m now in a new phase of change, which is to excercise and diet more, and stop going to CVS so much, but it’s tough. But like with smoking, I’ll get there, as long as I keep trying. It’s never too late to change, but change doesn’t happen overnight. Which brings me to Kolten Wong of the St. Louis Cardinals. Wong has been so right for the Cardinals, as he’s been carrying the club on his back recently. I’ve seen headlines of “must-watch tv” and “team MVP.” There’s also been mention of a new approach at the plate. Can it continue?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Try A Buy/Get When In France

September 6, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 215 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”464411″ player=”10951″ title=”FantasyBaseball2019BuySellHold23″]

Listen, the Padres gave Luis Urias a little over 100 at-bats. If a guy can’t hit major league pitching in that time, then he should be released. It doesn’t matter if he just turned 22 years old. He’s not cut out for a game of sewn-ball. Just the facts, ma’am/ma’an. Sorry. (Okay, it’s crazy what the Padres are doing with Urias. Jose Pirela got like 800 at-bats before he was deemed unusable, and they’re still giving Austin Hedges a chance to hit after about 1,300 at-bats.) On the opposite spectrum from Urias in the doghouse is Ty France getting a chance to show what he can do, after he did this in the minors this year: Won AAA All-Star Game MVP, PCL Rookie of the Year and PCL MVP. Also, he has the best player pic:

France hit .399 in Triple-A this year (so crazy what hitters are doing across all leagues) and added in 27 homers in 296 ABs. Don’t think batting average will be there for France, but we’ll see along with someone’s underpants. He has power, though, for any park, and could be a short-term add, if nothing else. Just be careful if he ever faces any pitcher with the name German, because he will come to the plate with a white flag attached to his bat. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?