Day 17,881 of Quarantine and I ran into an old friend of mine at the supermarket. We wrestled over a roll of toilet paper and he tried to pull my mask off my face, but I’ve glued it on. A muffled laugh as I kicked him in the groin and walked off with the toilet paper. Cougs and I will be crapping tonight! So, the top 100 starters for 2020 fantasy baseball were updated with new projections for a 100-game season. With this series, I took a look around the 2020 fantasy baseball rankings to see if there’s any differences now that we might only play a 100-game season. Projections have been updated on all my positional rankings. Tomorrow, I’m unveiling a new series, it’s gonna pack a punch. Too bad it’s not packing a lunch. I don’t have a Whole Foods delivery window until the end of May. Anyway, here’s thoughts on the top 100 starters for 2020 fantasy baseball with the new Corona timeline:
83. A.J. Puk – With the season on hold, which feels like getting put on hold with the cable company for eight weeks and, at any point, you could die if you touch your face, Puk was added into the rankings, because now his shoulder should, er, (stutterer!) be healed by the time the season starts. Risky bet, but one I’m willing to take if drafting now. As said in the top 80 starters on the Corona, I don’t fully trust Puk, Bassitt or Jesus Luzardo (P, B & J) to be cemented into the A’s rotation, but, with so much unknown, it’s a gamble worth taking. In reality, you’re gonna be dropping starters at the backend of your fantasy staff even more so this year because of small sample sizes. For those who found us by googling, “Your fantasy staff of small sample sizes,” I have no idea what you’re looking for, but welcome.
86. Masahiro Tanaka – Did we ever land on what we think of starters who get off to fast starts? Do they get off to a fast start usually because they like pitching in April or is it because they like pitching in the beginning of the season? If it’s the latter, then Tanaka, of a career 3.42 ERA in April, could start off great in July, and, in a 100-game season, that’s one-third the battle and it makes Tanaka a top 40 starter this year. If it’s because of April, then Tanaka, a career 4.18 ERA in July, is as useless as we thought. I still honestly haven’t landed on which of these is more likely, and not sure I trust anyone that has a definitive answer.
91. Alex Wood – Was moved up in the rankings, because there’s less time for him to lose his rotation spot to Dustin May. I think. This is where things get legitimately confusing. If I were the Dodgers in a 100-game season, where every win is going to be magnified, I’d give Wood about three chances to pitch in the rotation, then would go to Dustin May, who will likely be without a minor league team to go to, because a minor league season seems rather remote. So, if Wood is not good (I’m a poet!), he could be in the bullpen within two weeks of the season’s commencement.
109. Cole Hamels – He was due to miss Opening Day because of a shoulder issue. Well, because Hamels can’t miss bats, he caused Covid-19 to happen and now there’s no Opening Day. Thanks a lot, Cole Hamels! Don’t care that Hamels might be healthy by the time the rest of the country is and baseball returns. Don’t like pitchers with arm issues, and am not suddenly excited for Hamels. (It’s another reason why I’m pretty lukewarm on Puk. Pukwarm?)
110. Griffin Canning – Same as Hamels and Mikolas (who’s next) and kinda Puk. Pukinda? Hmm, these need work. It’s super cool that Canning says his elbow will be fine by the time the season is ready to vroom vroom, but you should not trust pitchers with any elbow issues ever and you will be better off. Sorry, had to shit-Canning.
117. Miles Mikolas – He had a forearm issue and doesn’t anymore. Yeah, right. Read the other guys in this post for more thoughts on pitchers with arm injuries.
133. Matt Manning – This goes for just about the whole tier of rookie pitchers in the top 100 starters (Mize, Gore, etc.). It’s going to be interesting to see how clubs handle their minor leaguers. Do they give them a year off from development if there’s no minor league season or do they bring up the guys who are ready? Like a teamster on a cigarette break, I’m leaning on the latter, but it’s too soon to say for sure.
Michael Pineda & Domingo German – Were removed from the top 500 for 2020 fantasy baseball. German’s about to also get removed from the 2021 rankings with the way we’re going. Watch Domingo German return in 2022 as everyone’s favorite sleeper. “Hello, welcome to Fantasy Baseball Expert Smarties dot com, and thank you for reading my Domingo German sleeper post, please subscribe to my Soundcloud.” For what it’s Werth, Steamer pitcher projections has Pineda still down for 35 2/3 IP, but he’ll need to get up to speed and have room in the rotation. My guess is he’s a middle reliever, at best. Maybe a start or two.
