Top 100 Starting Pitchers: Summer Training Edition

True story: DonkeyTeeth calls me up on the ol’ Twitter machine this morning.  Me, I’m just awake from dreaming of 5-year-old Blair riding out in my dad’s Buick Skylark into the Minneapolis night to celebrate the Twin’s 1987 World Series win.  Suddenly Donkey’s typing: “Top 100 Switchers.” And I’m like, “Donkey, it’s 7AM, I’m not ready for that!” He types into the Twitter machine, “TOP 100 PITCHERS!” So I say, that’s fine, here: 1) Beer, 2) Sangria, 3) Margarita… . Donk does it. You know. He starts typing, but doesn’t finish. The little dots on the bottom of my Twitter machine beep out in morse code–or whatever code Jack wants to call it–that causes mental insanity among so many people. I’m transfixed. The next use of a nuclear code, you know it’s going to be preceded by those little waiting dots. President Swift will have to verify the code with Vice President Lovitz but only after they clear their notifications. Finally, Donkey’s message comes across. “2-for-1 pitchers at BWW if you get there before 9AM. See ya.” That’s the level of training they give here at Razzball. I tell ya, I get no respect at all.

Welcome to Summer Training, then! Pitchers and catchers report to the bubble soon, and Covid-willing, we’ll have a 60-game baseball season in 2020. It may be daring to say, but pitchers will likely be the most affected by the change in schedule in terms of fantasy baseball. There are a lot of rumors right now, but some teams have discussed 4-man rotations while other teams have discussed 6-man rotations. Some teams have hinted that starters will throw 3-4 innings at most, while other teams are rumored to let their starters run wild. In real life, we’re all wishing for the health and well-being of pitchers, along with the rest of the teams and their communities. But for fantasy purposes, we’ll be monitoring the rumors and adjusting as much as possible as quick as possible.

The standings in this post are organized as of 06.28.2020, and will be updated weekly throughout the season. For fantasy purposes, players shouldn’t worry too much about the ordering, but rather focus on position within tiers. If you’re in a standard 12-person league, I would focus on grabbing healthy hitters first, one top tier pitcher, and then 5-7 starters from the middle and lower tiers. You’re going to see plenty of great matchups that you’ll be able to take advantage of in the late rounds.

Tier 1: Grey’s Afternoon Delights

 Tier 2: Donkey Teeth’s Denture Cleaners

Tier 3: Blair’s Flairs

Tier 4: Coolwhip’s Cake Toppers

Tier 5: JKJ’s Tiny Dancers

Tier 6: The Itch’s Back Scratchers

Injured: Noah Syndergaard, Luis Severino, Chris Sale, Chris Archer

Suspended: Michael Pineda