Lance Lynn, Top 100 Pitchers, 2019 Fantasy Baseball

Not your Grandfather’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers…

Grandpa-Donk: World traveler, meteorologist, woodworker, Señor Crappers spokesperson, and wise elder. One fact you may not know about Gramps is that his favorite movie is King Arthur. The old Donk and his friend Sweaty Jimmy have a thing not only for handling wood together, but also for the Knights of the Round Table. After a long day of working with each other’s sweat moistened wood, it’s not uncommon to see G-Donk and Jimmy together watching Sir Lancelot’s feats of courage while spooning ice cream into one another’s mouths like very normal heterosexual men.

Speaking of Sir Lancelot, have you noticed what Lance Lynn has been up to? If Lynn had pitched in that crazy London Series there’s a decent chance he would’ve been knighted. Fun fact: Granddaddy-Donk was knighted back in the 60’s; all it took to be knighted back then was some good smoke and semi-straight teeth.

As for Lynn, the 32 year old has compiled 14 consecutive starts of 6+ innings and he’s thrown 7+ innings in 9 of those outings. Since May 10th, Lynn has gone 8-2 with a 2.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 98 strikeouts in only 81 1/3 innings pitched. He hasn’t required Señor Crappers since that fart (which wasn’t just a fart) back on April 23rd.

Back in Week 12 I said, “The Lance Lynn brand has never been a best seller, but prior to last season Lynn had posted 3 straight seasons of 175+ IP with a sub-3.50 ERA. He’s added a half MPH to his average fastball velocity and he’s throwing a lot more sliders this year, leading to a career high K-rate through 86 innings. In 51 1/3 IP since May 1st, Lynn boasts a 3.63 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with 60 strike outs, and the FIP fairies are whispering that he’s actually been even better than that. Anyone care for a bowl of Lance Strasburg? Mmmmm salty beard!” I sound pretty smart, for a Donkey.

So, can we call it square for the whole Kikuchi debacle yet? Speaking of The Kooch, he’s been looking a little better of late. Watching him pitch no longer makes me want to slam my junk in a car door. I may have to see if the the ole Kooch Razzwagon will fire back up. Fair warning: The Koochwagon only has three tires and no steering wheel, but the acid spiked punch never runs out!

It’s safe to watch these guys pitch after you drink the Koochwagon punch…

Max Scherzer (No Change) – Is Mad Max the only pitcher in the world who enjoys playing with juiced balls? That sounded dirty, let me rephrase: Scherzer likes juicy balls. In the month of June, Blue Eye posted a 1.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and 13.60 K/9 across 45 innings. Grey just ranked Max #5 overall in his Top 100 for the 2nd half, but then Scherzer hit the IL with a mid-back strain yesterday and now Grey is backpedaling saying he’d take Cole or Verlander as his #1 SP for the 2nd half. I wholeheartedly disagree, Scherzer is my #1 for the rest of season even with the injury and it’s not that close for me. I anticipate he’ll return later this week with two more black eyes and a missing ear.

Gerrit Cole (+2) – I will say the Cole Train does deserve an honorable mention. Since being roughed up against the White Sox back on May 22nd, Cole is sporting a 2.21 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 13.11 K/9 in 57 innings. I have him easily ahead of Verlander at this point.

Robbie Ray (+5) – Alright, so maybe you’re better off not watching Ray pitch after dropping Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The walks will always be frustrating, but Ray has dominated in his first two July starts, and few other pitchers have his strikeout upside. If you need to make up ground in pitching categories in the 2nd half, acquiring Robbie Ray might be a worthwhile endeavor for your team.

Jon Gray (-3) – I said in the last edition of the Top 100 that I wouldn’t start any pitchers in summer Coors with these helium balls. I’m stunned to see Jon Gray has actually been a homeschooler this year, posting a 3.24 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in Coors in contrast to a 4.29 ERA and 1.40 WHIP on the road. Everything I thought I knew is crumbling before my eyes. I’m afraid there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors here though. I’d try to sell Gray before the regression fairies carry him off into the Colorado thin air.

Sonny Gray (+28) – Lots of Gray/Grey talk in this edition of the Top 100. The move to the NL seems to have revitalized Pickles’ career. Seriously, his nickname is actually “Pickles”. Sonny hasn’t been sucking on pickles this year; since May 15th Gray has a 2.93 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 10.95 K/9. I’m expecting the regression fairies to tickle his pickle a little in the 2nd half, but I also wouldn’t be rushing out to sell him.

Brendan McKay (+2) – Speaking of pickles, McKay makes my pickle stand tall. The young lefty features three plus pitches in his fastball, curve, and cutter. He also has a decent change which he hasn’t really busted out on major leaguers yet. The fact that he can command all of his offerings gives him a very high floor. He also plays both ways, which is fun. I’m not sure how many innings the Rays will let him throw, but being in a playoff race, maybe they push him a little?

Jack Flaherty (-4) – We took a look at 2018 vs 2019 Flaherty on the most recent Fantasy Sausage Pod. Cliff notes: I’m still buying.

Zack Wheeler (-5) – We also discussed 2018 vs 2019 Wheeler on that most recent episode. If you aren’t going to listen, you could at least click the play button to boost my self-esteem; you don’t want me turning into Eeyore over here, do you?

Michael Pineda (+9) – I didn’t expect to be writing about Pineda this season. There have been some ups and downs this year, but since the start of May it’s been mostly ups: 3.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 62 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings. Most impressively, he’s only given up 10 walks during that stretch and he’s keeping the home run ball in check (10 homers given up during that time as well) which has always been a major downfall for Pineda. A 3.82 ERA may not sound great, but it only takes a 6.90 ERA to win your league this year!

Maybe I shouldn’t have drank so much of the punch on the Koochwagon…

Chris Sale (-6) – The Condor has been a picture of inconsistency this season and brutal in his last three starts. Sale’s 2nd half struggles are well documented, but those struggles are relative to his typical dominant first halves. On the bright side, his fastball velocity has been creeping up the entire year and the strikeouts are still as good as ever. Maybe his first and second half splits will be inverted his year. Grey ranked Sale #20 overall in his Top 100 for the 2nd half. That ranking is a little aggressive for my liking, but I do agree you might be able to find Chris on sale for bargain bin pricing in your league right now. Stick your head thru that buy window and see what the price is.

Mike Minor (-13) – Since I told you to sell him for more than a cup of Grey’s cream of meat in the last edition of the Top 100, Minor has gone two starts throwing a total of 9 1/3 innings with a 6.75 ERA and 1.71 WHIP. The good news is, he struck out 11 batters in those two starts and one of those outings was against the Astros. I think there’s still a good chance Minor will be a top 50 pitcher for the rest of the season, so if his owner is panicking about those last two games then I’m ready to flip flop and buy. Heck, maybe you can get him in exchange for a small cup of Grey’s love mayonnaise.

Anyway, here’s my updated Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2019 Fantasy Baseball:

Rank	Name	Previous Rank
1	Max Scherzer	1
2	Gerrit Cole	4
3	Jacob deGrom	2
4	Walker Buehler	7
5	Trevor Bauer	6
6	Justin Verlander	3
7	Hyun-Jin Ryu	8
8	Blake Snell	10
9	Charlie Morton	11
10	Aaron Nola	15
11	Chris Sale	5
12	Luis Castillo	14
13	Patrick Corbin	18
14	Jose Berrios	9
15	Clayton Kershaw	12
16	Shane Bieber	16
17	Lucas Giolito	13
18	Stephen Strasburg	20
19	Madison Bumgarner	22
20	David Price	26
21	Zack Greinke	17
22	James Paxton	23
23	Lance Lynn	29
24	Zack Wheeler	19
25	Mike Clevinger	31
26	Noah Syndergaard	25
27	Brandon Woodruff	28
28	Jack Flaherty	24
29	Domingo German	NA
30	German Marquez	21
31	Joey Lucchesi	30
32	Matt Boyd	32
33	Yu Darvish	37
34	Caleb Smith	NA
35	Chris Paddack	40
36	Kenta Maeda	34
37	Robbie Ray	42
38	Jon Gray	35
39	Brendan McKay	41
40	Mike Minor	27
41	Kyle Hendricks	NA
42	Mike Fiers	49
43	Eduardo Rodriguez	47
44	Yonny Chirinos	43
45	Masahiro Tanaka	33
46	Mike Soroka	36
47	Zac Gallen	39
48	Jake Odorizzi	38
49	Joe Musgrove	50
50	Sonny Gray	78
51	Jose Quintana	51
52	Andrew Heaney	55
53	Anibal Sanchez	57
54	John Means	61
55	Wade Miley	67
56	Jordan Yamamoto	64
57	Dallas Keuchel	71
58	Jon Lester	58
59	Miles Mikolas	46
60	Griffin Canning	48
61	Dylan Cease	NA
62	J.A. Happ	66
63	Michael Pineda	72
64	Dinelson Lamet	NA
65	Merrill Kelly	63
66	Tommy Milone	52
67	Trevor Richards	65
68	Zach Eflin	59
69	Marco Gonzales	75
70	Chris Archer	74
71	Max Fried	73
72	Spencer Turnbull	NA
73	Brad Keller	82
74	Dakota Hudson	68
75	Daniel Ponce de Leon	NA
76	Steven Brault	69
77	Sandy Alcantara	79
78	Kyle Gibson	76
79	Ryan Yarbrough	95
80	Andrew Cashner	92
81	Logan Allen	60
82	Yusei Kikuchi	110
83	Julio Teheran	84
84	Marcus Stroman	77
85	Steven Matz	80
86	Homer Bailey	87
87	Anthony DeSclafani	90
88	Chris Bassitt	83
89	Matt Strahm	56
90	Adam Wainwright	120
91	Rick Porcello	70
92	Adam Plutko	89
93	Eric Lauer	94
94	Jalen Beeks	93
95	Jeff Samardzija	130
96	Felix Pena	122
97	Tyler Beede	115
98	Brett Anderson	119
99	Ross Stripling	86
100	Tanner Roark	91
101	Bryse Wilson	102
102	Jhoulys Chacin	125
103	Zach Davies	128
104	Jason Vargas	98
105	Vince Velasquez	105
106	Trevor Williams	88
107	Adrian Sampson	85
108	Matt Harvey	NA
109	CC Sabathia	113
110	Nick Pivetta	81
111	Tyler Mahle	104
112	Mike Leake	101
113	Framber Valdez	NA
114	Dario Agrazal	NA
115	Jake Arrieta	103
116	Kyle Freeland	NA
117	Drew Pomeranz	99
118	Aaron Brooks	NA
119	Daniel Mengden	108
120	Cal Quantrill	NA
121	Antonio Senzatela	111
122	Asher Wojciechowski	NA
123	Jose Suarez	NA
124	Michael Wacha	109
125	Peter Lambert	114
126	Trent Thornton	107
127	Jesse Chavez	100
128	Dylan Bundy	118
129	Alex Young	136
130	Chase Anderson	132
131	Jake Junis	112
132	Ivan Nova	123
133	Danny Duffy	131
134	Shaun Anderson	106
135	Martin Perez	117
136	Reynaldo Lopez	133
137	Ross Detwiler	135
138	Wade LeBlanc	142
139	Ariel Jurado	116
140	Jordan Zimmerman	121
141	Austin Voth	126
142	Aaron Sanchez	141
143	Tom Eshelman	NA
144	Jordan Lyles	97
145	Daniel Norris	124
146	Dylan Covey	NA
147	Adrian Houser	NA
148	Taylor Clarke	134
149	Glenn Sparkman	127
150	Brian Flynn	NA

RIP: Tyler Skaggs #45

Injured: Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon, Luis Severino, Cole Hamels, Brad Peacock, Pablo Lopez, Luke Weaver, Jimmy Nelson, Alex Wood, Jonathan Loaisiga, Nate Eovaldi, Jon Duplantier, Jose Urena, Gio Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez, Clayton Richard, Jefry Rodriguez, Jeremy Hellickson, Tyson Ross, Marco Estrada, Danny Salazar, Taijuan Walker, Ryan Borucki, Edinson Volquez, Tyler Anderson

On the Farm: Matt Manning, Adbert Alzolay, Jesus Luzardo, Alex Reyes, Mitch Keller, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Mike Foltynewicz, Forrest Whitley, Sean Reid-Foley, Jos Urquidy, Lucas Sims, Casey Mize, Justus Sheffield, AJ Puk, Kyle Wright

Out of the Pen: Josh James, Elieser Hernandez, Collin McHugh, Carlos Martinez, Freddy Peralta, Sean Newcomb, Zack Godley, Touki Toussaint, Jared Eickhoff, Derek Holland, Luis Cessa

Suspended: Frankie Montas

Find Donkey Teeth on Twitter @DonkeyTeeth87. Subscribe to his podcast: Ditka, Sausage, and Fantasy Sports on Itunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. All statistics courtesy of Fangraphs & Baseball Savant.