So you started the season with a monstrous keeper squad of Jose Ramirez, Giancarlo Stanton, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Luis Severino? Now you’re sitting in a bathtub, crying like Grey as he watches Travis Shaw and Jose Peraza bag his sack of Whole Foods groceries in the year 2021. Peraza holds the bag while Shaw inserts the various packages of beyond meats. The toaster is already plugged in and heating up next to your bath; Johnny Cash’s rendition of “Hurt” is blaring on your old school boombox as you shovel Hagen-Daas into your face. Suddenly everything goes black! Did the toaster slip into the tub? Nope, you blew a fuse!
Now you have a choice. Either go flip the breaker, crank The Man in Black back up, and finish the job; or wipe those tears away and send out a flurry of fantasy baseball trade offers before your deadline passes. In an effort to save a life, here are my top 20 starting pitchers for 2020:
Note: Be sure to check out the bonus podcast below the rankings featuring Grey and Donkey Teeth
| Rank | Name | Team | Age |
| Tier 1 | |||
| 1 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | 34 |
| 2 | Jacob deGrom | Mets | 31 |
| 3 | Gerrit Cole | Free Agent | 28 |
| 4 | Walker Buehler | Dodgers | 24 |
| Tier 2 | |||
| 5 | Justin Verlander | Astros | 36 |
| 6 | Blake Snell | Rays | 26 |
| 7 | Luis Castillo | Reds | 26 |
| 8 | Trevor Bauer | Reds | 28 |
| 9 | Shane Bieber | Indians | 24 |
| 10 | Jack Flaherty | Cardinals | 23 |
| 11 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | 30 |
| 12 | Mike Clevinger | Indians | 28 |
| Tier 3 | |||
| 13 | Patrick Corbin | Nationals | 29 |
| 14 | Aaron Nola | Phillies | 26 |
| 15 | Jose Berrios | Twins | 25 |
| 16 | Chris Paddack | Padres | 23 |
| 17 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | Free Agent | 32 |
| 18 | Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | 30 |
| 19 | Charlie Morton | Rays | 35 |
| Tier 4 | |||
| 20 | Noah Syndergaard | Mets | 26 |
| 21 | German Marquez | Rockies | 24 |
| 22 | Lucas Giolito | White Sox | 24 |
| 23 | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 25 |
| 24 | Corey Kluber | Indians | 33 |
| 25 | Tyler Glasnow | Rays | 25 |
| 26 | Luis Severino | Yankees | 25 |
| 27 | Carlos Carrasco | Indians | 32 |
| 28 | Zack Greinke | Astros | 35 |
| 29 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 31 |
| Tier 5 | |||
| 30 | Domingo German | Yankees | 27 |
| 31 | Mike Soroka | Braves | 21 |
| 32 | Madison Bumgarner | Free Agent | 29 |
| 33 | James Paxton | Yankees | 30 |
| 34 | Zac Gallen | Marlins | 24 |
| 35 | Yu Darvish | Cubs | 32 |
| 36 | David Price | Red Sox | 33 |
| 37 | Zach Plesac | Indians | 24 |
| 38 | Matt Boyd | Tigers | 28 |
| 39 | Brendan McKay | Rays | 23 |
| 40 | Brandon Woodruff | Brewers | 26 |
| 41 | Zack Wheeler | Free Agent | 29 |
| 42 | Caleb Smith | Rays | 27 |
| Tier 6 | |||
| 43 | Jameson Taillon | Pirates | 27 |
| 44 | Robbie Ray | DBacks | 27 |
| 45 | Eduardo Rodriguez | Red Sox | 26 |
| 46 | Sonny Gray | Reds | 29 |
| 47 | Kyle Hendricks | Cubs | 29 |
| 48 | Max Fried | Braves | 25 |
| 49 | Dinelson Lamet | Padres | 27 |
| 50 | Dustin May | Dodgers | 21 |
Outside looking in: Mike Foltynewicz, Aaron Sanchez, Miles Mikolas, Brad Keller, Joey Lucchesi, Steven Matz, Jose Quintana, Marcus Stroman, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, Griffin Canning, Jon Gray, Wade Miley, Julio Teheran, Michael Pineda, Mike Minor, Drew Smyly, Lance Lynn
Podcast (ditka-sausage-fantasy-sports): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
