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Hiyo, whaddup, it’s ya boy, Grey Albright, the King of SWING! SWING, which abbreviates to Swiss National Guard. See, I got this certificate with my Swatch watch–Any hoo! Today is the top 60 starters for 2020 fantasy baseball. You think we’re late into the 2020 fantasy baseball rankings here, but, in this post alone, you might be able to put together a pitching staff. So, let’s do this! Here’s Steamer’s 2020 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2020 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. All projections listed are mine and I mention where I see tiers starting and stopping. Anyway, here’s the top 60 starters for 2020 fantasy baseball:
ALL PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON 60 GAMES PLAYED, DUE TO COVID-19. BE SAFE OUT THERE!
41. Kyle Hendricks – This tier started in the top 40 starters for 2020 fantasy baseball. This tiers ends at Stroman. I called this tier, “Sideways bosom.” As for Hendricks, hHe is such a peak-a-boob, because his stuff has peaked and reads like a sideways bosom every year. It’s ironic he’s a peak-a-boob, because he’s so not flashy. Hendricks is a throwback to a time when just the smallest glances of a sideways bosom could excite and all pitchers threw 7+ K/9, except for Nolan Ryan. This peak-a-boob just makes me nostalgic for another time. Guess I can just say thanks for the mammaries! 2020 Projections: 5-4/3.41/1.12/57 in 68 IP
42. Kenta Maeda – Already gave you my Kenta Maeda sleeper. It was written while burning the roof of my mouth with a slice of pizza. WTF, pizza, why don’t you love me like I love you? UPDATE: Traded to the Twins, because all, and I mean, all things I touch turn to gold. *touches lamé jumper* I’m Beyonce, snitches! This can’t be bad for Maeda. If you want, like, actually facts, fine. The Hubert H. Homerfree Dome is also towards the bottom of the league for homers allowed — it’s in the name of the stadium; the park has always has been terrific for pitchers; the division is goofy with terrible teams. He’ll face the Tigers how many times? The Indians are bad and trying to be worse every day. The Royals had almost as many inside-the-park homers last year as regular ones. Maeda’s about to be a top 20 starter, but I will temper expectations and leave him here. For now. Cue evil laugh! *starts coughing* My evil laugh never comes out right. 2020 Projections: 4-2/3.67/1.10/60 in 56 IP
43. Marcus Stroman – Already gave you my Marcus Stroman sleeper. It managed to be written while inside a refrigerator box. 2020 Projections: 5-2/3.47/1.27/64 in 67 IP
44. Julio Urias – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Luzardo. I call this tier, “Nirvinyl.” When everyone’s out of the house, for a brief moment, you can put away your khaki pants and daddy issues. Take out your collection of Starling Lineup figurines to keep you company, lift your record player you call Nirvinyl and play from your Wilco record collection. Then your wife and daughters come home early, because the movie was sold out, and want to watch Little Women. So, you put on your too-small-for-your-head headphones and uncomfortably listen to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This tier is you chasing bliss, but there’s a chance you’ll never get there. If the last tier was mostly 7-8 K/9 guys who didn’t feel that risky. This tier is slightly different. They’re potentially higher strikeout guys, but with a higher level of risk. In other words, the safety of the bosom doesn’t feel as strong with them. They’re friends of the bosom. Call ’em Bosom Buddies. In general terms, these guys are risky number threes. As for Urias, he’s a top 20 starter if he gets 200 IP. With 200 IP, he gets 245 Ks and 3.50 ERA. I might like him more than Buehler if Urias was guaranteed 200 IP. Let’s just grab a few of the highlights that have my trackpants tingling. Urias had the lowest exit velocity in all of baseball when sorting by 50 batted ball events. That means, he’s the best when including most relievers. When sorting by his 200 BBEs, he has the best exit velocity by almost one full mile per hour. DeGrom’s exit velocity was 85.8 MPH and 12th best; Urias’s was 83.2 MPH. That’s legit crazy. He had the 15th best fastball value, right behind Scherzer. His 95.2 MPH fastball is also a hair better than Scherzer’s. His fly balls were a bit high (literally), and ground balls were a tad low (literally), but he’s a 10+ K/9 guy, who can get his walk rate under 3. So, who cares where people are hitting the ball, because they’re either not making contact at all or very weak contact. It took all the restraint I could muster to not rank Urias in the top 20 overall, because I know it might be irresponsible or just plain dumb to throw him more than 140 IP. While Dave Roberts might have lapses of judgement or just do laps on the bases as he reenacts his steal in the playoffs for the Red Sox, I don’t think the innings will be there. Think Paddack last year. 2020 Projections: 4-2/3.13/1.10/61 in 53 IP
45. Frankie Montas – Already gave you my Frankie Montas sleeper. It had some extra stank on it. 2020 Projections: 5-2/3.45/1.14/65 in 60 IP
46. James Paxton – One thing almost all of the guys in this tier have in common is they were either in the top 20 starters last year or I could foresee them being in the top 20 starters next year. Paxton’s in the former and latter camp. He’s like the Jewish kid going to sleepaway camp in Minnesota to learn kayaking and then afterwards going to the camp in California, which teaches people to not be scared of the water after a traumatic kayak accident. Paxton won’t throw more than 160 innings, but he’ll throw a decent 150+ innings. UPDATE: Paxton is out for 3-4 months with cyst removal surgery. The Yankees are so far ahead of every other team, they’ve already ramped up their scheduled injuries. Ba dum cyst! I was all-in on Paxton prior to this, but now I’m both-feet out. Figure he returns tentatively in May/June, has to ramp up activity and is at risk of setbacks. That’s a no from me dawg. 2020 Projections: 6-2/3.88/1.19/73 in 63 IP
47. Luke Weaver – One major strike against Weaver is the Cardinals gave up on him. The Cardinals don’t give up on good pitchers. The Cardinals make good pitchers out of bad pitchers, then give those bad pitchers away to be bad again on another team. It’s the Cardinals way. That and Yadier Molina singing, “Tradition…Fielder on the roof of my Corolla…tradition!” That’s how that song goes. Weaver had an iffy first full season with St. Louis in 2018 — 8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 4.45 FIP. Luckily, that looks like the outlier. His last year — 9.7 K/9, 2 BB/9, 3.07 FIP — matches up with his great partial seasons with St. Louis in 2016 and 2017. He now has a 9.3 K/9, 3 BB/9, 3.88 FIP in almost 300 career innings with a 94 MPH fastball and a newly added cutter. He didn’t limit hard contact as much as I’d like and he could be homer prone. He should be able to throw 170+ IP, even though he just threw 64 1/3 IP, but I’d guess he comes closer to 140 IP. With just about everyone in this tier, I nearly wrote a sleeper for him, and ra-ra-ah-ah-ah, so you can see I’m pretty gaga for him. 2020 Projections: 3-2/3.55/1.12/55 in 51 IP
48. Andrew Heaney – Already gave you my Andrew Heaney sleeper. It remembered my birthday. 2020 Projections: 3-2/3.88/1.22/68 in 58 IP
49. Jesus Luzardo – Already gave you my Jesus Luzardo fantasy. It was Meek Mill’s favorite rookie post. 2020 Projections: 3-2/3.18/1.11/50 in 39 IP
50. Sean Manaea – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Foltynewicz. I call this tier, “Summer Soystace.” So, you’re seeing this new guru who has his doctorate from the University of Guam and he’s telling you to find inner peace you need to stop eating beef and picking beefs with strangers who drive too slow and/or don’t signal. It’s working so far, and you’re finding your inner ohm while dating this hippie chick at this festival called the Summer Soystace. So, my question for you is, HOW DID THINGS GO SO WRONG?! Which is this tier too. If it’s not clear, I’m not drafting these guys and get out of the Summer Soytace and stop eating seitan! As for Manaea, to figure out what Manaea is going to do this year, you have as much a chance polling 100 randos what Manaea is going to do as reading projections you trust. Plus, there’s a chance here that he could be a 3.50 ERA, 9 K/9, 2 BB/9 guy, and on his way to be a top 20 starter next year. There’s also a chance that his 89 MPH finally catches up to him. I fully expected to trust him this year, but I just can’t. He’s a 7.3 K/9, 4.10 FIP with good command for his career. I’m ignoring his 9+ K/9 in 29 2/3 IP last year, because it makes no sense. His velocity was down and he was a 6.1 K/9 the last year he was healthy. His exit velocity was terrible and his .194 BABIP is goofy low. He just makes no sense to me. Sorry, I tried to understand his appeal. The Samoan thing is cool, but, oh poi, his stats are yucca. (Dropping island disses in my puns like a baller!) 2020 Projections: 3-1/3.91/1.15/51 in 58 IP
51. David Price – Assistant Red Sox GM said Price’s wrist surgery went well and they expect him to be ready for Spring Training. We’ll see what happens once he picks up the controller for Fortnite. Weird narrative that might be completely true, David Price is secretly a 12-year-old maxing out his mom’s credit card for more lives at Candy Crush. UPDATE: Traded to the Dodgers. The phone call to the Dodgers lasted two months for Price/Betts. It was a variation of this since December: “What’s your price for Betts?” “Yes.” “God damn it and your playing-hard-to-get, just tell us your price!” “You got it.” “What is it?!” “What is what?” “The price for Betts.” “No, Price and Betts.” “WHAT?!” And so it went in circles for many months. Finally, the Dodgers and Red Sox got on the same page with a quick Facetime call. “This is our Price.” “Is that David Price? Oh, crap, now we get it.” Okay, so David Price wasn’t bad in Fenway. Are you happy? I said it. Pitchers are good at home; that’s a secret to fantasy that no one wants you to know. Price will be good in Los Angeles. That has not been the issue. Literally everything else has been the issue. Prior to this trade, I didn’t like Price at all. Now, I’m pretty meh on him. I can see a future Price being worth his, uh, price. Just won’t be on my teams. He turns 35 years old this year; the velocity has been falling for two straight years and he hasn’t had a positive year for his changeup since 2016. Also, can you imagine how many tickets Price is gonna have to get now for all his relatives in Los Angeles? “Your last name is Price? But you’re a white kid with a Jewish Star of David. I don’t think we’re related.” What a headache. 2020 Projections: 4-2/3.87/1.25/53 in 51 IP
52. Mike Minor – Clearly, I believe in the Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi breakouts from last year, but not Minor’s major one. For those of you unable to open his player page, he had a breakout previously. It was in 2013, and then went sideways for five years. His Ks weren’t even that great (8.6 K/9) for his completely average walk rate (2.9 BB/9). His velocity (92.6 MPH) isn’t bad, and he was really about the change that worked great, but his slider that he throws 20% of the time is the third worst slider in the majors. This is drilling down more than he deserves, because I’d be shocked if he gets 170+ IP and comes close to his career year again. 2020 Projections: 4-3/4.04/1.27/53 in 57 IP
53. German Marquez – He just hurt me soul, Lupe Fiasco. That’s all. Nothing really scary in his peripherals. They look about as good as they looked when I ranked him in my top 20 starters last year. I should be back in on Marquez this year, but after the absolute disaster he wrecked on my fantasy teams and the ulcer? There’s just no way. The good thing with avoiding him is exactly the same as the bad thing that makes us avoid him. Even if he’s good, he’s still going to be in Coors half the time and you’re gonna want to bench him, which is just a nightmare to deal with, because: You in-season, “He had a great start in Dodger Stadium? Oh, man, I have to start him vs. the Marlins in Coors.” Then kaboom. 2020 Projections: 4-4/4.07/1.18/70 in 67 IP
54. Lance McCullers – He has full clearance ahead of Spring Training to fully ramp-up and make them cash registers cha-ching with fantasy value. Lance McCha-ching! Right? Can I get an amen?! Are you with me?! Say hoo-rah if you’re with me and impersonating Al Pacino from Scent of a Woman! Well, he’s good for about 120 IP, at least. He hasn’t thrown more than 128 1/3 IP in one year in his entire major league career. He’s like Ohtani without the DH eligibility. Throw in “returning from Tommy John” and I just don’t want any part this year. The best and worst thing going for him is Dusty may throw him 220 IP and call him Lance McPriors. 2020 Projections: 4-1/3.67/1.19/49 in 45 IP
55. Matthew Boyd – You know what’s fun for me? The first 100 or so people who say something like, “If you don’t want to draft (anyone from this tier), why are they ranked so high?” First of all, they’re not ranked high. These guys are being drafted about ten starters before this. Second of all, and this is a big ‘of all,’ if I’m saying a guy like Odorizzi should be drafted and I’m ranking him 20 spots before he’s being drafted, and saying the same for Gallen, Lamet and Woodruff and Stroman and Urias and so many others, you aren’t drafting 17 starters for your team. You’re drafting at most seven and prolly closer to five. (I suggest six, which I will go over in my pitchers’ drafting tool post coming in a few days.) So if you’ve drafted Odorizzi, Lynn, Woodruff, and Giolito, why the hell would you even be looking at drafting another starter here when I say don’t draft them? It makes no sense. Third of all, there’s no third of all. As for Boyd, his K-rate is interesting — I’m intrigued, y’all! — but his home run allowed rate is silly awful and only one of his pitches is lights-out. The slider’s sexy, but not enough for me to take the journey. 2020 Projections: 4-4/4.27/1.21/77 in 67 IP
56. Mike Foltynewicz – Feels like the guy who is going to get axed for one of the multitudes of Braves sexy armed prospects and there will be more stories than you want to read about how the Braves were so smart to make Faultytukiswitz the long man out of the bullpen. Maybe not smart, but, I don’t know, shot in the dark here, maybe he’s a really iffy pitcher who just had one good season as a starter. 2020 Projections: 3-3/4.21/1.27/50 in 54 IP
57. Joe Musgrove – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Lucchesi. I call this tier, “Fourcast starring Rainn Wilson and Dew Barrymore.” This tier is filled with starters who the forecast calls for you to get wet. That could mean the NSFW definition of getting wet or you just getting all wet from screwing up by drafting one of these guys. This tier is risky number fours, but I like them all. As for Musgrove, already gave you my Joe Musgrove sleeper. It was written on the napkin under a million dollar idea. 2020 Projections: 4-4/3.87/1.19/62 in 66 IP
58. Carlos Martinez – No joke, I seriously thought I wrote a Carlos Martinez sleeper, and maybe I can still, though time is crunched once I start doing my rankings. He has a 3.48 FIP in 864 2/3 IP in his career with a near 9 K/9. If he’s healthy, is there any doubt that he will be good? I know, I know, I KNOW! That if has its own zip code. But there’s a ton of question marks for everyone ranked this low. Could it be possible that C-Mart becomes the closer again? I guess, but the Cards have said they want him in the rotation and he wants to be in the rotation, so unless there’s some issue getting him into the rotation — have you tried Waze? — everyone seems to be on the same page with getting him into the rotation. Honestly, if I drafted him here and got 30+ saves instead of 120 IP, 3.50 ERA innings, I’d be okay with that too. In fact (Grey’s got more!), when I rank him in the top 500, it’ll be around 180ish (give or take 20 spots) and if they announce he’s going to close, I wouldn’t move his overall ranking. C-Mart feels to me like a guy who will move up in everyone’s mind once everyone sees him in the spring, like he’s some kind of groundhog. 2020 Projections: 3-4/3.51/1.25/50 in 47 IP
59. Adrian Houser – He had a 3.72 ERA and 9.5 K/9 in 111 1/3 IP in Milwaukee and you’d be lucky eh-eff to own him. Move him fifty spots up in the rankings! Wait, he had a 5+ ERA in Triple-A. Hmm, maybe it’s better we leave him here. Girl, I will house Houser for the right price, but while last year was encouraging, it doesn’t fully coalesce with his previous seasons. There might be something here though. He recorded a ton of weak contact and the launch angle (4.4) he elicits is hilarious. That was the 5th best in the majors. As you can imagine, everything he throws ends up hitting a worm, anthill or, even worse, a sand castle. Honestly, I should’ve prolly wrote a Houser sleeper post and I’m drafting him at least once. Girl, I will house Houser! Damn, now that’s stuck in my head. 2020 Projections: 4-3/3.81/1.22/60 in 59 IP
60. Joey Lucchesi – Full disclosure alert! I can’t see myself actually drafting Lucchesi. I would, so he’s in this tier, but will I be able to? You see Houser and others ranked above him and being drafted below him, so chances I get all the way into this tier and am still drafting Lucchesi seems remote at best. I’m kicking myself that I likely won’t own Lucchesi, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Yes, guys in one tier are all interchangeable, so who knows, maybe, but there’s a bunch of pitchers in this tier who I really like who are above him. As for Lucchesi specifically, he has going for him the exact opposite as Marquez. He has meh stats, but Petco for at least half the starts, where he had a 2.56 ERA in almost 100 IP last year. 2020 Projections: 4-4/4.05/1.24/65 in 67 IP
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