With the 2020 season seemingly set to get underway we need to revisit our rankings, as things have dramatically changed since March. The addition of the DH in the National League, players opting out and others getting diagnosed with COVID-19 (and the unknown about their status) are just some of the obstacles fantasy owners are facing. Let’s take a look at how things currently look, but keep in mind that things can change quickly:
- Jacob deGrom – New York Mets
- Max Scherzer – Washington Nationals
- Justin Verlander – Houston Astros
- Gerritt Cole – New York Yankees
- Walker Buehler – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Shane Bieber – Cleveland Indians
- Stephen Strasburg – Washington Nationals
- Mike Clevinger – Cleveland Indians
- Patrick Corbin – Washington Nationals
- Luis Castillo – Cincinnati Reds
- Charlie Morton – Tampa Bay Rays
- Blake Snell – Tampa Bay Rays
- Carlos Carrasco – Cleveland Indians
- Frankie Montas – Oakland A’s
- Michael Soroka – Atlanta Braves
- Aaron Nola – Philadelphia Phillies
- Yu Darvish – Chicago Cubs
- Jack Flaherty – St. Louis Cardinals
- Corey Kluber – Texas Rangers
- Andrew Heaney – Los Angeles Angels
- Zack Greinke – Houston Astros
- Trevor Bauer – Cincinnati Reds
- Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Marcus Stroman – New York Mets
- Eduardo Rodriguez – Boston Red Sox
- Max Fried – Atlanta Braves
- German Marquez – Colorado Rockies
- Sonny Gray – Cincinnati Reds
- Chris Paddack – San Diego Padres
- Jose Berrios – Minnesota Twins
- Brandon Woodruff – Milwaukee Brewers
- Joe Musgrove – Pittsburgh Pirates
- Hyun-Jin Ryu – Toronto Blue Jays
- Lucas Giolito – Chicago White Sox
- Mike Minor – Texas Rangers
- Kenta Maeda – Minnesota Twins
- Mitch Keller – Pittsburgh Pirates
- Joey Lucchesi – San Diego Padres
- Tyler Glasnow – Tampa Bay Rays
- Dinelson Lamet – San Diego Padres
Notes:
- Our starting pitching rankings have taken hit since the original Spring Training, due to injuries to names like Noah Syndergaard, Chris Sale and Chris Archer. That’s not to mention the various starters who have also opted out of the 2020 season, with Michael Kopech and David Price among the noteworthy names (Joe Ross and Felix Hernandez have also opted not to participate).
- One of the concerns for teams that pitch deep into the post season is whether or not there will be a “World Series hangover” for their starters. Considering the late start to the 2020 season, that’s no longer a concern for Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and the rest of the Washington rotation.
- Mike Clevinger is another starter who has benefited from the late start to the season. Originally he wasn’t expected to be healthy for Opening Day, but that’s no longer the case. That vaulted him back into the Top 10, as he’s among the elite in the game (he saw his SwStr% spike to 15.2% last season, to go along with improving control).
- Aaron Nola was a late arriver to “Summer Camp”, after he reportedly was exposed to someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19. Having arrived and getting on the field, there’s still a chance that he’ll be ready for Opening Day (and even if he was to miss some time, it shouldn’t be much at this point).
- Eduardo Rodriguez was diagnosed with COVID-19 and is still not in camp with the Red Sox. Hopefully he’s cleared to return soon, but even then it’s hard to envision him being ready for the start of the season. Depending on when he’s cleared, his ranking will have to be further adjusted.
- The final two spots on these rankings were supposed to go to Jose Urquidy and Brandon McKay, but McKay has been away from camp and Urquidy has been placed on the IL for undisclosed reasons.
Sources – Fangraphs, MLB.com
Make sure to check out all of our Updated 2020 preseason rankings:
| Position | Last Updated |
|---|---|
| Catchers | 07/06/20 |
| First Basemen | 07/20/20 |
| Second Basemen | 07/07/20 |
| Third Basemen | 07/08/20 |
| Shortstops | 07/10/20 |
| Outfielders | 07/13/20 |
| Starting Pitchers | 07/14/20 |
| Relief Pitchers | 07/12/20 |
I haven’t sen anyone rank Heaney quite this high. Are you predicting a breakout year?
Here’s the writeup from the Draft Guide, I think it’s the best summary of my thoughts on him:
One key for Heaney will be his health, after being limited to 95.1 IP in ’19, but he also needs to prove that he can avoid home runs (1.89 HR/9), limit hard contact (47.6% Hard%) and get out left-handed hitters (.321/.374/.548). The home run issues are interesting, considering he primarily throws a sinker (58.00%), and while the issue may not go away he should be better than a 33.6% groundball rate. The same can be said for the Hard%, which may have been skewed by the injury. It’s the performance against left-handed hitters that’s most shocking, and likely stems from lacking a third pitch to get them out (he’s thrown 10 changeups, total, over the past two seasons against LHH). He was better in ’18 (.229/.255/.288) and if he can develop that third pitch he has the strikeouts (11.14 K/9) and control (2.83 BB/9) to thrive.
Surprised not to see Z.Gallen make the list. Not buying the Hype?
He didn’t miss by much, but I’m certainly lower on him than many. Here’s a few excerpts from the Draft Guide as to why:
– pitching in Arizona he will likely be prone to home runs (44.5% groundball rate in Arizona) and his control was never going to be as good as it was at Triple-A prior to his recall (1.68 BB/9)
– if someone drives up the value due to his Triple-A success (1.77 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) and solid MLB ERA (2.81 ERA) you’ll want to stay away given the luck behind them (86.5% strand rate at Triple-A, 83.7% in the Majors).