I’m continuing my attention on fringe starters. They are the starters who once the season starts, managers are going to have to make a quick decision on adding or dropping. These pitchers will be in play all season. I’m using NFBC’s ADP and starting at the bottom and selecting any starter drafted by half the teams.

Here is an evaluation of a few more starters (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7).

570: Brendan McKay

McKay got hit around (.331 BABIP, 1.5 HR/9) in 2019, but his strikeout (10.3 K/9) and walk (2.9 BB/9) were fine. He never got to pitch in the majors last season and eventually needed shoulder surgery. Reports are that he’ll likely not be ready by Opening Day.

I’m just going to pass on him in all formats. There are other pitchers I’d rather gamble on than prospect coming back from shoulder surgery.
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Patrick Corbin is the king of slider usage. On average he throws his slider 40% of the time. Why? Well, when you have a pitch that is so good why not throw it more? Like a lot more. It worked wonders for Patrick Corbin and his performance level. Here are three pitchers who could benefit from a pitch mix change like this.

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With drafts beginning to ramp up, it is important to monitor where players are being draft on a regular basis. Throughout draft season, I will be doing that work for you with regular updates on the Average Draft Position on NFBC up until Opening Day.

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I’m continuing my attention on fringe starters. They are the starters who once the season starts, managers are going to have to make a quick decision on adding or dropping. These pitchers will be in play all season. I’m using NFBC’s ADP and starting at the bottom and selecting any starter drafted by half the teams. Here is an evaluation of the six more starters (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6).

#596 Jaime Barria

Barria is a steady below-average MLB starter who should be streamed in half his starts. Here is what  is known about him.

• His 7.5 K/9 wasn’t ideal, it was at least paired with a 2.5 BB/9.
• His fastball velocity increased just a bit (91.7 mph to 92.1 mph).
• He’s flyball prone (34% GB%) so he could give up a decent number of home runs (1.6 HR/9 on his career).
• He’s got an average four-seamer (8% SwStr%) and slider (14% SwStt) and an ineffective sinker (3% SwStr%) and changeup (9% SwStr%). He needs to ditch or improve the last two (22% usage).

The same upside exists with him with just about every other pitcher. Throw harder. Improve or add a pitch. Ideal pitch mix. Until he shows an improvement, just stream him against weaker opponents.
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Stability is important in fantasy baseball, especially when it involves early-round picks. When we talk stability it can mean two things. It can mean stability of health or stability of skill set. With your early-round picks you of course want players with very few holes in their skills and players who stay on the field. I now present you with someone who teeters on a tight rope with both health and skill set: Dinelson Lamet.

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I’m continuing my attention on fringe starters. They are the starters who once the season starts, managers are going to have to make a quick decision on adding or dropping. These pitchers will be in play all season. I’m using NFBC’s ADP and starting at the bottom and selecting any starter drafted by half the teams. Here is an evaluation of the six more starters (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6).

Note: I had been using the player’s ADP rank and I moved to the actual ADP for clarity.

#623 Shane McClanahan

The 23-year-old lefty is a member of the Rays organization who pitched OK through the minors until getting hit around (.450 BABIP, 1.5 HR/9) in AA (8.35 ERA). Drafting him seems like a desperate dart throw on playing time and talent. Pass.

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Being a big comic book and superhero fan I couldn’t help but think of Mr. Glass when it comes to Tyler Glasnow (besides the obvious pun). For those who don’t know, Mr. Glass is a character played by the prominent actor Samuel Jackson in the hit movie Unbreakable. The character’s name derives from a rare condition that brittles his body leaving him able to break every bone in by just falling over. While Tyler Glasnow is injury prone, this correlation more so derives from the make up of his skill set, one that might be more fragile than we think. 

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Back on November 24, Charlie Morton signed a one-year deal with the Braves, as he makes his return to the National League, where he last pitched back in 2016. Of course, back then things were quite a bit different, like no designated hitter, which is something we expect to remain permanent in the NL moving forward. So there is now little different between leagues, and Morton’s isn’t going to get any boost, since he won’t be facing a pitcher at the plate. That said, let’s dive into the park factors to see how the park change might affect his performance.

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I’m continuing my attention on fringe starters. They are the starters who once the season starts, managers are going to have to make a quick decision on adding or dropping. These pitchers will be in play all season. I’m using NFBC’s ADP and starting at the bottom and selecting any starter drafted by half the teams. Here is an evaluation of the six more starters (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5).
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Yesterday, I listed and discussed the starting pitchers whose ERAs underperformed their SIERA marks by the most significant margins. I then reviewed the pitchers’ BABIP, LOB%, and HR/FB marks and identified which of the three metrics were driving the SIERA underperformance and what the chances for improvement in 2021 are. Let’s now shift over to the SIERA overperformers. Which of the three “luck” metrics drove such overperformance this season and can that last through next year? Let’s discuss the fantasy relevant names.

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