There are only two weeks left in this shortened 2020 regular season. What does that mean? It means that the fantasy playoffs are finally here! Therefore, it's make or break time to find value starting pitchers to bolster your teams for a title run- here's the rundown on who you should look at for this week…
*Note* Any player put on the IL this week has been removed from the rankings, as they likely will not be able to contribute either this week, or next week if you have a team playing in the finals of your league.
Starter Report
Shane Bieber- Cleveland Indians (#2):
It feels almost crazy writing this in 2020: Bieber is not invincible. The right hander lost his first game of the season on Friday, giving up three runs on five hits over seven innings against Minnesota. This was Bieber’s worst start of the year; given that it is still considered a quality start, it is a testament to the quality of his work in 2020. Given that he lost his last start, and the one other nearly unhittable arm (Jacob deGrom) won, Bieber falls to number 2 this week.
Trevor Bauer- Cincinnati Reds (#3)
Bauer is back into the top 3 after shutting out the Cubs in 7.2 innings of work on Wednesday (beating last week’s #3, Yu Darvish). It was another double digit strikeout performance for Bauer and his first in a month, a good sign for owners heading into the final quarter of the season. The most important thing of note when looking at Bauer for the fantasy stretch run is that he is scheduled for two starts this week: Monday against the Pirates, and Saturday against the White Sox. Considering Bauer is averaging over forty points per start, he is a must play.
Sixto Sanchez- Miami Marlins (#8)
Sanchez continues to take the league by storm, and seems to be strengthening his case for rookie of the year every time he steps on the field. Sanchez picked up his second career win on Tuesday, tossing six plus innings of shutout ball against the first-place Braves. What impressed me most out of Sanchez during that outing was his ability to seemingly flip the script in regards to his strategy on the hill; after throwing over forty pitches during the first two innings of his outing, he threw under twenty five over the next three. This ability to cater his style towards the team’s needs (bullpen was limited for that game), while still shutting out the opponent is pretty much unheard of. Braves manager Brian Snitker seemed to agree, saying “Thats the total package right there” about Sanchez postgame. Sanchez also threw on Sunday against the Phillies pitching the first complete game of his career.
Aaron Nola- Philadelphia Phillies (#9)
Nola receives a feature for a second straight week after a dominant showing against the Marlins in Miami on Friday (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K). This was the fourth straight quality start for Nola, giving his team a much needed boost after they dropped the opener of their massive seven game series with the Marlins. While he is only a one start guy for the first round of the postseason, the stuff has been too good. He is essentially a must play. He is finding his best stuff at the right time of the year, and should show it again on Wednesday against the Mets.
Corbin Burnes- Milwaukee Brewers (#29)
Burnes finally is getting the love he deserves, shooting up 39 places this week. What has me so high on Burnes going into the fantasy postseason? He currently has a 19 inning scoreless streak over his last three starts. Not only that but he has given up a grand total of seven hits in that span, walking three. Name anyone in the league who has been that dominant over the last two weeks… you can’t. Burnes has now dropped his ERA to under two for the first time this year- with two starts scheduled for this week (Tuesday vs St. Louis and Sunday vs Kansas City), he is an absolute must play.
Chris Bassitt- Oakland Athletics (#42)
Bassitt is getting his first feature of the year after registering two wins this week, giving up one run over thirteen innings pitched. His first start, Monday against Houston (7 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 BB 4 K) was a massive step forward for him, as his start prior (also against Houston) ended after only three innings (explanatory enough). The bounceback was huge, and the control returned. In both his start against the Astros and his Saturday feature in Texas both saw the command return. He is a bit of a risky play for this week for fantasy teams deep in pitching options, as he faces the Giants in his one start on Friday; while the command has returned he has had very mixed fantasy performances (22.5 avg points per start). While this is a solid number, it is nowhere near where you will want your arms to be for a championship run. He’s been overall good but points wise seems to produce a desirable output one out of every two times he gets the ball.
Brady Singer- Kansas City Royals (#56)
The rookie right hander sees a massive bump up in the rankings this week (up 23 spots) after throwing the best game of his young career on Thursday in Cleveland. The 24-year-old right-hander tossed eight innings of one hit ball (had a no-hitter through seven), walking two and striking out eight. While Singer has been relatively consistent (giving up 3-4 per 5ish inning start on average), this was a major step up for him. While it is yet to be seen if he will continue to take a step forward over his remaining three starts this year, he is a good one start play this week when he takes on the Tigers on Wednesday night in Detroit.