Alex Fast’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers

I hate it here.

On Saturday afternoon, I was thinking about where I should put Tyler Glasnow. I sent out a poll that said:

In a shortened season where:

– Managers may be quicker to go the bullpen
– SPs may not see the 3rd time thru as often
– You may see similar opponents sooner

Is it more or less important to have a third pitch?

— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) July 18, 2020

The results of this vote would lead you to believe that Tyler Glasnow’s two pitch arsenal (splitter isn’t there yet and he doesn’t love his change) would be a hinderance to him this upcoming season. There’s a chance that, due to Glasnow’s two pitch mix, Kevin Cash may just let him go through the order twice before relying on his dominant bullpen to work its magic. The results of the poll would lead you to believe that despite Glasnow’s 2020 success, having a third pitch is pretty important under the circumstances he’s likely to be in.

Ok. So maybe I should drop Glasnow down a bit.

However…while Glasnow could get fewer IP, he would likely have a lower ERA than other starters like Corey Kluber. So would people rather have the starter with fewer IP and a lower ERA or a slightly higher ERA but more IP?

In this shortened season would you rather a starting pitcher with:

1) 65-70 IP, 3.60 ERA

or

2) 50-55 IP, 3.20 ERA

— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) July 18, 2020

Hm. So fantasy players seem to want a lower ERA at the cost of IP yet, if the results of that first poll are any indication, they want someone with a deeper arsenal, too.

So where does that put us in regards to Tyler Glasnow then?

Did I mention I hate it here?

My intention here isn’t to deride the fantasy community writ large (that’d be wholly unfair considering those polls provided zero context). It’s merely to point out that this season will be unpredictable. As much as this makes my anxiety flair, no amount of statistical analysis is going to prepare us for what’s to come. I guess we might as well have fun with it then.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out on twitter or in the comments.