Fantasy baseball: 2020 Baltimore Orioles fantasy preview

2020 Baltimore Orioles projected starting rotation

John Means, LHP (12-11, 3.60 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 121 K in 27 starts)
Alex Cobb, RHP (3-3, 10.95 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 8 K in 3 starts)
Asher Wojcieshowski, RHP (4-8, 4.92 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 80 K in 16 starts)
Wade LeBlanc, LHP (6-7, 5.71 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 92 K in 26 games, eight starts with SEA)
Tommy Milone, LHP (4-10, 4.76 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 94 K in 23 games, six starts with SEA)
Mychal Givens, RHP (2-6, 4.57 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 86 K, 11/19 saves in 63 IP)

Means was one of the few bright spots for the Orioles last season and should be the ace of the staff again this year. Where should he pitch for you? Means likely isn’t going to be a guy that racks up 200 strikeouts, but he’s a strong fourth or fifth starter on your fantasy team. His ERA and WHIP wont hurt even if the strikeouts and win totals don’t help that much.

The only thing that stands out about the rest of the staff is the nice WHIP on Tom Milone. Milone was a top prospect back in his early days in the Oakland system, but has never quite panned out. The chances that he does so at age 33 are minimal. The other four starters in this rotation are streamers at best.

The main question with Givens is: can he hold the role? He opened as the closer last year, but failed to hold down the job over the full season. Seven relievers had at least one save for Baltimore last year. Let’s face it: even though Givens is by far the top option, there just weren’t many save opportunities for this team last year. That is going to hold true for this year as well if the rotation isn’t much better than it looks on paper.

Prospects to watch:

The good news for he Orioles is that help could be on the way. Dean Kremer struggled in his first exposure to AAA in four starts last year. If he has a good month or two down there this year, Kremer could be called up. There isn’t much blocking him. He showed good strikeout potential in the minors, but it’s likely best to take a wait-and-see approach in most leagues.

Zac Lowther was one of the best pitchers in the Orioles system last year, but he has not pitched a game above AA. It seems unlikely that he makes the jump early, especially since the Orioles have no reason to rush him. However, it could come to a point where they can’t deny him any more either. He seems to be ahead of fellow lefty Keegan Akin right now.

Hunter Harvey was one of the Orioles’ best prospects for a couple of years, but fell out of the top ten this year. Some of that is the restocking of the Baltimore farm system, but two poor seasons in the high minors have taken their toll. Still, Harvey had a solid September in relief for the Orioles. If he starts strong at AAA, he’ll be in the rotation by the end of April. Harvey is worth a flier in deeper leagues or leagues with more bench slots.

There are 28 more of these where this came from! Sports may be on hold, but we will have baseball sometime this season. We here at FanSided Fantasy are going to make sure you’re prepared!