Fantasy Baseball: 2020 Toronto Blue Jays fantasy preview

2020 Toronto Blue Jays projected starting rotation

Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP (14-5, 2.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 163 K in 29 starts with LAD)
Chase Anderson, RHP (8-4, 4.21 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 124 K in 27 starts with MIL)
Tanner Roark, RHP (10-10, 4.35 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 158 K in 31 starts with CIN/OAK)
Matt Shoemaker, RHP (3-0, 1.57 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 24 K in 5 starts)
Trent Thornton, RHP (6-9, 4.84 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 149 K in 29 starts)
Ken Giles, RHP (2-3, 1.87 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 83 K, 23/24 saves)

The Blue Jays know that their offense could be special, so they targeted pitchers in trades and free agency. Ryu is the big prize after a dominant season with the Dodgers last year. He wont have that kind of success in the A.L. East, but there’s no reason Ryu can’t keep an ERA in the low 3’s and win another 14 games. He’s a solid second starter for your rotation.

Anderson and Roark are the wild cards. I’ve long been a fan of Anderson since he was in college at Oklahoma. He can rack up strikeouts, but the ERA is a bit concerning. Last year’s struggles with the Brewers don’t translate well to the A.L. East either. Right now I don’t know that I would draft either aside from a bench or spot start guy. The strikeouts for Roark last year were nice, but that WHIP is painful.

Shoemaker was having a great April in his first year with the Jays before tearing his ACL near the end of April. He was dominant in his two spring starts as well. Shoemaker is a guy that can really help your peripherals even though he usually doesn’t notch a ton of strikeouts. I like him as my fourth starter. I think he’ll perform above that and be available at that time in drafts.

Thornton was solid as a rookie and had a solid spring. We can expect solid out of Thornton, but that probably leaves him as a spot starter or for deeper leagues. Both Jacob Waguespack and Sean Reid-Foley had strong springs as well. They could both push these starters for a spot in the rotation. Thornton is probably less secure because they didn’t trade for him or sign him to a big deal.

Giles was brilliant in his first year north of the border, and there should be many more save chances this year. Giles maintains a low WHIP and ERA and a very high strikeout rate. He has the numbers of a top-five closer but could be nabbed a touch later than the guys going quickly. Giles is everything you want in a closer and has a strong bullpen in front of him with an improved rotation to increase his chances.

Prospects to watch:

Nate Pearson has ridiculous minor league stats and is one of the hardest throwers anywhere. He’s huge and destined to be a star. Pearson has a 2.19 ERA and 0.87 ERA in 123.1 career minor league innings. He also had a strong spring, but I think it’s more likely he starts the season at AAA. If he dominates there for a month or so, I don’t see how Toronto can keep him down. If you have an open bench slot, Pearson could pay huge dividends for you down the stretch.

It’s easy to forget about a guy like Anthony Kay when the Jays are pretty loaded in the rotation. He was decent in the majors last September. Kay doesn’t have the upside of Pearson and would really have to make some noise at AAA again to jump the likes of Reid-Foley, Thornton, and Waguespack.

There are 25 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!