Fantasy baseball: 2020 Arizona Diamondbacks fantasy preview

2020 Arizona Diamondbacks projected starting rotation

Madison Bumgarner, LHP (9-9, 3.90 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 203 K in 207.2 IP with SF)
Mike Leake, RHP (12-11, 4.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 127 K in 197 IP with SEA/ARI)
Robbie Ray, LHP (12-8, 4.34 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 235 K in 174.1 IP)
Luke Weaver, RHP (4-3, 2.94 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 69 K in 64.1 IP)
Zac Gallen, RHP (3-6, 2.81 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 96 K in 80 IP)
Archie Bradley, RHP (4-5, 3.52 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 87 K in 71.2 IP, 18/21 saves)

The fact that Zac Gallen is the fifth starter tells you how loaded this rotation is. Is the park switch concerning for MadBum? Not if you look at the stats. He has a 3.13 career ERA in 20 starts at Chase Field. He isn’t your staff ace anymore, but he’s a strong number 2.

The same can be said for Robbie Ray. You’re sacrificing some ERA and WHIP to chase strikeouts. We all know the story with Ray at Chase Field. You’re better off using him on the road. If you have that luxury in your rotation, you likely don’t need my advice.

I can see using Ray over Bumgarner, but Bum may be cheaper after last year. I still have faith that he’s not done.

Weaver and Gallen are both young and talented, and I’d be happy to grab both in the middle rounds. Weaver is a very strong number 3, and I wouldn’t mind using him as my second starter if the power in my lineup made it worth it.

Gallen was outstanding wherever he pitched last year. He wont pile up the strikeouts, but he will help your ratios across the board unless your league counts K/9.

At this point, Leake isn’t really going to help you. His numbers with Arizona last year weren’t much worse than his split in Seattle, but Leake doesn’t strike out enough batters to help you if you’re taking the ERA and WHIP hit.

Bradley is a decent middle-tier closer, but I wouldn’t overpay. If he struggles, Hector Rondon has closer experience and could take the job with a strong start.

Prospects to watch:

J.B. Bukauskas had one of the better arms in the Astros system, but an inconsistent year at AA last year has stunted his rise through the system. With the pieces Arizona added, it doesn’t look like Bukauskas will have much of an impact this year either with Merrill Kelly and Alex Young still ahead of him in the majors. However, his ratios may be good enough that Bukauskas can help even out of the bullpen.

There are 12 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!