Fantasy baseball: 2020 New York Mets fantasy preview

2020 New York Mets projected starting rotation

Jacob deGrom, RHP (11-8, 2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255 K in 204 IP)
Marcus Stroman, RHP (10-13, 3.22 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 159 K in 184.1 IP with TOR/NYM)
Rick Porcello, RHP (14-12, 5.52 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 143 K in 174.1 IP with BOS)
Steven Matz, LHP (11-10, 4.21 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 153 K in 160.1 IP)
Michael Wacha, RHP (6-7, 4.76 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 104 K in 126.2 IP with STL)
Edwin Diaz, RHP (2-7, 5.59 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 99 K in 58 IP, 26/33 saves)

Hey, remember when the Mets had the best rotation on planet earth? Now they have Rick Porcello as their third starter. Thor had Tommy John surgery. Wheeler is down I-95 in Philly. Harvey is an Angel. Flexen is playing in Korea. The only ones left are deGrom and Matz.

deGrom is going to be the first pitcher off the board, and he should be. Wins mean very little. Those peripheral stats and racking up over 250 K in three of the last four seasons say it all. There’s no reason to think deGrom will slow down.

Matz isn’t the pitcher he showed during his rookie year. He’s more the pitcher of the last two years, which is to say he’s worthy of a back of the rotation spot. Don’t expect much more. He’s not a high strikeout guy and the WHIP hasn’t stayed down.

Stroman’s ERA was 0.81 higher with the Mets last year. That makes no sense considering he came form the best-hitting division in baseball and a league that has a DH to what is statistically a better pitcher’s park. I do like Stroman, but I wouldn’t trust him to be any more than my third or fourth starter. He’s going higher than that in most drafts.

If you draft Porcello in a standard league, you need a new hobby. Or at the very least, I hope you aren’t playing for money. There’s really no excuse for it. Wacha is in the same boat, but at least he is still in his 20’s. There’s a little hope for Wacha, but he’ll likely be on waivers in most standard leagues.

Diaz still has elite strikeout numbers despite his horrid season last year. He may rebound, but don’t pay for a top-tier closer when you make a move for him. The chances of him getting back to that level are about 50/50. Only pay for Diaz if you can afford to take the risk.

Prospects to watch:

Kevin Smith looked very good for AA Binghamton last year. With Thor down and Porcello and Wacha far from locks, we could see Smith before the season is a month old. If he gets the call, he’s worth a look in most leagues. He has good peripheral numbers and strikeout totals.

Walter Lockett has pitched well in the high minors, but he has been destroyed in his 13 major league games so far. If Lockett figures it out, he’s the most likely candidate to replace Wacha. At this point though, he’s just a spot starter unless he finally figures it out at age 26.

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!