Fantasy baseball: 2020 Minnesota Twins fantasy preview

2020 Minnesota Twins projected starting rotation

Jose Berrios, RHP (14-8, 3.68 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 195 K in 200.1 IP)
Jake Odorizzi, RHP (15-7, 3.51 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 178 K in 159 IP)
Kenta Maeda, RHP (10-8, 4.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 169 K in 153.2 IP with LAD)
Homer Bailey, RHP (13-9, 4.57 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 149 K in 163.1 IP with KCR and OAK)
Rich Hill, LHP (4-1, 2.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 72 K in 58.2 IP with LAD)
Taylor Rogers, LHP (2-4, 2.61 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 90 K in 69 IP, 30/36 saves)

If you look closely, you’ll see that Odorizzi has better numbers than Berrios when you compare the innings. Another thing that has me high on Odorizzi is the fact that he was outstanding early last year before settling down and being “good” the rest of the year. Odorizzi’s first 12 starts last year were outstanding. If he does that in this truncated season, Odorizzi will be a top-15 starter.

Berrios is going higher and has much more upside, but Odorizzi is the one who could really outperform his draft slot.

The Twins gave up prized prospect Brusdar Graterol for Maeda and I’m still torqued about it. Maeda is going to be solid, but that’s all he ever is. He’s a good rotation filler, but he often doesn’t pitch deep enough into games to get the win or much strikeout value. Don’t overpay for him like the Twins did.

The rise in strikeouts was nice to see from Homer Bailey, but he still shouldn’t be on your radar in standard leagues. I don’t care how desperate you are. Take a flier on 40-year-old Rich Hill instead. When he’s not succumbing to blisters, Hill has been consistently solid through most of his career. He’ll help you more than Homer will.

Taylor Rogers is firmly in the middle tier of closers and should stay there. He’ll see plenty of chances and he racks up a good number of strikeouts without hurting your ratios much.

Prospects to watch:

Lewis Thorpe is next up for Minnesota if Homer or Hill can’t hold down a rotation slot. He has been solid at every level of the minors and still racked up the strikeouts in his time in the majors. He just needs to limit the walks. If he nails down a rotation slot, Thorpe is worth a look on your bench.

There are only five 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!