It’s pure chaos on top of it In 2023, with no agreed consensus No. 1 for Fantasy and a growing cult of drafters who prioritize 70-inning relievers over 190-inning beginners. In a year without a vintage Pedro or Kershaw to provide clarity and order, things quickly descend into tribalism. Some of us simply He gave up all early round pitchers, preferring to build a rotation of late game fliers and prospects, later augmented by aggressive concession additions. for each one of them.
[Batter up: Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for free today]
We certainly have no shortage of polarizing pitchers to discuss, as none of these guys are completely without red flags. Let’s start with a player who cheats fictional managers at least as often as opposing hitters.
Go here for the most polarizing hitters in 2023.
Jacob DeGrumSP, Texas Rangers (ADP 31.5)
We can reliably say that deGrom’s roles will be of the highest quality imaginable. We hope everyone will agree to that. Over the past two seasons, he’s struck out an insane 14.3 batters per nine innings pitched while producing dead ball percentages (1.90 ERA, 0.63 WHIP) with ridiculous control. He has struck out over 13 batters for every career he’s made over the past two years. A healthy DeGrom is about as good as it gets – arguably as good as anyone in the fantasy age. If we can guarantee that he will pitch 150 rounds in 2023, he will certainly rank first for all.
Therein lies the problem. We haven’t seen deGrom hit 100 frames since 2019 and he’s only thrown 156.1 over the past two years. Since the spring of 2021, he has been sidelined at various times with elbow, shoulder, forearm, and oblique problems. He’s already dealing with a side/oblique injury at the moment. Projection systems are everywhere on his role predictions for 2023. No one is about to make any guarantees regarding his workload. Again, all we can say is that when he plays, however long, it’s going to be amazing.
For me, deGrom is a much easier sell in Yahoo’s default roto format than anywhere else. Here, the general game includes a very accessible innings cap, which means that even deGrom’s 80 or 90 IP season can be of tremendous value. Thus, it’s worth a bump (or downgrade) based on your platform. Also, if you go into a draft that cares exclusively about going up, this is your guy.
Spencer Strider, SP, Atlanta Braves (ADP 26.2)
Much about the Strider is actually like a closer classic, including triple-digit speed, ridiculous K-rate (38.3 K%) and fastball/slider arsenal – And of course, facial hair. And let’s not forget the peacock after K:
Strider is just as fun, both statistically and aesthetically. Last year, he struck out 202 batters in just 131.2 innings while pitching a 2.67 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP at age 23. He’ll issue walks occasionally, but that’s less of a concern when no one can really hit your stuff (. 179 BAA).
It’s reasonable to ask if Strider can remain a top-tier elite player in the long run, Two-story arsenal. but on the other hand, These two courts are among the most powerful in the game. He makes his way to the polarizing list primarily because no one quite knows where to tie his roles; He certainly doesn’t make it to 200 (not that much), and drop systems make it anywhere from 120 to close to 170. Stryder dealt a slash injury at the end of last season and has had a UCL repair in the recent past, but he’s perfectly healthy at the moment , enjoying a dominant spring.
if you want He joins Dalton Del Don in the Strider ranking as no worse than a #3 rookie Entering the year 2023, I get it. Like deGrom (but for different reasons), Strider is another one you can feel a lot better about in Yahoo’s traditional default format that includes a role limit. In our game, you should mainly care about the K rate, not the total Ks.
To be completely honest, Bieber is only making this list because, for the second year in a row, people are going out of their way to say they won’t credit him — like This guy is here. This is likely because Bieber is such a glaring exception among early Tour beginners in that he doesn’t throw a zillion miles per hour. In fact, his speed has dropped in each of the past two seasons.
but good … Let’s go. Pepper struck out 198 batters last season while issuing just 36 walks over 200.0 innings. His ERA was 2.88 and his FIP was 2.87. It’s hard to look at his year and decide that surface level stats were a fluke. Bieber has a very simple command A deep arsenal that includes more than one very effective sweep throw. He is an artist, a skilled technician, tunnel tunnel. He’s given us four consecutive seasons of good to brilliant and he has people freaking out this spring:
Bieber is also one of the best bets to reach 200 home runs among all rookies, which is a lofty number in the current era. Even if some of you avoid him (again) in drafts, I consider him one of the safest beginners in the pool.
