2022 TOP FANTASY BASEBALL ARMS

MLB / Baseball

Written by Gus Cousins (Based on FANTRAX SPORTS)

Last week we looked at the best bats for every position. I wonder if anyone can guess what we’re doing this week…that’s right, PITCHERS! Today I’ll be looking at the top-5 Starters, top-5 Relievers, and top-5 Sleepers - a whole lotta pitching coming your way!

Corbin Burnes | Source (Background photo): Getty Images

Similar to last week’s hitter’s rendition, let’s pretend that I have the pick of the lot - anybody I want can be taken, and I'm trying to make the best Fantasy Baseball 15-slot staff that I can. With these fifteen picks, divided below will be three sections; Starters, Relievers, and Sleepers. Keep in mind that these are just my choices, however, there should be a fairly unanimous consensus, to begin with…

STARTERS:

#1 - Corbin Burnes, BREWERS - In my eyes, Corbin Burnes will be a better fantasy pitcher this year than both Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom. The argument can be made for any of the three to come out on top, but my reasoning is fairly simple: Cole pitches in the loaded AL East and deGrom pitches in a loaded NL East. Burnes pitches in a relatively lacklustre NL Central whose second-best team is the St. Louis Cardinals. That’s not to say that Burnes will be a substantially better overall pitcher in the real world, I fully believe that both of New York’s best pitchers will dominate - although neither will face the dreadful Pittsburgh Pirates, mediocre-at-best Cincinnati Reds, or the low-floor Chicago Cubs. There are a lot of easy wins and high-strikeout performances and I could very easily see fellow Brewer Brandon Woodruff pile up spectacular numbers once again too. Burnes is coming off winning a Cy Young, Milwaukee is shaping up to win the division once again, and their outstanding bullpen isn’t going to be blowing many leads - all factors that convince me he’s the best pitcher available in any draft.

#2 - Gerrit Cole, YANKEES - If you can’t grab Corbin Burnes, then grab Gerrit Cole (or, if you’re like me, take deGrom out of spite because you hate the Yankees!). Not that it matters since it’s just Spring Training, but Cole has looked excellent once again - plenty of strikeouts and a fastball hinging on triple digits assures us that he’s the same old, same old. As I briefly explained above, there’s no wrong answer in how you order these top three Starters, however, the trio of Toronto-Tampa-Boston is much stronger competition than the NL Central. I’d expect him to sit just below 200 innings pitched once again, and have about 250-ish k’s. There was no real regression in terms of fantasy value last year, and similar to Burnes he should wrack up the wins - especially against the inferior Orioles. The year after this is when things get a little bit wonky - not just for Cole, but for everyone - as the league-wide play opens up and everybody plays everybody. Depending on how it goes this year (Cole is 31), he may drop a slot or two for me in 2023.

#3 - Jacob deGrom, METS - deGrom’s an interesting one here. I have him at three (although really tied for #2) not because I think Cole and Burnes are better real-life pitchers - far from it if someone told me to pick one pitcher from the entire league in a must-win game, I’m picking deGrom every day of the week. In fantasy though, it’s a slightly different story in my eyes. We all know about his absurd streak with New York of never getting any substantial run support, which, through no fault of his own, has the potential to limit any supplementary wins (and thus the points for those wins). On top of that, he’s coming back from an elbow injury that sidelined him for the second half of 2021. Do I think that’ll really affect him? No, not really. That said, the Mets may be more cautious with him early on in the season which could result in pitch counts, innings limits, and whatever else Steve Cohen may force on him. The easy find there are fewer pitches = fewer strikeouts, at least in the short term, which may drop him just slightly behind both Burnes and Cole.

#4 - Shane Bieber, GUARDIANS - The four-five spots are where people will likely begin to differ slightly, but I think Bieber has the potential to be an extremely good fantasy bet. Like deGrom though, he was injured for much of last season and I’m trusting Cleveland at their word that he looks as good as ever this spring. Bieber misses a ton of bats and was posting a 33.1% strikeout rate prior to his injury last season - a rather important percentage mark, in my opinion. Like the NL Central, the AL Central isn’t riddled with superteams either - the White Sox, yes, and perhaps the Twins at times, but Detroit is a big question mark and Kansas City is still in the rebuilding phase. Cleveland has a sneaky-good starting five, and with Bieber returning to full health he shouldn’t be the only Guardians pitcher to grab in fantasy…

#5 - Brandon Woodruff, BREWERS - If Brandon Woodruff pitched almost anywhere else in the league, he’d be a surefire ace of the staff and be receiving an Opening Day start. Unfortunately for Woodruff, Milwaukee also employs the reigning NL Cy Young winner in Corbin Burnes. That said, Woodruff has been, is, and will continue to be one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball for the foreseeable future. Likewise, with Burnes, my reasoning is roughly the same: a weaker NL Central, plenty of swings and misses, and a bullpen that’s (likely) not about to blow a ton of leads. Not to the extent of deGrom, but Woodruff also experiences the occasional issues with run support - he ended last season with a mid-twos ERA, but with a 9-10 win-loss. In the real world, I don’t really care about a pitcher’s win-loss record - it’s an antiquated stat that doesn’t hold much meaning anymore - however in fantasy it matters. A couple of extra points here or there, the bonus of points for a pitcher getting a “quality start”, that sort of thing. Milwaukee’s top of rotation in Burnes and Woodruff might be the best one-two punch in the league, and the same goes for fantasy too.

RELIEVERS:

#1 - Josh Hader, BREWERS - This ought to be a fairly straightforward one - Hader is a strikeout machine, goes multiple innings, and consistently is used in back-to-back games. Milwaukee’s going to win a lot, as I’ve mentioned above, and Hader’s on track to receive a TON of save opportunities. A 102:28 strikeout: walk rate says all you really need to know, and he only blew one (34 for 35) save last year. If he’s not at the top of your list, your head needs a shake.

#2 - Liam Hendriks, WHITE SOX - Hendricks is primed for another fantastic season as one of the league’s best closers, and the star-studded White Sox should have no problem helping him get into those situations. Rare is the outing in which Hendriks doesn’t have a strikeout or two, as he’s another hard-throwing points machine. I’d bet that either Hendriks or Blue Jays’ closer Jordan Romano will lead the AL in saves too.

#3 - Jordan Romano, BLUE JAYS - Speaking of Romano, it wasn’t long ago that Toronto’s prized bullpen piece was starting games! That’s all in the past though, however, he is most definitely a worthy fantasy pick. He’s currently dealing with a mild ankle strain, but if it remains as minor of an injury as it appears then he should have no issue racking up the strikeouts once again…hey, are you sensing a theme about strikeouts yet?! The Jays will be mighty good, and similar to Hendriks will be put in plenty of situations to put up points. He too is more than available for multiple appearances in a series, a nice bonus of flexibility.

#4 - Emmanuel Clase, GUARDIANS - Clase is another rather obvious choice for a reliever spot as he is expected to get a lot of appearances and a lot of innings. With James Karinchak’s 2021 downfall, the Guardians look to rely even more on their star closer to 2022. While I don’t expect the Guardians to have an overly good season, their starting staff should be good enough to send a number of leads into the later innings - Bieber, McKenzie, Quantrill, and Civale to an extent, have all shown the ability to be really effective. In between the starters and Clase is where it gets risky, but that’s more of a Cleveland problem than a fantasy one.

#5 - Scott Barlow, ROYALS - This may strike some as an odd pick; the Royals after all aren’t expected to be very good nor is their staff highly touted - so why Barlow? An unimpressive KC's pen has allowed Barlow to become the dignified closer rather unchallenged, and he has shown no indications that he’s going to give it up anytime soon. Barlow actually pitched the most innings (74 ⅓) out of any of the above four relievers in the 2021 season, and he was quite effective in doing so. What he may lack in saves he’ll more than make up for in usage, and stop me if you’ve heard this before: the AL Central is not a powerhouse. Barlow isn’t as sure of a thing as, say, Josh Hader, however, I do buy what he’s selling.

SLEEPERS:

#1 - Matt Brash, MARINERS - If you’re in a dynasty league, this name won’t be new to you. Brash, currently Seattle’s #6 prospect, is doing everything in his power to make the club right out of Spring Training - he hasn’t given up a run and has punched out seven over five innings. The Canadian is known for his wipeout slider, a pitch that’s helped him be rather dominant over his first two seasons in the minors. Between him and Justus Sheffield, I’d bet that Brash either opens the season as the M’s fifth starter or - if Seattle chooses to abuse the system - keep him down for a month to gain an extra year of control. Either way, he’ll be up this season and I expect him to be very, very good.

#2 - Dinelson Lamet, PADRES - Now, Lament is extremely hit or miss (pun intended). A fantastic 2020 season in the rotation for San Diego was followed by a lacklustre 2021 with plenty of injuries. His time as a sure-fire starter is likely over, but I have a ton of belief that he’ll bounce back as a quality, multi-inning reliever. His stuff is excellent when he’s healthy, and a trip to the ‘pen should help keep him that way. There are plenty of moving parts in San Diego’s bullpen, but utilizing Lamet as a 2-3 inning middle-man sounds like a match made in heaven. A couple of innings, perhaps pick up a hold, and Lamet can certainly be of value. I love long relievers in general simply because you can get a fair amount of points without using a start, and Lamet fits that mould perfectly.

#3 - Art Warren, REDS - Warren is here simply because Cincinnati is refusing to name a specific “closer” in Tejay Antone’s and Lucas Sims’ absence, and he’s been a strikeout machine throughout the minors and up to his brief spells in the majors. He has the potential to become an under-the-radar spot reliever for any team, not someone you’d want to roster long-term but someone you can pick up and drop as needed. In 21 innings last year, he pitched to a fantastic 1.29 ERA with a 41.5% strikeout rate (OMG!). He won’t be the next Liam Hendriks or Emmanuel Clase, but keep him as a reliever of note!

#4 - Adrian Houser, BREWERS - Ok, so I alluded to Houser being here when we looked at fantasy bats last week, but he is certainly someone who’s turned into a quality middle-of-the-rotation arm for Milwaukee. If it weren’t for Burnes/Woodruff/Peralta, he’d likely be higher on people’s boards - which is fine by me, because he’s more than showing how good he can be. He doesn’t strike a lot of people out, but weak contact and producing quality starts are his specialties. Plus, more often than not if he exits with a lead then the Brewers’ fantastic bullpen can shut the door for him.

#5 - Zach Thompson, PIRATES - Don’t let the fact that Thompson pitches for the Pirates alarm you, he had quite a good season for the Marlins before being dealt in the Jacob Stallings trade. Pitching to a 3.24 ERA in 74 innings with Miami was no small feat, and he’s much like Houser in my mind - not about to wrack up the strikeouts, but solid starts every time he hits the mound. Now that he’s settled into Pittsburgh’s rotation with no concerns about bouncing back and forth between the bullpen, Thompson is a late-round pick who I would take 10/10 times. If nobody’s drafted him and you’re apprehensive about dropping someone else to grab him, keep an eye on him because he could be a sneaky, sneaky waiver wire/free agent add.

Everything I’ve said I would take with a grain of salt. Fantasy sports are meant to be fun, and I am one who enjoys picking guys I can actually cheer for. Plus, if all these guys I’ve mentioned end up underperforming then you can shove this list in my face and tell me how wrong I was!!