Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

Giolito earned every bit of his breakout season, putting up an ERA that we nearly identical to his FIP and xFIP and a major gain in control. Most impressive for Giolito was his ability to limit contact on pitches in the strike zone - just 77.3%, second best in MLB behind Gerrit Cole. His raw stuff is elite, and another fantastic season should follow in 2020.

Keuchel moves from the Braves to the White Sox, which, on the surface, seems like a negative move given the change in league and home park. But, he'll be paired with Yasmani Grandal, one of the best framing catchers in all of baseball, and that's a huge boon to a pitcher like Keuchel who relies on movement and called strikes as much as any pitcher. In addition, other than the Twins, the lineups in the AL Central are hardly imposing. Keuchel is more of a matchup-based starter at this point in his career anyway, and fantasy owners should still be able to pick and choose when to deploy him.

Lopez's overall numbers are abysmal, and he earned them, to be sure. For one glorious month in July, however, Lopez showed his potential, pitchng to a 3.41 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP with a 4.25 K/BB ratio. Unfortunately, his success was short-lived, and he's shown nothing to suggest he's on the verge of figuring things out. In 15-team leagues, fantasy owners can take a shot for a bench role. But otherwise, move on.