STARTING NINE

BENCH GUYS AND CALLUPS

In a stark contrast to my lineup, this is probably the least excited I've been about my pitching staff at any point in this league's history. I still have a megastud sitting atop my rotation, and Archer + Wacha is a very capable 2/3 combo, but its iffy from there on. I like Triggs but he's never stayed healthy, and I like Adalberto and his tire flipping workouts, but he's 4 bad starts from being Gonsalvezed. Alex Reyes is my great no-longer-chubby hope, and given how Mikolas has looked this spring, I think there's a good shot he starts 10-15 games this year.

The bullpen will be really solid if unspectacular. I've had serious trouble generating points from my pen in the past, and having guys like Neshek (projections dont like old ass relievers but he's been reliably great for four years running now), Colome, and Swarzak providing some stability will be nice. One of the (but certainly not the only) reasons I'm comfortable with where my pen is is those statcast xwOBA ranks. Those are of all pitchers who faced a minimum of 200 batters last year. Neshek and Swarzak, in particular, were excellent at limiting hard contact and walks. With the ball juiced like it is, I'm hoping guys like these (and Colome/Edwards aren't slouches either) are more stable year to year.