Fantasy baseball players should be bracing themselves for what is about to happen by the end of June. No, it has nothing to do with the recent report of a foreign substance crackdown or potential suspensions being handed out. Well, not entirely. I’m actually talking about the Super-Two deadline passing at the same time MLB pitchers are going to hit a wall regarding their innings pitched. If you are a believer in the Verducci Effect and have concerns regarding the health of your starters, now is the time to pay attention as many could be rested and replaced with a lot of mediocre talent just waiting to blow up your ratios.

As of today, Shane Bieber, who, as if to illustrate my point, just landed on the 10-day IL with a right shoulder strain, leads the league with 90.2 innings pitched. Most hurlers who haven’t missed time with an injury or shuffled in and out of the rotation are sitting somewhere between 60-70 innings so far. In 2020, Lance Lynn led the league for the season with just 84 innings pitched and your average starter threw somewhere between 50-60 innings for the year. Tack on another 10 innings or so to reach the end of June and we are already in danger of that dreaded 30-inning year-to-year increase. That was fast, wasn’t it?

Now, obviously, every pitcher is different and not everyone is affected the same way. However, most clubs, especially the ones who are looking ahead to the playoffs, are likely to start monitoring the increases and results even more. No one has come right out and said it, but in order to get their current rotation some relief, they are going to have to pull some minor leaguers up to make some starts. And I’m not just talking about prospects like Alek Manoah because, with no minor league season last year, these top prospects could be in even more danger if they’re pushed to hard, too fast as well. They’ll be trickled in, for sure, which is why we’re noting when Super-Two passes, but we’re talking about some of those career minor leaguers who can eat innings but just don’t have the stuff to consistently compete/produce at the big-league level.

Remember a journeyman righty by the name of Mike Wright? He’s 31-years-old and has been around baseball since 2010. He’s pitched for Baltimore and Seattle in the majors and currently resides in Charlotte, pitching for the Knights, the White Sox Triple-A affiliate. These are the guys I am talking about. Guys who can round out a rotation for a short time while better pitchers get some rest. In order to stay ahead of the curve – and by that, I mean stay competitive in categories like wins and strikeouts -- you may have to explore some of these guys.

As a project to help all of us along, I will be working closer with both Jim Bowden, my co-host on the Fantasy Alarm Show, and Matt Selz, author of the Prospect Report here on the site, and we will try to find you some names to keep on your radar over the next few weeks. You’ll know who the top prospects are as Matt has been guiding you through since the spring, but with everyone in your league going after prospects as well, you’ll get a leg up by knowing which unheralded innings-eaters to start and which ones to leave alone.

Quick Cuts

Speaking of top prospects, the Marlins are finally bringing up outfielder Jesus Sanchez. The 23-year-old has big raw-power so if you’re in need of home runs, he’s your guy. Of course, like most youngsters, big power comes with big strikeouts, or at least that’s what it was like for Sanchez last season. During a brief call-up, Sanchez went 1-for-25 and posted a 37.9-percent strikeout rate. That shouldn’t deter you from trying to pick him up if you can. It’s just a warning to not overreact if he does whiff a lot early on. His minor-league K-rate is at 19.3-percent, so if he can calm the nerves and doesn’t hack away, he could settle in around 25-percent and that’s actually not too bad. If you can make immediate additions to your roster, you should do it now.

And since I mentioned the crackdown on the foreign substances, here’s the word…

MLB officially informed teams on Tuesday that the crackdown of foreign substances for pitchers will begin on Monday, June 21

  • Rosin bags allowed, but periodic spot-checking
  • 10-game suspension if caught (with pay)
  • Longer suspensions for repeat offenders
  • Clubs will not be allowed to replace suspended players

Should be quite the ride if suspensions go into effect! Mike Wright’s looking pretty darn good right now, isn’t he?