Fantasy Sports podcast: Joe Musgrove over-slotted as top starter? Pirates hitting, bullpen woes.

A week into Major League Baseball’s return, we are already seeing some interesting trends in the fantasy sports world.

So far, most of them aren’t great for the Pirates. Especially when you look at their bullpen and batting order.

In our weekly fantasy sports podcast, Jeff Erickson and I dive into some early numbers for the Pirates and the rest of MLB.

Issues with manager Derek Shelton’s relievers don’t surprise me. They’ve yielded 18 runs already. Just four teams have allowed more from their bullpen. Based on what we expected coming into 2020 from that cast of characters in relief, that seems about right.

Meanwhile, I didn’t think the Pirates lineup would be great. But I thought the top six hitters on any given night would be decent. To date, though, the only guy with more than 15 at-bats who is hitting above .200 is Colin Moran (.300/3 HR).

The Pirates have the worst team batting average in baseball through the first week at .171. The collective .214 on-base percentage is also the lowest. And the Arizona Diamondbacks are the only club with as low a slugging percentage as the Pirates (.280). Plus, general manager Ben Cherington’s roster has just five home runs. Only four teams have fewer.

Erickson, who was pumping up starter Joe Musgrove prior to Opening Day, isn’t exactly thrilled with his first two outings. In both games, Musgrove was pulled after 5⅔ innings after yielding three runs with two homers.

“He gets you strikeouts (15 in two starts), but the gopher ball will get you,” Erickson said. “He’s a No. 3 pitcher who the Pirates are counting on to be their ace.”

However, Erickson did praise Mitch Keller’s first outing. The second-year right-hander got a victory as the Pirates won 5-1 on Sunday in St. Louis. Now Keller has the tough task of pitching against the Cubs on Saturday afternoon in Chicago.

“Quality bats up and down the lineup,” Erickson said. “(Anthony) Rizzo had a bad back in the summertime. But he’s gotten healthy just in time (three home runs in the first week).”

The Cubs are on top of the National League in runs scored (38), second in home runs (11) and third in OPS (.813).

Then Erickson and I hash out the impact that the Florida Marlins covid-19 shutdown is having on fantasy owners. Also, pitchers appear ahead of hitters so far. Particularly those with a “pitch-to contact” approach. Erickson analyzes that. And injuries to some starters are messing up fantasy rosters already.

On the NFL front, we talk about Lamar Jackson’s ongoing courtship of Antonio Brown to Baltimore and the ripple effect of these coronavirus opt-outs on some keeper leagues and upcoming draft boards.

LISTEN: Tim Benz and Jeff Erickson break down trends in fantasy sports world