Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco Giants have had some amazing fantasy baseball aces in recent years. The team has spent millions to lock up starters Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Barry Zito. However, despite the lopsided contracts, Madison Bumgarner has been the best fantasy pitcher in San Fran in 2013.
The 23-year-old has been lights out every time he steps onto the bump. Bumgarner would be talked about more in the media if it weren’t for the sudden emergence of New York Mets SP Matt Harvey and Cincinnati Reds SP Tony Cingrani.
However, Bumgarner deserves some respect for the season he is putting together.
The southpaw is currently boasting a near spotless 1.55 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. Bumgarner has struck out 36 batters through 40.2 innings of work. He even has a flawless 3-0 record in five starts. He has dominated batters with his inside fastball and his slider has some of the best action in the business.
Bumgarner has also only allowed three long balls all year, which is nice considering some starters have given up that many in one inning. Most pitchers get ripped for over 20 homers a year, but Bumgarner could limit the damage to around 10 -12 homers this year.
He has not thrown over 110 pitchers this season and has only gone over 104 pitches once. The team does appear to be limiting his pitch count early in the season, but the fact that the kid has lasted 200 innings in two consecutive seasons bodes well for his longevity this year. He should easily eclipse the 200-inning plateau once again.
Bumgarner is one of the leaders of the next generation of fantasy arms. He is a proven innings monster and you would be hard pressed to find another 23-year-old with this much major league experience. Bumgarner has shown that he can be one pitcher to build a fantasy franchise around.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
