MLB
Fantasy Baseball: 5 Top-Tier Starting Pitchers to Avoid
Clayton Kershaw posted some strong numbers in limited action last year, but they were not up to his usual standards. What other top-flight pitchers should we consider fading?

Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants

NFBC ADP: 73rd
Starting Pitcher (SP) Rank: 22
Draft Round (12-team league): 7th

With injuries derailing each of his last two seasons, limiting the workhorse to a combined 38 starts, Madison Bumgarner remains in the SP2 mix for drafters thus far. That feels a bit like Fool's Gold.

While the injuries could be the culprit, a steady decline has been eroding Bumgarner's excellence recently:

SeasonK%BB%Hard-Hit %Swinging-Strike %
201627.5%5.9%31.6%11.5%
201722.4%4.4%35.0%10.2%
201819.8%7.8%41.6%9.2%

With nearly every key statistic declining across the board from 2016 to 2018, do yourself a favor and let the early seventh-rounder slide on past and draft a different starting arm.

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