Baseball's Twilight Zone

[h2oya311]

Beautiful! The Tampa Bay franchise will be lauded as the most innovative of their time.

Jalen Beeks was a stud "second starter" this past year in TB (after being traded by Boston) when he would often come into the game in the 2nd or 3rd inning after the "closer" or "first starter" got through the top of the lineup in the 1st. He was 5-0 with Tampa Bay in August/September despite not starting a game. He got to face the weaker part of the opponent's lineup to start his game and then he was warmed up by the time he got to face the 1/2/3 hitters. How often do you see starters who give up 3-4 runs in the first inning before settling in? Also, how often do you see pitchers implode once they face a batter a "dreaded" third time through the order? The stats support this sort of strategy.

This sort of change will also completely alter the fantasy baseball landscape for years to come. It'll be interesting to see how many other teams adopt this sort of "bullpen day" approach.