Pisces 2021 Pitchers
Pisces took top spot in the 2021 Water Division, mostly thanks to its star-studded infield and rookie-laden outfield mix. While the starting pitching depth left something to be desired, mostly due to injuries, a strong bullpen picked up the slack and shortened games… or that’s how it would work if they were on a real team and not a fantasy team. Here’s an in-depth look at the pitchers who made up the 2021 Pisces Fish.
Chris Bassitt had the most fantasy points of any 2021 Pisces pitcher. While the A’s ace had an All-Star season, it says something about the depth of the Fish pitching staff that their point leader missed time with facial fractures after getting hit by a line drive. Number two German Marquez was the best starter on the Rockies, but if I were setting up a rotation for a hypothetical offseason astrology tournament, and health-permitting, I would have Clayton Kershaw pitch Game 2… heck, maybe even Game 1. Speaking of health-permitting, I would likely have Marlins hurler Pablo Lopez handle Game 4, based on his pre-injury first half.
In front of Lopez in overall points, we have veteran lefty Rich Hill, who split his 2021 between the Rays and the Mets, and rookie James Kaprielian, Bassitt’s real-life Oakland teammate. That does it for the 1,000-pointers, with Cubs rookie Adbert Alzolay and Erick Fedde of the Nationals making up the last primary starters with more than 500 points. It’s also worth mentioning Carlos Hernandez (the Royals rookie, not the former Dodgers catcher or Astros pitcher), even though he had more relief appearances than starts.
It was this lack of pitching depth that caused Pisces to fall behind Taurus in the Negative Polarity semifinals. Towards the end of the season, this team was relying on struggling veterans like Jake Arrieta and Trevor Cahill, or unproven rookies like Johan Oviedo or Humberto Mejia. At least there is a bright spot as Clarke Schmidt, Glenn Otto, and Alexander Wells all show up on their respective teams’ Top 30 prospect list. And it’s also worth mentioning living Pisces legend Justin Verlander, who was omitted from my database since he missed ALL of 2021.
In terms of fantasy points, rookie Emmanuel Clase eclipsed Aroldis Chapman as the Pisces star closer. However, had Chapman not missed time due to injury, the Yankees stopper would probably have beaten out the now-Guardians ninth inning specialist. It’s hard to call Andrew Kittredge a closer, due to the unorthodox Rays pitching staff, but he was surely the most effective Tampa Bay reliever in 2021. Both Brad Hand and Richard Rodriguez lost their closers jobs upon being traded at the deadline, although only Hand saw himself traded a second time in the season.
Michael Fulmer of the Tigers and Craig Stammen of the Padres both had a handful of starts in 2021: four each, to be exact, which is not enough to keep them from full reliever eligibility in my official lineups. Cole Sulser picked up some saves for the Orioles, continuing the trend from the short 2020 season. Kyle Funkhouser on the other hand was just a good, old-fashioned setup reliever.
Daniel Hudson helped the Nationals win the World Series as a midseason acquisition in 2019, but he could not do the same for the Padres, after his former team sent him away. I can remember back in the day when Sergio Romo was a shutdown closer for the Giants, but watching him flail in the odd save situation for the 2021 A’s makes it hard to believe that’s the same pitcher.
The first lefty reliever we see going down the points line is Ross Detwiler, although he got some starts of his own in a season split between the Marlins and Padres. (Ditto Keegan Thompson for the Cubs, and Matt Peacock of the Diamondbacks.) For a more situational lefty, Pisces fans can turn to Josh Taylor, who showed off his stuff in the playoffs for the Red Sox, Adam Morgan, or the rookie Lucas Gilbreath.
Further on down the line, Cesar Valdez did get some saves with the Orioles, before handing the reins over to his sign-mate Sulser. Luis Severino only had the chance to throw a few games in relief this year after coming back from injury, but if and when he rejoins the rotation, he should be a force. Pedro Baez had a lot of good underrated years as the Dodgers top setup reliever. And Aaron Fletcher is another Top 30 prospect, this time for the Mariners.
Next time, we’ll round out the Elemental Division Leaders with the Leo Lions… just the batters at first, but their rock-solid pitching staff will follow in the post after that.