Boom or Bust: Andrew Heaney Intrigues Fantasy Baseball Players
Pinned as the opening day starter for 2020, Heaney is coming off somewhat of an injury plagued year in 2019. After throwing 180 strikeouts in 30 games in 2018, the Angels ace threw 118 Ks in 18 gams in 2019.His injury concerns are forcing down his Average Draft Position. According to the latest ADP data, Heaney is coming off the board as the No. 78 pitcher.
Sports Illustrated’s fantasy baseball analysts Shawn Childs and Jaime Eisner joined Corey Parson to discuss if fantasy baseball players would be wise to take advantage of his mid-round ADP and draft Heaney in 2020.
Read the full transcript from the interview below.
Corey Parson: Hey what's up its Corey Parson, the fantasy executive for SI.com. Los Angeles Angels starter Andrew Heaney, had 118 strikeouts last season and just over 95 innings. Joining me to discuss his prospects for this year are SI fantasy and gaming analyst Shawn Childs and Jamie Eisner. Shawn, let me start with you, buddy. Draft or pass?
Shawn Childs: I am definitely passing on Heaney this year. He's going to get a lot of attraction. You know, this year he had over 18 starts, his strikeout rate was over eleven. His command was really good, he started off the year with an elbow injury and it just kind of sometimes could lead to Tommy John surgery. At the end of the year his ERA was well over seven for his last few starts. He's a guy that shows flashes of upside, but he struggles at times and he also gives up a lot of home runs. So he's going to get priced high for me because of his command. And he's a guy that I'm most likely going to avoid unless you happen to slide through and get discounted.
Corey Parson: Jamie, what do you think? He's scheduled to be the Angles opening day starter? Are you drafting or passing?
Jamie Eisner: I'm drafting him. Andrew Heaney is a guilty pleasure of mine in fantasy baseball. I love these high strikeout guys. He is absolutely a major injury risk. He didn't even start last season until around Memorial Day. And look, the last five start of the year he had four really terrible ones was absolutely blew up his ratios. But there are a lot of good things about a season of 14.1% swinging strike rate as velocity was up over 11 K/9. Even if you get over the health issues, I think he can provide you an ERA around 4.00, around a 1.20 whip and plenty of strikeouts. I'm going to take him around the top 160. And right now he's barely going in the top 200.
Corey Parson: All right. Thanks a lot, fellas, for all the latest news regarding fantasy baseball. Stay tuned right here with SI.com.
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