Fantasy Baseball Week 20 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers include Hayden Birdsong, Sean Manaea (2024)

The Giants freed up a rotation spot for Hayden Birdsong at the trade deadline, and now we'll get to see if he can overpower a lineup other than the Rockies. Given that his three secondary pitches all have an elite whiff rate, I like his chances against the Tigers.

Given Spencer Schwellenbach's six-pitch arsenal and best-in-the-league-type control, it seemed like only a matter of time before he found his stride. He's rolling now in a way the Christian Yelich-less Brewers probably won't be able to stop.

It's hard to explain why Sean Manaea was so good in his last start, piling up 11 strikeouts on 23 whiffs over seven two-hit innings, but his two favorable matchups this week (Cardinals and Mariners) give him a pretty good chance to build off it.

Pitching across the league came back down to earth in July, but JP Sears went the other direction, putting together a 3.07 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 9.2 K/9 across five starts (with most of the damage coming in one rogue start). He couldn't ask for much better matchups this week, going against the worst offense in baseball (White Sox) and the sixth-worst (Blue Jays).

Andrew Abbott has predictably become more vulnerable to the long ball as the weather has heated up, but the new-look Marlins don't have many batters capable of putting the ball in the bleachers, particularly at their own home park. They also collectively have the worst OPS against lefties.

The 13-year veteran has found his footing over his past eight starts, putting together a 1.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with nearly a strikeout per inning. Provided Jose Quintana doesn't implode over the weekend, he'll be a worthwhile play in Week 20 (Aug. 5-11) against a Mariners lineup that ranks near the bottom in runs scored.

Michael Wacha has become a fixture on this list and may be on the verge of graduating from it with his streak of 12 straight starts allowing no more than three earned runs for a 2.56 ERA. Let's give him one more go against a Cardinals lineup that's trending up but still ranks in the bottom third in runs scored.

River Ryan's combination of missed bats and ground balls gives him a chance to be a real find. If he keeps up the momentum at the Athletics over the weekend, he'll be worth looking into against the Pirates in Week 20 (Aug. 5-11).

Jeffrey Springs' velocity wasn't quite up to snuff in his first start back from Tommy John surgery, but neither he nor manager Kevin Cash expressed concern over it. He's a real gamble until we see him deliver up to his potential, but since he lines up for two starts this week, one being a favorable matchup against the Cardinals, it's a gamble you might be able to justify in a points league especially.

Though all the underlying numbers still support the idea that Colin Rea will come crashing down at some point, it hasn't happened yet. The Braves and Reds make for two pretty good matchups this week if you want to press your luck further.