KEEPERS: Postmortem—2018 takeaways, part 1

2018 is now in the books for most keeper leagues, but the fantasy off-season can begin immediately for many owners. And in advance of MLB signing / trade activity that no longer waits for November and the World Series finale, a review of the more significant trends and changes seen in 2018—and their potential impact going forward—is a must. We’ll begin this first of a two-column series with a focus on pitching—which drove most of the 2018 news and changes on multiple fronts.

Bullpen games and “openers.”  It’s both statistical fact and accepted baseball orthodoxy that bigger-bodied pitchers are throwing harder than ever, with average MLB fastball velocity now almost 93 MPH after being sub-90 at the turn of the century. One of the most...

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