2020 Fantasy Baseball: Analyzing Starting Pitchers Poised for Breakout Seasons

Identifying a potential breakout candidate and adding him to your fantasy baseball roster in the later rounds can be the difference between winning and losing your league.

Just ask the owners who had the foresight to scoop up Shane Bieber last year.

The young right-hander went an inauspicious 11-5 with a 4.55 ERA in 19 starts as a rookie in 2018, but below the surface there were signs of bigger and better things to come. His 3.23 FIP and terrific 118-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 114.2 innings both pointed to a pitcher who was better than his surface-level ERA might indicate.

He wound up going 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 259 strikeouts in 214.1 innings last year to finish fourth in AL Cy Young voting.

So who has a chance to be this year's Bieber?

Ahead we've broken down a few candidates.

Adrian Houser

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Adrian Houser was part of the same trade package that brought Josh Hader to the Milwaukee Brewers and sent Carlos Gomez to the Houston Astros.

The 27-year-old entered last season with just 15.2 innings at the MLB level under his belt, and he was shipped to Triple-A to start the year. A 1.27 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 21.1 innings earned him a call-up at the end of April, and at the end of July he moved into the rotation.

Over his final 10 starts, he posted a 3.02 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 52 strikeouts in 47.2 innings, emerging as one of the team's best starters in the middle of a playoff push.

He could emerge as the co-ace alongside Brandon Woodruff with more of the same in 2020.

Max Fried

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The No. 7 overall pick in the 2012 draft, Max Fried has emerged from a deep pool of young starting pitching talent to carve out a place in the Atlanta Braves rotation.

He went 17-6 with a 4.02 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 173 strikeouts in 165.2 innings, and he's capable of more.

The 26-year-old improved his ERA (4.29 to 3.63), WHIP (1.41 to 1.22) and strikeout rate (8.8 to 10.2 K/9) after the All-Star break last season, and he has the ability to maintain those improvements over a full season.

He's not going to fall far in drafts thanks to his impressive strikeout numbers and gaudy win total a year ago, but he's worth the investment.

Dinelson Lamet

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Amid breakout seasons from rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack, right-hander Dinelson Lamet was something of a forgotten man for the San Diego Padres.

After a strong debut in 2017 where he racked up 139 strikeouts in 114.1 innings, he was a popular breakout pick heading into 2018 before Tommy John surgery wound up sidelining him for the entire season.

The 27-year-old finally returned to action on July 4 last year and he quietly went on to post a 4.07 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with a staggering 105 strikeouts in 73 innings.

He now carries a career 11.7 K/9 strikeout rate and he calls pitcher-friendly Petco Park home, so there's a lot of fantasy appeal even if he doesn't trim that ERA below 4.00.

With a mid-90s fastball and a lethal slider, he's going to keep confounding hitters. It's just a matter of staying healthy long enough to truly breakout.

Others to Watch: Dylan Cease (CWS), Zac Gallen (ARI), Pablo Lopez (MIA), Frankie Montas (OAK), Jose Urquidy (HOU), Austin Voth (WAS)

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.