Week 19 MLB Prospect Watch: Shane Bieber Rises, Bubba Chandler Falls

Several starting pitchers are generating buzz across the fantasy baseball landscape with recent surges, demotions, or looming returns from injury. From Shane Bieber's rehab dominance to Taj Bradley’s rollercoaster season, here’s a breakdown of the arms fantasy managers should keep a close eye on.

Kyle Harrison, Boston Red Sox

After a progression start (one run, four baserunners, and five strikeouts over six innings) at AAA, Harrison struggled with command (six walks) in his next outing. He allowed two runs and four hits over 3.2 innings with four strikeouts. Since arriving in Boston, Harrison has a 4.78 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 26.1 innings.

Boston pushed back Garrett Crochet’s start this week, giving him an outside chance of starting this weekend. Harrison’s last start came on July 27th.

Taj Bradley, Minnesota Twins

Bradley has been up and down all season, leaving the fantasy market in a quandary about his future value. He looked sharp in back-to-back starts in mid-July (one run and nine baserunners over 12.0 innings with 11 strikeouts), but the Rays shipped him to AAA after a disastrous showing on July 23rd (four runs, four hits, one home run, and three walks over 1.2 innings). He rebounded in his following start in the minors (seven no-hit shutout innings with two walks and three strikeouts), and Tampa rewarded him with a starting job for the Twins.

Shane Bieber, Toronto Blue Jays

Over the back half of July, Bieber made three starts in the minors, leading to impressive success (two runs, six hits, one walk, and 16 strikeouts over nine innings). His last appearance (one run and three hits over four innings with seven strikeouts) came at AA while throwing 59 pitches. Bieber is close to returning to the majors.

Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh Pirates

The surrender clause has been shining brightly about Chandler over the past two months. He has a 5.49 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts over his last 39.1 innings, while showing downside over his previous three outings (12 runs, 17 runs, four home runs, and eight walks over 14.2 innings with 13 strikeouts).

Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies

Hope has been restored in Painter’s arm over his last three appearances at AAA (3.12 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts over 17.1 innings) despite allowing three home runs. He still has weakness in his ERA (4.50) and WHIP (1.37) over 68.0 innings with 67 strikeouts while serving up 12 long balls.

Mick Abel, Philadelphia Phillies

The Twins upgraded their starting pitching depth at the trade deadline. Abel struggled in his last outing (five runs, 10 baserunners, and one home run over five innings with five strikeouts) at AAA. He continues to have the best stats of his career over 13 starts in the minors (2.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts over 74.0 innings). His next step is correcting his damage in the majors (14 runs, 34 baserunners, and seven home runs over 25.0 innings with 21 strikeouts).

Ian Seymour, Tampa Bay Rays

Over the past two seasons at AAA, Seymour went 13-4 with a 2.51 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 167 strikeouts over 140.0 innings. Despite his success, the Rays have yet to give him a major league start (two runs, 11 baserunners, and nine strikeouts over 10.2 innings over seven relief appearances). He’s back in the majors, with a chance to start over the next week. Seymour works off a low-90s fastball, with an excellent changeup and playable cutter.