Anthony Rizzo has been awful (for the most part) this season, and he is probably owned in 90+% of Yahoo leagues.

That is fantasy, not reality.

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True, but he posted a .900 OPS or better in four consecutive seasons (2014-2017). That is a hall of fame trek, so he definitely gets the benefit of the doubt & should be 100% owned in leagues with 8 or more teams.

Look, Lopez could make a giant leap at any given time. He can be an 8K/9IP guy going forward. He certainly has the talent. But up to this point, the peripherals say that he is of the 4.50 to 4.75 ERA caliber. I know that sounds laughable because his ERA is currently 2.98. Only a select few starting pitchers have outperformed their peripherals to such an extent (Sean Manaea, Jakob Junis, etc).

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So what's the point of judging him by his peripherals? Even if he was pitching to a 4.75 ERA a 24-y.o. pitcher with less than 150 IP in the majors who has a 95+ mph fastball is someone who could develop into a rotation mainstay. I thought for sure he'd end up in the bullpen now I'm (happily) not so sure.

I’m saying that his peripherals might be an indication of what he ultimately does over the course of this season. But like you said, a 4.75 ERA at this stage of his career wouldn’t be cause for concern.

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