2015 Fantasy Baseball: Madison Bumgarner’s Stock Rises After World Series Run
By Adam McGill
@adammcgill83twitter.com
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
After a dream stretch in the 2014 MLB postseason, San Francisco Giants SP Madison Bumgarner somehow managed to increase his fantasy baseball stock.
MadBum finished the regular with an impressive 18-10 record. He threw 217.1 innings and struck out 210 batters in the process, both of which were career-highs. He has now thrown over 200 innings in four consecutive seasons. He has racked up at last 190 K’s in each season and has quietly become one of the top swing-and-miss pitchers in baseball.
However, Bumgarner had a historical postseason run. The southpaw allowed just one run through a postseason record 52.2 innings of work. He also recorded a sizzling 1.01 ERA in the playoffs, which was the lowest ever recorded in postseason history (40 IP min). He was a perfect 5-0 over that span and seemingly calmed a San Francisco team that was a mess whenever he wasn’t on the mound.
In the World Series, MadBum was just as dominant. The World Series MVP won both his starts, combining for 16 innings and a 0.00 ERA. He even came out of the pen to pitch five – yes, five – scoreless innings to pick up the save in Game 7.
Bumgarner has been absolutely crucial to the team’s championship run. He has won three championships with the team over the past five years and fireballer doesn’t let any high-pressure situation bother him up on the mound. Throughout the postseason, particularly in Game 7, he looked unfazed by the moment. He is truly one of the best professionals in the game.
Bumgarner was arguably a top-10 fantasy pitcher before the postseason, but his historical run will deservingly launch him into the top-five fantasy hurlers in every format.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
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