Week one observations, 2026

It's easy to panic after your SP has a terrible start or two during the first week of the season. It can be similarly dangerous to fall in love with a pitcher who gives you good stats if they were produced without any underlying skill support.

Keeping in mind that we're dealing with super tiny data samples, let's take a closer look at 11 extreme early-season SP performances.


AMERICAN LEAGUE

Mike Burrows (RHP, HOU) became a trendy SP speculation in 2026 drafts. His fantasy managers might be having buyer's remorse after his first two starts (5.91 ERA, 1.78 WHIP in 10 IP). Turns out most of that damage has been driven by an inflated 42% H%. He's generating a high level of swinging strikes (12.9% SwK%) and hasn't been hit hard (87.2 mph EV,...

Almost!

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