Shane Bieber was supposed to be good this year. Whether fair or not, the role of ace was foisted on him in the wake of trades and injury, though to be fair he had earned it with a very good — and probably a little surprising — 2019.
He didn’t rest on last season’s laurels though, expanding his arsenal to include a near-unhittable breaking ball, plowing in a very nice cutter at the same time, and maintaining a level of command and control of the strike zone and his repertoire that would make Greg Maddux jealous. He’s been incredible — unhittable, a leader of a team that had to fight all the way to the end, and extremely fun to watch.