I’ll be in the comments answering questions and discussing changes!
Focus more on tier differences over rankings differences within a given tier. Sure, the top and bottom of a tier can be discussed, but 7-10 rankings within the same tier isn’t a huge split to me and comparing them would likely come down to short-term matchups.
Aces
The cream of the crop. The pitchers who never come out of the rotation regardless of matchup.
These guys are essentially fantasy aces in their own right. Cutting them would take months (barring injury) and benching would be remarkably rare (waning skills for multiple starts + inj. concern could result in skipping a start)
Splitting hairs a bit here, but this is a smaller group between must starts and team streamers. You’re looking for reasons to start them and need a very strong reason to bench them.
These are elevated streamers where you don’t necessarily run every start, but they hit the bench when they’re not playing because they’re too talented to throw back on the wire.
Welcome to the Daily SP Chart, click here if you’re new to get an idea of what I’m doing with these rankings.
SP rankings out todayyyyy. I know I’d said Thursday, but I blame this new game for distracting me. It’s called Chasin’ 117 and it’s amazing!! It’s not really why I didn’t have the rankings out yesterday, but it is undoubtedly a new obsession. These games are apparently on fire across the internet with basketball and football having one, too. Say goodbye to your free time! Not an ad, just a mega fan of these!
I know Framber’s ratios aren’t great right now but I don’t see it as actionable and I’m still starting him everywhere. I always link him and Logan Webb as lefty-righty versions of each other and now they’re even struggling in unison but just when we started getting nervous about Webb, he dropped 7 IP of 1-hit ball at MIL to reassure us. Hopefully Framber can do something similar against SEA and their 30th ranked offense vL.
Sasaki had a wonderful May (3.20 ERA/1.00 WHIP/19% K-BB) and has risen to must-start status for now.
Detmers has a 61% LOB rate creating a chasm between his 4.63 ERA and 3.31 SIERA, but I’m encouraged by the 21% K-BB that matches what he did out of the bullpen last year. Don’t get daunted by the ERA, you’re still getting a 1.16 WHIP and 29% K and while he might not start his ERA improvement tonight at LAD, I have confidence that he’s better than a mid-4.00s guy.
Griffin has been a revelation for WSN but the D’Backs slam lefties so I’m definitely open to skipping in 10s and could even see some sits in 12s.
Cabrera is coming off the IL but it’s from a blister so I’m more open to running him right away. The lack of a 3-x reco is more due to his modest output this year than concerns about first start off the IL in this case.
Rocker always makes me nervous but this is a good streaming spot for him. Don’t get completely duped by his 2.30/1.17 over the L30 days as it comes with an 18% K and 4% K-BB. The matchup is driving my interest here.
Ray hasn’t made it 5 IP in any of his L4 after posting a 2.76 ERA through his first 8 starts. I’d still reserve before cutting in a lot of situations, but he doesn’t have to be in your starting lineup right now.
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The whole 1-x pack is pretty scary, but not without merit to take a shot in spots. Nelson, Ginn, and Bello draw difficult matchups, Jones is working back from injury, while Giolito and Crow have solid matchups but shaky skills. Anyone else y’all want to discuss? Drop a comment!
Welcome to the Daily SP Chart, click here if you’re new to get an idea of what I’m doing with these rankings.
Big board of studs to choose from today! I’ll drop some comments in the morning.
Meyer, like Davis Martin yesterday v. MIN, ate his first Dud (5+ ER) of the year after facing a team for the second time in a row (NYM), but it was a bad first inning (4 R) but he still settled down to go 6 and fan 6.
Cole is all of 2 starts into his return so there may still be hiccups, but I just can’t see sitting him anywhere.
This is the 10-start mark for Webb and barring an absolute gem, he’ll be toting some pretty mediocre ratios with his worst K-BB since the fake season (2020). He’s also staring down the barrel of WSH/CHC 2-step next week after this trip to MIL. I’m not looking to cut him, even in 10s, but is there a world where we skip the 2-step if this one goes south today?
To that end, I should’ve slotted Peralta/Taj/Arrighetti, and maybe even Melton over Webb right now.
Wish the Nats were giving Alvarez an opener again, but he’s slated for the traditional start and I’m still open to streaming him. Even with just 1 K in a meh 3 IP outing last time, he still has a 27% K rate on the year. He pitches backwards with his curve (33%) and slider (28%) leading the way over his fastball (24%) as he hopes to establish himself in the rotation. I wonder if a good start here could get the Nats to slot him for the 2-step next week (projections currently have Mikolas getting it).
Melton is a fave of mine who I was really excited about in the offseason before the injury. I’m not thrown by his hideous 0% K-BB through 2 starts after just 1 K in a 7-IP gem at CHW (1 ER, 1 BB, 6 H), but obviously he has to drastically improve there to be fantasy viable. I believe he will and would gladly roster him anywhere right now. Let’s check in after another handful of starts to see where the strikeouts sit and decide if he’s an all-formats play for the long haul.
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I’ll have updated SP rankings out this week! Targeting Thursday for that, stay tuned.
1 bad IP v. HOU led to Early’s only Dud of the year but maybe it unlocked something for him because he’s been electric since: 1.79 ERA/0.96 WHIP/20% K-BB. The 5% BB stands out because control was an issue through his F7 starts (11% BB), though his ERA has never eclipsed 3.80 so even as he worked through that, he was still delivering value.
In a season of impressive pitching breakouts, Martin stands out. After shelving his slider and curve to show-me status last year (4-5% usage for both), he’s dialed ’em up nearly 3x to 15% and 12%, respectively, and as a result his K% has surged 10 pts to 27%!! Paired with 13% SwStr, there is some realness to this and I’m running him everywhere confidently right now.
Elder caught his first Dud of the year and there could be more on the way as it’s still hard to fully buy into his success with just a 13% K-BB, but if you can take the ratio risk there’s plenty of Win upside.
Vásquez has been a bit wobbly in his L2 (7 ER in 10 IP w/4 HRs and 2:4 K:BB) but this is what I mean when I say we’re not jumping off at the first sign of trouble w/someone. Last year, that would’ve been enough to run from Vásquez given how flimsy his skills were (5% K-BB). His 12% this year isn’t amazing, but much more palatable than a single-digit rate. Let’s check-in after the 2-start this week (NYM on the wknd).
I debated the 3-x on Soroka given how good he’s been this year but LAD is always tough to go against with any non-ace. Health, not skills, remains the biggest hurdle for Soroka as he hasn’t reached even 90 IP since his 2019 breakout season. I would definitely run him in weekly 10-teamers to get the 2-step even with it being 2 pretty difficult matchups (WSN this wknd).
Huge 2-step this week for Prielipp. After running out to a 2.88 ERA/0.96 WHIP in his first 5 MLB starts, he’s gotten his socks knocked off in his L2 at BOS and at CHW, allowing 11 ER in 8.3 IP (6 BB definitely a big part of the issue). I’m willing to give him a shot against the Murakami-less White Sox in order to get the KCR start in weekly setups. In daily setups, I can see skipping this in shallow-medium formats.
Matz has 6 good and 3 bad starts on the year but the latter have smothered the former resulting in a 4.67 ERA/1.24 WHIP through 44.3 IP. Most of my confidence to start him comes from how impossibly bad my favorite team has been lately (casual 4-22 record over their L26, very fun to watch everyday!).
It was great to see the 11-K game from Roy Reuben Chandler but we knew that wasn’t the end of his control issues (he even walked 3 during the big strikeout game). HOU is down to 12th in wOBA on the year after a really fast start and now they essentially boil down to Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker, Jeremy Pena, and friends… wherein the friends are essentially free outs. Just don’t let those three get you and they’re very beatable.
McDonald is yet another interesting arm with a difficult 2-step on tap (at CHC this wknd) but one I’m certainly open to running. A 7 ER Dud v. CHW has inflated the ERA to 4.34 but the 17% K-BB and 2.92 SIERA draw my attention. In fact, as I dive in deeper, I would favor T-Mc over Matz and Chandler for both today and the whole week.
I’m nervous about all five 1-x guys and wouldn’t bat an eye at sitting any of them. Baz and Abbott at least have decent matchups while Cantillo, Jump, and Cameron are all on the road facing Top 10 offenses. Even still, I’d likely run all three in weekly formats for their 2-steps… at least in 15-teamers.
Comments sold me on giving Nola, May and even Grayson 1-x. If I could figure out how to half an x, I would’ve given Grayson that, but I’m just nervous from being burnt in the past by him (mostly due to health, in fairness). Edit to add: I guess a slash one way or the other is technically half an “x” so that’s what he gets!
I’ll have more comments in the morning. Got a late start and need to get some rest!
Welcome to the Daily SP Chart, click here if you’re new to get an idea of what I’m doing with these rankings.
The chart includes their performance for 2026, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and recently added opponent’s K% (also v. SP handedness), my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues – essentially a shallow, medium, deep league setup – and then a note about some, most, or all depending on the day. If a pitcher only has an “x” in 15-team, it doesn’t mean there’s no potential use in 10s and 12s, but it’s a much riskier stream for those spots.
These are general recommendations for standard 5×5 roto leagues, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. I usually won’t have much to write about aces who are locked into our rotations. If you want to discuss someone further, please feel free to leave a comment. I usually do a few sweeps of the comments before game time in case there are time-sensitive questions.
Welcome to the Daily SP Chart, click here if you’re new to get an idea of what I’m doing with these rankings.
The chart includes their performance for 2026, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and recently added opponent’s K% (also v. SP handedness), my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues – essentially a shallow, medium, deep league setup – and then a note about some, most, or all depending on the day. If a pitcher only has an “x” in 15-team, it doesn’t mean there’s no potential use in 10s and 12s, but it’s a much riskier stream for those spots.
These are general recommendations for standard 5×5 roto leagues, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. I usually won’t have much to write about aces who are locked into our rotations. If you want to discuss someone further, please feel free to leave a comment. I usually do a few sweeps of the comments before game time in case there are time-sensitive questions.
I forgot Taj got moved and still had Ober loaded. Pittsburgh is no joke, but Bradley has done his best work v. lefties this year, which is their lineup’s strength so I’m running him everywhere. Ober is much scarier tomorrow given his work v. lefties (7 HRs in 129 PA). Ober’s .181 BABIP vL is saving him… for now.
Gore is back up the board with a good matchup and 2 excellent starts in his L3 with the third being an injury-shortened Coors outing. In the other two, he allowed 4 H and 3 BB in 14 IP with 12 Ks.
Wrigley giventh and Wrigley taketh — Imanaga’s HR rate was always going to regress as the weather warmed up, especially given his home park. And it came crashing down in a 15 ER 2-start run against MIL/HOU, one of which was a Wrigley classic with the wind blowing out at 15 mph to center. After 5 HRs in his first 9 starts, he doubled his season total in these last two. This is why I ranked him in the 50s in March. I moved him up during first update as he was running hot and the weather was cooperating. He’ll move back down in the next update and likely live more in the 35-50 range going forward. He wasn’t as good as his first 9 starts nor is he as bad as these last 2. He should be around a 3.80-4.20 ERA range with a good WHIP and plenty of Ks (26% this yr; 24% career).
The bottom half of the full recos carry some concern, but I have a hard time sitting them anywhere:
Valdez gets a CHW team that is cooking vL as he navigates thru an inconsistent May (6.10 ERA – 2 QS, a Dud, and a bland 5 IP/4 ER/4 BB start) but he remains a lineup lock. It’s Melton, not Framber, but you can use that Framber info for tomorrow. CHW isn’t quite as good vR but they can still bite ya. That said, I’m running Melton.
Rodón is now making his 4th start of the year, having reached 95 pitches and 5 IP last time out so he seems fully stretched out. The problem is he has 5, 3, and 3 BB during the first three resulting in a 1.46 WHIP. Can ATH take advantage, though? They have just an 8% BB vL (20th).
Webb is coming off the IL with a start in Coors… less than ideal, but I’m running him!
Wrobleski has excellent ratios (and 6 Ws!) this year but I can’t simply ignore his 14% K and 7% K-BB rates. PHI is looking more like the team we thought they’d be so while I can’t see myself sitting him in any league setup, he’s not nearly as appealing on the DFS landscape.
And then Martinez is an even more extreme version of Wrobo with great ratios (1.51 ERA, 1.11 WHIP) that aren’t well supported by his skills (15% K, 10% K-BB). I worry more about a mega Dud from him than Wrobleski and yet I still have a really hard time sitting him. Martinez survived a trip to NYY with a 6 IP/1 ER gem despite 9 H and only 1 K!!!
I added the 3rd “x” to Alvarez because he’s getting an Opener which enhances his Win potential. He has impressed in three extended relief outings, putting together a 30% K-BB and 0.99 WHIP in 11.3 IP (4.3, 3, and 4 IP). My friend Gregg put Alvarez on my radar a couple weeks ago as he could be someone the Nats make a fixture in their rotation (and we’re fine if they keep giving him the Opener!!).
Teng was also put on my radar by Gregg as he’s really been keyed in on the super RPs with SP upside (we’re both Ben Brown stans, too). 7 BB in his L2 starts has pushed his WHIP, but a 1.93 ERA/1.21 WHIP combo in his 3 actual starts is impressive. He obviously needs to reign in the BBs but we can live with a 9-10% BB as long as he’s missing enough bats to maintain his 15% K-BB. Will he hold a rotation spot after Brown returns?
I’m interested in Ureña on the whole but this could be a tough matchup where the Rays exploit his 1.38 WHIP despite the great 2.58 ERA. Those just aren’t compatible and usually an ERA/WHIP mismatch that strong suggests ERA trouble ahead. He does get COL at home next week, though, so even if you pass this start, hold him for that one.
Another Brewers gem developing with Crow or just a handful of good IP? He throws 92 and has just an 8% SwStr, so it’s probably just the latter, but any MIL pitcher at least gets my attention to dive deeper. This feels like the 3% BB and .226 BABIP are doing all the work.
Love Jared Jones, just want to see something before diving in. He could be a huge target in FAAB this weekend, especially on the NFBC landscape where he isn’t available to pick up until debuting (unless he was drafted & dropped).
