Below are the latest pitcher playing time projection changes since last Friday, headlined by Justin Steele’s season-ending elbow surgery:

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• Three teams (Rays, Tigers, and Cardinals) mentioned they will insert starters into their rotation to give guys extra rest. Instead of spending hours trying to find each team’s plan, it can be seen on this Baseball Reference page (promoted the G[ames] column). Here the top and bottom teams in games started.

Even this early into the season, it’s obvious which teams want to rest their pitchers more and those who don’t. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily SP Chart archive

The chart includes their performance for 2025 (I changed over from 2024 #s on April 15th — a little earlier than last yr), their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far (this changed as of April 14th which is still a pretty small sample, but we can start attacking some cold lineups or be more careful with those performing well so far), my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. Obviously, there are league sizes beyond those three so it’s essentially a shallow, medium, deep. 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 basically a riskier stream for those spots.

These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto.

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When analyzing players, I want more than a one-line projection, I want a range of possible outcomes. The problem with comps is that they are time-intensive. Once the worksheet is setup, a person can select and download the desired output in a few seconds. Here is the outputted table from the example procedure explained below.

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Daily SP Chart archive

The chart includes their performance for 2025 (I changed over from 2024 #s on April 15th — a little earlier than last yr), their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far (this changed as of April 14th which is still a pretty small sample, but we can start attacking some cold lineups or be more careful with those performing well so far), my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. Obviously, there are league sizes beyond those three so it’s essentially a shallow, medium, deep. 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 basically a riskier stream for those spots.

These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto.

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Transcript is now available, thanks for coming out!

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While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even larger entry fees ($2.5K to $15K). They are named “High Stakes Leagues,” and there are eleven of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

On the Agenda:
1. Quick Hits
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

Quick Hits
Endy Rodriguez was placed on the IL with a lacerated finger. There is no timetable for his return.

Matt Wallner left Tuesday’s game with a hamstring injury.

Wallner is expected to undergo imaging on Wednesday according to manager Rocco Baldelli, but Wallner called it tightness as opposed to a strain. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Carlos Correa left Tuesday’s game with a wrist issue.

He is expected to undergo imaging on Wednesday according to manager Rocco Baldelli. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Paul DeJong left Tuesday’s game after being hit with a pitch to the face.

Consider him day-to-day for now.

Various News and Notes
Brooks Lee 1-for-2 with a home run in the victory over the Mets on Tuesday.

Lee only came into the game when Correa left with injury, but he made his mark. Lee has talent, but with Eduard Julien playing well, he will have time finding a spot unless this Correa injury opens up more time. Lee has talent, but he needs full time run in order to accumulate.

Alan Roden went 2-for-3 with a home run in the victory over the Braves on Tuesday.

Roden has started off his Major League career well, hitting .277/.340/.404 with this home run. Roden makes a lot of contact and does a good job of not striking out, but there isn’t a ton of power or speed but there is a bit of each if he can continue to play regularly, but with Daulton Varsho working his way back, Roden will need to continue to hit to keep his spot.

Jonathan Aranda went 2-for-3 with a home run in the loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Aranda has started off hot, hitting .413/.481/.761 with three home runs in 54 plate appearances. Aranda’s underlying skills aren’t great, but he is getting helped by a .471 BABIP. He is hitting the ball hard and there is talent, but this might be a decent sell high point, but there is no shame in seeing where this goes with how well the Rays home park is playing right now.

Tyler Mahle threw six scoreless innings versus the Angels, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out nine in the victory on Tuesday.

Mahle was fantastic, getting a 55% whiff rate on his fastball and a 36% whiff rate on his splitter. Mahle has thrown 19.2 innings with a .92 ERA this season and 21 strikeouts while not allowing a home run. He does struggle with control at times, but it has yet to bite him. There is upside in his arm and he is finally healthy.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: Osvaldo Bido at CHW
Bido has pitched well and faces the worst team in baseball away from Sacramento.

High Risk Options: Nick Martinez vs SEA, Griffin Canning atMIN, David Festa vs NYM, Bobby Miller vs COL.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: None
Short slate with not many enticing options

High Risk Options: Tomoyuki Sugano vs CLE, Will Warren at TB, Michael Lorenzen at DET, Andrew Heaney vs WAS, Edward Cabrera vs ARI.

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”

Daily SP Chart archive

The chart includes their performance for 2025 (I changed over from 2024 #s on April 15th — a little earlier than last yr), their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far (this changed as of April 14th which is still a pretty small sample, but we can start attacking some cold lineups or be more careful with those performing well so far), my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. Obviously, there are league sizes beyond those three so it’s essentially a shallow, medium, deep. 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 basically a riskier stream for those spots.

These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto.

I fell asleep on the couch watching games so I’ll add some comments in the morning!

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Here are the latest playing time projection changes for position players since April 8th, highlighted by a couple of interesting prospects forcing their way to — or closer to — the majors.

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