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Pitcher Playing Time Changes: March 24, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 24, 2025

Below are all of the changes in projected playing time (games started for starters, innings pitched for relievers) for pitchers since our last update on March 19. We learned quite a lot in the last five days, so this is our most robust update yet!

SP Projected GS Changes, 3/19 to 3/24

Pitcher	Team	Old GS	New GS	GS Change	Reason
Matthew Liberatore	STL	3	18	15	Won SP5 job over Matz
Logan Allen	CLE	6	19	13	Won SP5 job over McKenzie
Shane Smith	CHW	6	16	10	Likely SP5 over Bryse Wilson
AJ Smith-Shawver	ATL	13	19	6	Won rotation spot; Anderson traded away
Bryce Elder	ATL	5	10	5	Optioned to minors but Anderson trade opens starts up down the line
Hayden Wesneski	HOU	13	18	5	Stronger hold on SP5 with Luis Garcia setback
Griffin Canning	NYM	13	16	3	Tighter hold on rotation spot with excellent camp
Joey Estes	ATH	16	19	3	Won SP5 over Spence, others
Paul Blackburn	NYM	11	8	-3	Rough camp; will start in bullpen
Kyle Harrison	SFG	16	13	-3	Officially lost SP5 to either Birdsong or Roupp
Andrew Abbott	CIN	24	21	-3	Not injured, but starting on IL as he continues to build up
Joey Cantillo	CLE	16	13	-3	Probably starting out in minors to stay stretched out
Shinnosuke Ogasawara	WSN	10	6	-4	Really bad Spring, starting in AAA
Jared Jones	PIT	28	24	-4	Continued uncertainty as we await word on elbow
Luis L. Ortiz	CLE	23	19	-4	Kept rotation spot but a rough camp means he has a lot to prove
Ian Anderson	LAA	15	10	-5	Likely to spend most of his time as an Angel in the bullpen
Kenta Maeda	DET	8	3	-5	Will start in bullpen; hard to see many starts with Jobe, Mize, eventually Cobb, maybe Montero
Triston McKenzie	CLE	18	13	-5	Starting out in bullpen; velocity is coming back but command hasn’t
Mitch Spence	ATH	19	13	-6	Opening the year in the bullpen
Caden Dana	LAA	13	6	-7	Really bad Spring + Ian Anderson addition means he might need more time than thought to keep developing
Ryan Weathers	MIA	26	19	-7	Starting season on IL (forearm strain)
Luis Garcia	HOU	18	11	-7	Setback in Tommy John recovery
Cade Povich	BAL	18	8	-10	Won SP5, but that’s more than canceled out by Gibson addition
Quinn Mathews	STL	16	6	-10	Six-man rotation, good McGreevy Spring means he’ll be eighth on the depth chart for a bit
Drew Thorpe	CHW	15	0	-15	Tommy John surgery, see you in 2026 🙁

RP Projected IP Changes, 3/19 to 3/24

Pitcher	Team	Old IP	New IP	IP Change	Reason
Matt Bowman	BAL	15	52	37	Contract selected; frontrunner for last bullpen spot
Patrick Murphy	TEX	24	60	36	Dunning on outright waivers, Murphy can provide long relief
Ryan Johnson	LAA	10	44	34	Impressive camp could get him on the roster sooner than later
Hunter Stratton	PIT	15	46	31	Contract selected, should factor in soon if not Opening Day
Ian Anderson	LAA	13	42	29	Likely to spend most of his time as an Angel in the bullpen
Brad Keller	CHC	26	54	28	Not official yet, but should be last reliever to make bullpen
Mitch Spence	ATH	10	38	28	Starting out in the bullpen after entering camp as SP5
Jackson Rutledge	WSN	23	50	27	Converting to relief full-time, likely to make Opening Day roster
Zack Kelly	BOS	26	50	24	Nice Spring Training showing makes him less of an up-and-down option and closer to a stalwart
Sean Newcomb	BOS	14	36	22	Likely to be SP5, move to bullpen after 1-2 of Giolito, Bello, Crawford return
Joel Peguero	SFG	14	34	20	Went from under-the-radar NRI to possible Opening Day reliever, or early call-up
Jonathan Hernández	TBR	26	46	20	Six good Spring appearances have him on the verge of an Opening Day spot
Ryan Gusto	HOU	18	36	18	Haven’t fully committed, but could be in Opening Day bullpen
Steven Matz	STL	22	39	17	Will start out in bullpen, move to rotation April 16
Kevin Kelly	TBR	41	57	16	Vasil trade, Faedo injury opens up PT
Alex Faedo	TBR	57	41	-16	Opening on IL with shoulder discomfort
Sean Hjelle	SFG	66	50	-16	Sent down after entering camp with a great shot at Opening Day bullpen, should be back soon though
Declan Cronin	MIA	67	50	-17	Starting season on IL (hip discomfort)
AJ Smith-Shawver	ATL	46	26	-20	Won last rotation spot, but could still get RP innings when Strider’s healthy
Zach Pop	TOR	56	35	-21	Starting season on IL (elbow discomfort)
Matthew Liberatore	STL	64	40	-24	Made Opening Day rotation; this projected RP IP total could keep going down
Shane Smith	CHW	51	25	-26	Frontrunner for SP5 but could still get some RP innings
Dane Dunning	TEX	60	18	-42	Reportedly on outright waivers after rough Spring

Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 21, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 21, 2025

Below are the latest playing time changes for position players since last Tuesday. We’ve mostly just got some Gavin Sheets– and Alex Verdugo-related shuffling for the Padres and Braves, respectively.

Position Player Projected PA Changes, 3/18 to 3/21

Name	Team	Positions	Old PA	New PA	PA Change	Reason
Alex Verdugo	ATL	RF, LF, CF	FA	126	126	Will start in AAA, probably has to beat Acuña to MLB to get significant PT
Gavin Sheets	SDP	DH, 1B, LF, RF	126	238	112	Contract selected; not guaranteed to make roster but likeliest to be DH vs RHP
José Fermín	STL	2B, SS, 3B, LF	7	98	91	Likeliest to win final bench spot; could spell Gorman against LHP
Alan Roden	TOR	LF, RF, CF	133	203	70	Outplaying all the other OF contenders; Varsho probably IL’ed until he can throw
Jose Iglesias	SDP	2B, DH, SS, 3B	336	266	-70	Sheets addition reduces PA, especially against righties
Jarred Kelenic	ATL	RF, CF, LF	182	112	-70	Verdugo addition cuts into PT

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: March 19, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 19, 2025

Below are the latest playing time changes for pitchers since Monday, with the Patrick Corbin signing further reshuffling projected starts for the Rangers.

SP Projected GS Changes, 3/17 to 3/19

Player	Team	Old GS	New GS	GS Change	Reason
Patrick Corbin	TEX	FA	16	3	Will help cover starts, especially in the first half
Stephen Kolek	SDP	8	11	3	Darvish injury opens up more starts
Adrian Houser	TEX	5	2	-3	Corbin signings eats into PT
Yu Darvish	SDP	29	26	-3	Elbow inflammation, hard to see him ready for Opening Day
Jack Leiter	TEX	23	19	-4	Corbin signings eats into PT; maybe some RP innings later on?
Cody Bradford	TEX	8	3	-5	Corbin signings eats into PT; could relieve when healthy

RP Projected IP Changes, 3/17 to 3/19

Player	Team	Old IP	New IP	IP Change	Reason
Richard Lovelady	TOR	26	55	29	Contract selected; not guaranteed to make roster but he’s out of options os he’s got a good shot
Anderson Pilar	ATL	8	35	27	Perdomo trade, Farmer reassignment makes bullpen spot more plausible for the R5 pick
Luis Garcia	LAD	16	33	17	Contract selected for Tokyo Series, would be odd to DFA him before Opening Day
Nick Hernandez	HOU	44	28	-16	Optioned to minors after bad Spring Training
Blake Walston	ARI	32	0	-32	Tommy John surgery

Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 18, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 18, 2025

Kareem Elgazzar / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Below are the latest playing time changes for position players since last Friday. The highlight here is a couple Reds developments opening more playing time for Christian Encarnacion-Strand:

Position Player Projected PA Changes, 3/14 to 3/18

Name	Team	Positions	Old PA	New PA	PA Change	Reason
Jose Barrero	STL	SS, 2B, CF	21	105	84	Saggese/Helman optioned; Opening Day spot appears likely
Christian Encarnacion-Strand	CIN	DH, 1B	364	441	77	Benson optioning, Stephenson injury opens up more PA
Gavin Sheets	SDP	1B, DH	56	126	70	Swing change is working wonders, but still battling a slew of hitters for DH/1B time
Masataka Yoshida	BOS	DH, LF	329	259	-70	Could start on IL as he’s still not throwing in games, Devers could eat up DH time
Will Benson	CIN	LF, RF, CF	175	98	-77	Optioned to minors, team already has Fraley, Friedl, maybe Lux as LHH OF
Tyler Stephenson	CIN	DH, 1B, C	525	434	-91	Even the most minor of oblique strains is multiple weeks
Jace Jung	DET	3B	350	245	-105	Optioned to minors, unknown when he’ll work his way back up
Jesús Sánchez	MIA	LF, RF, CF	539	406	-133	Strained oblique could keep him out through April; will he face LHP when he’s back?

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: March 17, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 17, 2025

Below are the latest playing time changes for pitchers since Thursday, with the big development being the Rangers scrambling to fill their rotation after injuries to Jon Gray and Cody Bradford.

SP Projected GS Changes, 3/13 to 3/17

Name	Team	Old GS	New GS	GS Change	Reason
AJ Smith-Shawver	ATL	8	13	5	Great Spring Training could accelerate return to majors if Holmes or Anderson struggle
Jack Leiter	TEX	19	23	4	Jon Gray injury; new pitch mix is working for Leiter but beware of walks
Landen Roupp	SFG	11	15	4	13 Ks in minor league game buttresses strong push for SP5
Michael McGreevy	STL	5	8	3	Just two runs allowed in 11.2 IP, could force team into six-man rotation or early switch to McG
Adrian Houser	TEX	2	5	3	Increased velocity + Gray injury makes him clear SP6, maybe even SP5
Chase Dollander	COL	16	19	3	Gomber injury may hasten MLB debut, stuff looks great; don’t worry too much about his Spring ERA!
Kyle Harrison	SFG	19	16	-3	Velocity is finally ticking back up but running out of time to seize SP5
Jon Gray	TEX	26	19	-7	Broken wrist on comebacker, will be out months

RP Projected IP Changes, 3/13 to 3/17

Name	Team	Old IP	New IP	IP Change	Reason
Omar Cruz	SDP	22	38	16	Optioned to AAA; started last year but best lane to MLB time is relieving
Doug Nikhazy	CLE	56	27	-29	Looked to be in strong position for Opening Day bullpen but then was optioned; being outpitched by Allard
Evan Reifert	WSN	50	13	-37	Horrendous Spring (30.8% BB%) makes R5 pick highly unlikely to make team; would be returned to Rays

Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 14, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 14, 2025

Below are the latest playing time changes (in plate appearances) for position players since Wednesday. Kristian Campbell might be an even bigger factor this year than we thought!

Position Player Projected PA Changes, 3/12 to 3/14

Name	Team	Positions	Old PA	New PA	PA Change	Reason
Victor Scott II	STL	CF	294	434	140	Having a fabulous camp, earning himself starting CF over Siani
Drew Avans	ATH	RF	14	84	70	Quietly solid camp; might be better to give Esteury regular time in AAA
Kristian Campbell	BOS	2B, LF, DH	238	308	70	Turning heads after a slow start; Devers DHing more would open up 2B time. Might not be Opening Day, but soon!
Masataka Yoshida	BOS	DH, LF	399	329	-70	Devers DHing more would take away playing time; still hasn’t played OF this Spring
Michael Siani	STL	CF, RF, LF	259	175	-84	Nightmarish camp that’s the opposite of Scott’s; can be optioned but still has value off bench for defense
Jeff McNeil	NYM	DH, 3B, 1B, 2B, LF	518	427	-91	Oblique strain; unlikely to be back in MLB until late April at best
Joey Gallo	CHW	LF, 1B, RF, DH	168	63	-105	Striking out over 50% of the time in Spring Training; Jankowski MiLB deal pushes him off projected roster

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: March 13, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 13, 2025

Below are the notable pitcher playing time changes in the last 48 hours or so. For further detail on the methodology and more recent changes, my first rundown from Tuesday is here.

Starting Pitchers

Pitcher	Team	3/11 GS	3/13 GS	GS Change	Reason
Stephen Kolek	SDP	3	8	5	Taking to the rotation very well, might have a leg up on Hart
Zebby Matthews	MIN	11	15	4	Could build on brilliant Spring Training and take starts from Paddack or SWR down the line
Landen Roupp	SFG	8	11	3	Separating himself from Kyle Harrison for SP5 (keep an eye on Birdsong, too)
Michael McGreevy	STL	2	5	3	Pitching great, but when will a spot open up for him?
Kyle Hart 하트	SDP	15	11	-4	Could start in bullpen; rainout knocked him out of his first start after 2 IP and he might not have enough time

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Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 12, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 12, 2025

There aren’t many big changes since our first iteration of this series, but knowing that it’s draft time, I’ll be keeping you posted on hitters every other day until the season starts! Here’s the playing time swings of at least 70 plate appearances since Monday.

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Beat the Shift Podcast – Relief Pitcher Episode w/ Greg Jewett

by Ariel Cohen

March 12, 2025

The Relief Pitcher episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Greg Jewett

Strategy Section

Closer Landscape
Closer Strategy
- Should you invest in an elite closer?
- Is it viable to draft two top-10 closers?
Would you rather?
Breakout relievers

Closer Situations

Free Agents
American League
National League

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

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Pitcher Playing Time Changes: March 11, 2025

by Jon Becker

March 11, 2025

Following up on yesterday’s post going over position player playing time changes, we now turn our attention to the pitchers. Unlike hitters, where all playing time is shown in plate appearances, we’re splitting into two tables here. Starters are shown with games started, and relievers are shown with relief innings. When looking at our projections on a player page, you’ll notice that for all relievers, innings and games pitched are the same; that’s just how our projection system works to allocate reliever innings. I’d pay more attention to the innings, since the projected games pitched number will often be higher than the actually-expected number simply to inflate a pitcher’s innings to what we feel is accurate.

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