Starting Pitcher Chart – April 12th
In past seasons I’ve done this Daily SP Chart down the stretch and invariably there are comments asking why I don’t do it all season. I’ve never really had a great answer for that so now I’m doing it!
Once the season gets going, the chart will include their performance over the last five starts (for the first few weeks, it’ll be their 2023 stats), their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, my start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. The opponent wOBA will remain blank for a while until we get some data and because there is so much lineup turnover year-to-year, I’m not going to include last year’s mark. I’ll start including wOBA data on April 17th.
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.
| PITCHER | TM | OPP | THR | 10 | 12 | 15+ | 2022 STATS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Strider | ATL | CIN | R | x | x | x | 2.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 30% K-BB | One of my Must-Watch guys every 5th day… |
| Clayton Kershaw | LAD | at SFG | L | x | x | x | 2.28 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 23% K-BB | …and so is Kersh, good thing they start at different times |
| Zack Wheeler | PHI | MIA | R | x | x | x | 2.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 21% K-BB | Slow start but no world where you sit him |
| Logan Gilbert | SEA | at CHC | R | x | x | x | 3.20 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 16% K-BB | Early GB% and K% surges would be great if they stick |
| Kevin Gausman | TOR | DET | R | x | x | x | 3.35 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 24% K-BB | Still toting a sky-high BABIP (.353), but it hasn’t hurt at all w/a 0.00 ERA thru 12 IP |
| Nathan Eovaldi | TEX | KCR | R | x | x | x | 3.87 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 18% K-BB | A few too many hits thru 2 GS, otherwise looks great |
| Sonny Gray | MIN | CHW | R | x | x | x | 3.08 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 17% K-BB | Off to a blistering start incl. 13 Ks v. HOU |
| Marcus Stroman | CHC | SEA | R | x | x | x | 3.50 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 15% K-BB | Trading BBs (6) for Ks (14) through 2 GS (12 IP)? |
| Chris Sale | BOS | at TBR | L | x | x | x | 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 16% K-BB | Still missing bats & settled down after rough 1st inn. at DET |
| Lucas Giolito | CHW | at MIN | R | x | x | x | 4.90 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 17% K-BB | Velo up, BB% down, I’m not panicked over 1 dud at PIT |
| Blake Snell | SDP | at NYM | L | x | x | x | 3.38 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 22% K-BB | Continues to miss bats at a great clip, but old command issues remain so far |
| José Urquidy | HOU | at PIT | R | x | x | x | 3.94 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 14% K-BB | Missing more bats early on & PIT lineup took a big hit w/Cruz inj. |
| Hunter Greene | CIN | at ATL | R | x | x | x | 4.44 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 22% K-BB | Showing the volatility of 35-40 grade Command |
| Edward Cabrera | MIA | at PHI | R | x | x | x | 3.01 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 14% K-BB | ^^^ |
| Drey Jameson | ARI | MIL | R | x | x | 2.16 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 9% K-BB | Excited to see what he can do back in the rotation! | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | DET | at TOR | L | x | x | 4.05 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 10% K-BB | Brutal opening trio: at TBR, at HOU, at TOR, but I’m sticking w/him | |
| Griffin Canning | LAA | WSN | R | x | x | DNP in 2022 | Had bouts of success in 2019-21; sharp in MiLB debut, too | |
| Tylor Megill | NYM | SDP | R | x | 5.13 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 19% K-BB | I’m a fan so I’m gambling here, but I understand sitting it out v. the Dads | ||
| Alex Cobb | SFG | LAD | R | x | 3.73 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 17% K-BB | No shame skipping LAD starts w/anyone who isn’t an SP1-2-3 | ||
| MacKenzie Gore | WSN | at LAA | L | x | 4.50 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 11% K-BB | If you’re a Gore believer, I can see taking the risk here | ||
| Dean Kremer | BAL | OAK | R | 3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10% K-BB | Matchup could be worth the start, but lacks K upside v. anyone | |||
| Taj Bradley | TBR | BOS | R | 2.57 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 20% K-BB in MiLB | Stud prospect a definite pickup, but likely reserve for the debut | |||
| Clarke Schmidt | NYY | at CLE | R | 3.12 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 14% K-BB | So far it’s more like Clark Sch… we’ll keep it rated G for now | |||
| Jack Flaherty | STL | at COL | R | 4.25 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 7% K-BB | Could be in major trouble in Coors if he doesn’t reign in BB | |||
| Brad Keller | KCR | at TEX | R | 5.09 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 7% K-BB | GB machine has amped it up to 63%, but too many BB & a scary matchup | |||
| Rich Hill | PIT | HOU | L | 4.27 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 14% K-BB | Will likely find streaming pockets, but not here | |||
| Ken Waldichuk | OAK | at BAL | L | 4.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 16% K-BB | Not fully quitting him, but need to see a gem before rolling him out anywhere | |||
| Janson Junk | MIL | at ARI | R | 4.64 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 16% K-BB in MiLB | Filling in for IL’d B.Woodruff | |||
| Peyton Battenfield | CLE | NYY | R | 3.63 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 8% K-BB in MiLB | Rookie draws a tough MLB debut | |||
| José Ureña | COL | STL | R | 5.01 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 5% K-BB | Hard to find starts for him even on the road |
JANSON JUNK is a 70-grade pitcher name