Starting Pitcher Chart – April 1st, 2024

March 31, 2024

The chart includes their last season performance until we get some actual data for this year, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness from last year (and then I’ll add the last 30 days outlook next month), my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them (notes will be more statistical-based once we get some sample to work with). 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 was going to recommend some really bad starters for an April Fool’s gag, but I was worried some people might take them seriously and then get pissed at me for starting Chris Flexen 플렉센 v. ATL! 😂

Starter Notes April 1, 2024

RK	PITCHER	GAME	10	12	15+	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB	wOBA RK Season	NOTE
1	Shota Imanaga	CHC v COL	x	x	x					26th	Soft landing in his MLB debut, but does draw LAD on the wknd in the 2-step
2	Charlie Morton	ATL at CHW	x	x	x	163	3.64	1.43	14%	30th	Solid 3 starts to open the season: at CHW, v ARI, at MIA
3	Triston McKenzie	CLE at SEA	x	x	x	16	5.06	1.56	4%	14th	Looks healthy coming off an excellent spring, talent is sky-high
4	Tanner Houck	BOS at OAK	x	x	x	106	5.01	1.37	13%	29th	Can he complete the quintet of strong opening starts for the Sox rotation?
5	Dean Kremer	BAL v KCR	x	x	x	172	4.12	1.31	14%	26th	Posted a filthy 23% SwStr in spring; will he hold any of those gains?
6	Cristopher Sánchez	PHI v CIN	x	x	x	99	3.44	1.05	20%	12th	CIN isn’t easy, but he’s my guy and I’m rolling w/him, espec. in weekly lgs w/at WSN this wknd
7	Luis Gil	NYY at ARI	x	x	x					13th	Big breakout pick of mine so he’s in the lineup even w/at ARI & v TOR 2-step
8	Max Meyer	MIA v LAA	x	x	x					15th	Returning from TJ so could be volatile, but I’m riding w/him this wk
9	Chase Silseth	LAA at MIA	x	x	x	52	3.96	1.28	14%	21st	Starting him in weekly lgs even w/v BOS this wknd, but prefer to skip that one where I can
10	Reese Olson	DET at NYM	x	x	x	103	3.99	1.12	17%	16th	Sneaky solid play w/at NYM and v OAK so I’m rolling in daily and weekly setups
11	James Paxton	LAD v SFG	x	x	x	96	4.50	1.31	17%	28th	While healthy, I’m startng him in most situations for the high chance at Ws
12	Ryan Pepiot	TBR v TEX		x	x	42	2.14	0.76	21%	3rd	I’m a huge fan, but the v TEX/at COL 2-step is a brutal draw so I understand passing
13	Sean Manaea	NYM v DET		x	x	117	4.44	1.24	17%	22nd	Quietly had a sharp ST w/31% K, 6% BB, and 14% SwStr in 17 IP; at CIN this wknd is a bit dicey
14	Michael Wacha	KCR at BAL		x	x	134	3.22	1.16	15%	17th	Holding my nose for this in weeklies to get v CHW wknd start… hopefully Walltimore saves him
15	Emerson Hancock	SEA v CLE		x	x	12	4.50	1.33	6%	22nd	My ranges are a bit wider early on and I’ll take the shot on the rookie here
16	Bowden Francis	TOR at HOU			x	36	1.73	0.83	20%	7th	There’s some intrigue on each of these next 6, but the matchups are tough…
17	Andrew Abbott	CIN at PHI			x	109	3.87	1.32	17%	8th	…and several of them have a 2nd tough matchup this wknd making ’em dicey in weeklies, too
18	Kyle Gibson	STL at SDP			x	192	4.73	1.32	13%	18th	Even with my wider ranges, I’m still playing it cautiously w/this group even in deep leagues
19	Ryne Nelson	ARI v NYY			x	144	5.31	1.42	8%	27th	Big K% surge in ST (30% K, 15% SwStr) and I’m eager to see how legit it is
20	Dane Dunning	TEX at TBR			x	172	3.70	1.26	12%	4th	Big K% surge in ST (27% K, 22% SwStr) w/new pitch and I’m eager to see how legit it is
21	Ronel Blanco	HOU v TOR			x	52	4.50	1.48	11%	11th	Yet another huge K% surge in ST (33% K, 26% SwStr), can the 30-yr old make something of it?
22	Marco Gonzales	PIT at WSN			x	50	5.22	1.46	7%	15th	Only rocking this start in some lgs, but not taking on the 2-step w/v BAL on the wknd
23	Matt Waldron	SDP v STL			x	41	4.35	1.23	11%	9th	Had a filthy 35% SwStr in ST, but just a 21% K rate; does get at SFG this wknd so maybe a deep lg shot?
24	Keaton Winn	SFG at LAD				42	4.68	1.04	16%	2nd	Keeping tabs on him, but at LAD/v SDP is a tough 2-step
25	Joe Boyle	OAK v BOS				16	1.69	0.81	17%	8th	Can’t be trusted w/his severe lack of command and control
26	MacKenzie Gore	WSN v PIT				136	4.42	1.40	16%	24th	Live arm is still just 25 yrs old so he’s on the watchlist, but I need to see something first
27	Dakota Hudson	COL at CHC				81	4.98	1.50	3%	12th	No
28	Chris Flexen 플렉센	CHW v ATL				102	6.86	1.67	8%	1st	Hard pass

Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues