Starting Pitcher Chart – August 15th

August 15, 2023

The chart includes their season performance, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness over the last 30 days, 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 risky 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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Tuesday, August 15th, Starter Notes

RK	PITCHER	TM		OPP	10	12	15+	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB	wOBA RK	NOTE
1	Zack Wheeler	PHI	at	TOR	x	x	x	137	3.74	1.11	23%	19th	His 23% K-BB is 5th in the majors
2	Bobby Miller	LAD		MIL	x	x	x	69.1	3.89	1.24	15%	23rd	Feel like he’s going to have an insane postseason and raise his 2024 price through the roof
3	Bailey Ober	MIN		DET	x	x	x	108.2	3.40	1.11	20%	20th	7 HR in his L5 has led to a 5.88 ERA as well as a pair of 11-H gms… also has a 23% K-BB so he’s a rotation mainstay in many lgs
4	Logan Allen	CLE	at	CIN	x	x	x	91.1	3.55	1.37	14%	20th	Has ascended to a trust level where I’ll take the risk in Cincy, especially w/their lineup cooled (Elly icy, Fraley out)
5	Graham Ashcraft	CIN		CLE	x	x	x	120	4.95	1.41	8%	12th	Has evolved into the must-start I thought he could be when hyping him as a breakout
6	Nick Pivetta	BOS	at	WSN	x	x	x	97.1	4.16	1.17	20%	17th	Fantastic run has made a stretch run gamechanger: 2.88 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 31% K-BB in 41 IP
7	Kyle Hendricks	CHC		CHW	x	x	x	86.1	3.96	1.12	12%	28th	Setting up for a 2-step at DET and at PIT next wk so hang on if you just streamed him for this start
8	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR		PHI	x	x	x	122.1	3.53	1.23	18%	4th	HR machines always carry meltdown potential, but we can’t ignore his recent excellence that includes 5 straight HR-free gms
9	Zack Littell	TBR	at	SFG	x	x	x	41.2	4.10	1.32	17%	30th	Has a righty-Jeffrey Springs vibe to it and while he hasn’t been super dominant (19% K as SP), he has just 1 BB in the 24 IP
10	Jordan Montgomery	TEX		LAA	x	x	x	133	3.38	1.25	15%	12th	Don’t let the underwhelming Angels results make you forget that they’re still a strong offense
11	Cristian Javier	HOU	at	MIA	x	x	x	117.2	4.36	1.22	14%	29th	3 BB and 3 K last time out temper any excitement about him being back and yet the matchup is too good to pass up
12	Jack Flaherty	BAL	at	SDP	x	x	x	120.2	4.33	1.52	12%	14th	Not a must in 10s but firmly in consideration, especially if you’re chasing
13	Dakota Hudson	STL		OAK	x	x	x	31.1	4.31	1.40	8%	21st	OAK playing better of late, but not well enough to scare me off this stream (NYM this wknd, too)
14	Emerson Hancock	SEA	at	KCR		x	x	5	1.80	1.00	0%	7th	Gilbert went Monday instead of Hancock; from yesterday: Only had a 1:1 K/BB but showed a nice 4-pitch mix in his MLB debut
15	Johnny Cueto	MIA		HOU		x	x	27	5.33	1.00	15%	9th	Viable streamer in a tough spot w/a 0.91 WHIP & 20% K-BB in L4 despite a 4.70 ERA
16	Lucas Giolito	LAA	at	TEX		x	x	136	4.37	1.26	17%	4th	Schedule has been unkind since his move (at TOR, at ATL, SFG, at TEX); if I have viable alternates, I’m good to skip this one
17	David Peterson	NYM		PIT		x	x	69	5.61	1.61	14%	27th	Still building his stamina back up (62 pitches last start) so if you can use some decent IP w/longshot W upside, he’s worth a look
18	Michael Wacha	SDP		BAL		x	x	85.2	2.84	1.07	14%	26th	Not a must start coming off a 6-wk injury and he did walk 3 in his rehab outing (but it’s 2 IP, let’s not overreact too hard to that)
19	Alex Faedo	DET	at	MIN			x	40.1	5.80	1.07	15%	5th	There are some starts here… have to be chasing or able to eat a meltdown, though, as his bad ones are really rough
20	Bryce Elder	ATL		NYY			x	131	3.64	1.24	10%	24th	I had him fading in the 2H, but I didn’t think he’d be a shallow lg cut and deep lg team streamer… just can’t let Judge beat him
21	Josiah Gray	WSN		BOS				126.2	3.69	1.44	9%	10th	Too risky to throw here and I’m not sure I love at NYY next wk, either
22	Slade Cecconi	ARI	at	COL				6.1	2.84	0.95	8%	27th	I’m keeping tabs on him but obviously no chance I’m running him in Coors (unfortunately gets TEX next!)
23	Adrian Houser	MIL	at	LAD				78	4.38	1.50	11%	3rd	Gets the most out of his skills, but far too risky to use here
24	Bailey Falter	PIT	at	NYM				48.1	5.21	1.55	10%	24th	Not enough here even in a favorable matchup
25	Sean Manaea	SFG		TBR				77.2	5.10	1.27	20%	29th	Looks like he’ll go here instead of Monday and now dodges ATL so it might have some deep lg gamble for 4ish decent IP
26	Jordan Lyles	KCR		SEA				126.1	6.13	1.27	10%	8th	No thanks
27	Luis Severino	NYY	at	ATL				63.2	8.06	1.88	9%	2nd	Could be another football score on tap for ATL
28	Touki Toussaint	CHW	at	CHC				46.1	4.27	1.40	8%	1st	No thanks
29	Spenser Watkins	OAK	at	STL				#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	6th	Recent waiver wire pickup being thrown into the fire!
30	Ty Blach	COL		ARI				32	4.22	1.44	5%	18th	No thanks

Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues