Starting Pitcher Chart – August 2nd

August 2, 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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Wednesday, August 2nd, Starter Notes

RK	PITCHER	TM		OPP	10	12	15+	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB	wOBA RK	NOTE
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY		TBR	x	x	x	136.1	2.64	1.05	21%	23rd	Quietly showing he’s still the #1 pitcher in the game
2	Zack Wheeler	PHI	at	MIA	x	x	x	125	3.74	1.11	23%	24th	Cooking over his L9: 3.04 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 26% K-BB
3	Logan Webb	SFG		ARI	x	x	x	141.2	3.49	1.10	21%	15th	Recovered beautifully from the nightmare 2nd inning at WSN
4	Shane McClanahan	TBR	at	NYY	x	x	x	111	3.00	1.18	17%	17th	Not his sharpest since IL return w/a 6.00 ERA, but his 3.34 FIP says don’t worry
5	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	at	PIT	x	x	x	88.1	2.95	1.03	20%	28th	Would’ve loved to see what he brought back from LAD, but respect his decision to stay put
6	Joe Ryan	MIN	at	STL	x	x	x	122	4.06	1.09	25%	6th	The Cards can still hit, that’s just a risk I’ll take with Ryan
7	Kodai Senga	NYM	at	KCR	x	x	x	105	3.17	1.24	17%	25th	Broke his streak of 4 straight w/<3 BB but still only allowed 2 H and 1 ER
8	Logan Gilbert	SEA		BOS	x	x	x	124.2	3.83	1.06	20%	4th	Feels like it’d be too cute to sit him at home, even in a tough matchup
9	Joe Musgrove	SDP	at	COL	x	x	x	97.1	3.05	1.14	19%	21st	I start my studs in Coors and Musgrove is a stud
10	Tanner Bibee	CLE	at	HOU	x	x	x	89.2	3.11	1.19	16%	14th	Some rookies are hitting a bit of a wall, he’s been dialed in: 1.73 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 18% K-BB in 36 IP
11	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	at	TOR	x	x	x	62.1	6.21	1.57	16%	12th	Looks a lot better since recall (SwStr +3 pts to 14%); I feel good starting the rookie in most spots
12	Kutter Crawford	BOS	at	SEA	x	x	x	77	3.86	1.09	19%	10th	Tough road matchup, though he’s thrived away from Fenway: 2.36 ERA, 0.94 WHIP in 46 IP
13	Dylan Cease	CHW	at	TEX	x	x	x	119.1	4.15	1.34	18%	7th	He’s been volatile enough that I wouldn’t blame anyone for a sit here
14	Braxton Garrett	MIA		PHI	x	x	x	106	4.08	1.18	23%	5th	DET was the perfect Rx for his struggles and he still had 19 Ks and 1 BB during the 4-start lull
15	Tony Gonsolin	LAD		OAK	x	x	x	82.2	4.25	1.14	10%	16th	Just cut him if you can’t start him here with confidence
16	Dane Dunning	TEX		CHW	x	x	x	107	3.28	1.19	9%	30th	Revenge game!!!
17	Wade Miley	MIL	at	WSN		x	x	67.2	3.06	1.15	10%	9th	I’m willing to throw him right in off the IL, but at the very least I’d reserve him
18	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR		BAL			x	109.1	3.79	1.28	18%	13th	If you’ve read all year, you know he scares me w/his HR prone ways but I have to put some respect on 3.10 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 21% K-BB in 58 IP
19	Brandon Williamson	CIN	at	CHC			x	64.1	4.48	1.34	8%	18th	Escaped LA relatively clean w/just 2 ER on 12 base runners and it’s just a 9% K-BB over this 2.45 ERA run (5 GS)
20	Drew Smyly	CHC		CIN			x	108	4.50	1.35	13%	19th	CIN has cooled down w/just 3.8 runs per gm, but Smyly’s only gone >5 IP in 1 of his L7 app.
21	Ronel Blanco	HOU		CLE			x	46	4.70	1.43	12%	11th	Should feel fortunate to ONLY have a 5.02 ERA after allowing 2 HR in each of his L5
22	Lucas Giolito	LAA	at	ATL				126.1	3.85	1.23	18%	3rd	B2B roadies at TOR and at ATL… I can see a good start, but I’m not taking the risk
23	MacKenzie Gore	WSN		MIL				106	4.42	1.45	17%	4th	Showed some flashes early on, adding a HR issue to his lack of consistent control
24	Matthew Liberatore	STL		MIN				32	6.75	1.84	4%	26th	Just hasn’t shown the stuff we saw in Spring Training, I’ll keep tabs to see if it comes out, but passing until then
25	Kyle Freeland	COL		SDP				107	4.79	1.48	7%	15th	Too much of a WHIP killer to try & spike a low ER gem
26	Hogan Harris	OAK	at	LAD				56.1	6.07	1.35	11%	16th	No thanks
27	Osvaldo Bido	PIT		DET				30	4.50	1.53	11%	28th	Has gone more than 5 IP just 2x in 8 outings so even w/DET matchup, I’m not really interested
28	Alec Marsh	KCR		NYM				23	7.04	1.65	12%	8th	Had that gem v. TBR then 2 quick duds, he’s just not trustworthy in any matchup right now
29	Yonny Chirinos	ATL		LAA				66.1	4.34	1.28	5%	13th	Surprised they didn’t get a starter or two for some depth
30	TBD	ARI	at	SFG				#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	29th	Not sure who’s starting here w/Henry on the IL

Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues