Starting Pitcher Chart – August 9th

August 9, 2023

Kareem Elgazzar-The Cincinnati Enquirer-USA TODAY Sports

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 9th, Starter Notes

RK	PITCHER	TM		OPP	10	12	15+	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB	wOBA RK	NOTE
1	Shohei Ohtani	LAA		SFG	x	x	x	124.2	3.32	1.07	22%	29th	Left early w/cramps last time out, but has 13 scoreless IP since the ugly 3-start run to open July
2	Max Fried	ATL	at	PIT	x	x	x	32	1.69	0.97	22%	27th	I never regret giving someone a start on the bench upon return from a long injury, but he was brilliant and definitely jumps back into every lineup
3	Kevin Gausman	TOR	at	CLE	x	x	x	132	3.20	1.17	27%	9th	CLE hasn’t scored >5 in any of their L10 so a lot of their ranking is from early-mid July
4	Bailey Ober	MIN	at	DET	x	x	x	103.2	3.21	1.05	19%	28th	HRs are the main issue w/Ober… DET is 1 of 5 tms w/fewer than 80 HRs v. RH (78)
5	Bobby Miller	LAD	at	ARI	x	x	x	63.1	4.26	1.23	17%	23rd	Maybe only being at 77 total IP on the yr will help him avoid the rookie wall often seen in the dog days of August
6	Nick Pivetta	BOS		KCR	x	x	x	92.1	4.19	1.17	20%	10th	I’m sticking w/him despite the bumpy outing last time and KC’s recent surge, but he’s not an unquestion must-start
7	Jordan Montgomery	TEX	at	OAK	x	x	x	127	3.40	1.24	15%	19th	Strong debut w/his new club (6 IP/2 ER) and a great spot to go for a 3rd straight QS
8	Merrill Kelly 켈리	ARI		LAD	x	x	x	112	3.21	1.16	17%	3rd	Tough matchup or not, I can’t find too many sits of a Top 25 SP (20% K-BB in L3 since IL return, too)
9	Yu Darvish	SDP	at	SEA	x	x	x	114.1	4.41	1.25	17%	12th	Tough to ever take out of the lineup despite the lows that have him toting a mid-4.00s ERA
10	Kyle Hendricks	CHC		NYM	x	x	x	81.1	4.09	1.11	12%	21st	Hope you sat v. ATL, no issues getting him back in and he’s a pickup where available w/CWS & KC next wk
11	Graham Ashcraft	CIN		MIA	x	x	x	113	5.18	1.46	7%	26th	The skills are improving w/a 12% K-BB in his L3, but that’s still not a great mark… hard to sit w/this matchup, though
12	Michael Lorenzen	PHI		WSN		x	x	113.2	3.48	1.08	13%	18th	Went 8 strong in his Philly debut and the schedule shines on him here (2.27 ERA, 0.88 WHIP v. sub-.500 tms)
13	Logan Allen	CLE		TOR		x	x	86.1	3.65	1.37	14%	2nd	The Jays haven’t had an answer for the first 2 rookies (Williams & Bibee), but they’re tougher on lefties so Allen is far from a must-start
14	Adrian Houser	MIL		COL		x	x	73	4.19	1.52	10%	27th	Always nerve-wracking to run the low-K streamers but he is a running a 22% over his last 34 IP which is 4 pts over his season mark
15	Cristian Javier	HOU	at	BAL			x	112.2	4.39	1.21	15%	13th	Liked 31% K in previous 3 starts enough to advocate for him last time, but w/another meager outing he’s at 6.91 ERA & 7% K-BB in his L9
16	Jack Flaherty	BAL		HOU			x	115.2	4.28	1.52	11%	17th	Solid in his BAL debut including 8 Ks, his highest total since May 15th (10)
17	Johnny Cueto	MIA	at	CIN			x	22	5.32	0.95	14%	25th	He’s a viable streamer down the stretch if he’s pitching like this (3.86 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 17% K-BB since IL return)
18	Alex Faedo	DET		MIN			x	35.2	5.80	1.04	15%	5th	Kept SD off balance enough to allow just 1 H (4 BB, 2 K)… I worry more about HRs than BB w/him but I can find some deeper lg starts
19	Dakota Hudson	STL	at	TBR			x	26.1	4.10	1.37	9%	14th	So reliant on contact going his way which gives him major meltdown potential, but I’m open to rolling him if I’m in chase mode
20	Emerson Hancock	SEA		SDP				#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	8th	On a SEA young SP spectrum from Kirby-Gilbert (more command) to Bry-Bry (more dominance), he’s a couple ticks from the middle toward Kirby-Gilbert
21	Mike Clevinger	CHW		NYY				72.2	3.72	1.32	10%	20th	As we get later in the season, streamer ranges open or close based on your standings… if you’re chasing, there’s some upside here
22	David Peterson	NYM		CHC				65.1	5.65	1.61	14%	15th	Not stretched out enough to deliver a full start
23	MacKenzie Gore	WSN	at	PHI				112	4.34	1.42	17%	9th	Just a standard streamer now and this is an easy pass
24	Erasmo Ramírez	TBR		STL				32	5.34	1.53	6%	7th	I was a big Erasmo fan… his first time w/the Rays back in 2015-16
25	Luis Severino	NYY	at	CHW				61.2	7.74	1.85	9%	30th	If you’re in full on desperation mode, I can see taking the matchup, but I’m out in EVERY other scenario
26	Tristan Beck	SFG	at	LAA				56	2.73	1.05	14%	11th	Might be the bulk reliever and did win his last 2 multi-IP outings, but I’m not very interested in gambling on a third
27	Chris Flexen 플렉센	COL	at	MIL				50.2	7.82	1.93	4%	24th	No thanks
28	Freddy Tarnok	OAK		TEX				10.2	6.75	1.69	2%	4th	On my long-term radar as an intriguing arm, but nothing of note right now
29	Jordan Lyles	KCR	at	BOS				118.1	6.24	1.29	10%	6th	No thanks
30	Quinn Priester	PIT		ATL				19.2	8.69	1.78	2%	2nd	No thanks

Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues