Starting Pitcher Chart – May 18th

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Daily SP Chart archive

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.

Thursday, May 18th Starter Notes
RK PITCHER TM OPP THR 10 12 15+ NOTE
1 Julio Urías LAD at STL R x x x BABIP & HR surges have pushed him (3.61 ERA) right to the SIERA we’ve seen since 2021 (3.65)
2 Dylan Cease CHW CLE R x x x We all knew the 82% LOB would level off, but it might be overcorrected at 65% (career 76%; lg avg 72%) — I’m sticking with him
3 Eury Pérez MIA WSN R x x x I usually give call-ups like this 5-6 starts locked in the lineup before really making any choices on ’em
4 José Berríos TOR NYY R x x x Disaster at BOS might’ve scared those who got burnt last yr, but he rebounded well despite a HR in each; no worse than a Team Streamer in all formats
5 Logan Allen CLE at CHW L x x x WHIP is running hot, but I’m undaunted… I’m buying into the core skills
6 Tyler Wells BAL LAA R x x Tough matchup gives me some pause in shallower formats, but I’m definitely not cutting him even if you plan to skip this outing
7 Taj Bradley TBR at NYM R x x Officially called up for this start; I know his 3 MiLB starts stunk… not sure if he was working on something specific, but regardless I’m putting him back in
8 Nestor Cortes NYY at TOR L x The tough part is that while he isn’t super far off K-BB from 2021-22, his margins are small and there are no guarantees that he gets good again
9 Trevor Williams WSN at MIA R x Has been a capable streamer with his best starts against his easier matchups… MIA is a viable spot to take the gamble
10 Tyler Anderson LAA at BAL L Better results over his L3 w/a 3.06 ERA, but the 1.57 WHIP and 4% K-BB say he’s not much better
11 Tylor Megill NYM at TBR R Just nowhere near the guy he was in 2021-22 (19% K-BB)
12 Adam Wainwright STL LAD R Basically just NL’s Zack Greinke
Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues

 

Thursday, May 18th Starter Stats
RK PITCHER TM OPP THR 10 12 15+ IP ERA WHIP K-BB OPP L30 wOBA wOBA RK
1 Julio Urías LAD at STL R x x x 52.1 3.61 1.07 21% 0.345 3rd
2 Dylan Cease CHW CLE R x x x 46.1 4.86 1.45 15% 0.269 30th
3 Eury Pérez MIA WSN R x x x 4.2 3.86 1.29 25% 0.297 20th
4 José Berríos TOR NYY R x x x 46 4.70 1.28 17% 0.307 16th
5 Logan Allen CLE at CHW L x x x 21 3.43 1.48 18% 0.305 20th
6 Tyler Wells BAL LAA R x x 47 2.68 0.72 17% 0.340 5th
7 Taj Bradley TBR at NYM R x x 15.1 3.52 0.91 35% 0.310 14th
8 Nestor Cortes NYY at TOR L x 42.1 5.53 1.32 16% 0.363 4th
9 Trevor Williams WSN at MIA R x 38.1 3.99 1.30 11% 0.295 23rd
10 Tyler Anderson LAA at BAL L 37.2 5.26 1.62 3% 0.335 12th
11 Tylor Megill NYM at TBR R 40.1 4.02 1.51 5% 0.352 4th
12 Adam Wainwright STL LAD R 10 7.20 1.70 11% 0.338 8th
Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues

 

Wednesday, May 17th Starter Review
RK PITCHER TM OPP T 10 12 15 NOTE
1 Spencer Strider ATL at TEX R x x x A 3-run 4th inning saddled him w/his worst start of the yr (5 IP/4 ER/7 Ks)
2 Gerrit Cole NYY at TOR R x x x Back to his HR-free ways with 6 scoreless in a tough road matchup
3 Yu Darvish SDP KCR R x x x Was cruising thru 5 before getting smoked in the 6th: BB-HR-LO-2B-2B-day over
4 Nathan Eovaldi TEX ATL R x x x Took on a tough matchup and came away w/7 strong (3 ER/5 Ks)
5 Sonny Gray MIN at LAD R x x x Inefficient effort left him getting pulled after just 4 IP with 84 pitches
6 Eduardo Rodriguez DET PIT L x x x Just didn’t have it all working here after his major hot streak
7 Corbin Burnes MIL at STL R x x x Baseline QS pushes him to 2.13 ERA/1.04 WHIP in his last 42.1 IP
8 Chris Bassitt TOR NYY R x x x Nice to see 1 BB in this gem; he’s been great since the opener but 11% BB coming into tonight raised an eyebrow
9 Matthew Liberatore STL MIL L x x Time for another triple-digit waiver wire pitcher this wknd after his debut gem (5 IP/0 ER/6 Ks/W)
10 Drew Smyly CHC at HOU L x x Fantastic outing w/another 8 punchies and his 8th straight of 2 or fewer ER (6 IP/1 ER)
11 MacKenzie Gore WSN at MIA L x x Pitched well with a 2-run HR mistake to Soler spoiling it a bit; 7 K/2 BB definitely works
12 Dustin May LAD MIN R x x Left due to flexor pronator strain that will keep him out at least 4-6 wks
13 Kyle Bradish BAL LAA R x x Great work in a tough outing; nearing must start in most formats for me
14 Griffin Canning LAA at BAL R x x Did better than expected with 2.08 WHIP in 5.1 IP
15 Mike Clevinger CHW CLE R x x Worked around 4 BB for a good stream outing (6 IP/2 ER/5 Ks/W)
16 Peyton Battenfield CLE at CHW R x x Rough start in a good spot for the rookie with 3 HRs doing most of the damage
17 Brayan Bello BOS SEA R x Classic “effectively wild” start w/5 BB but also 7 Ks and 19 swinging strikes
18 J.P. France HOU CHC R x Not terribly shocking to see him get touched up as the 28-yr-old non-prospect is far from bankable at this point
19 Rich Hill PIT at DET L x Of course he has his best start of the yr after I threw some shade on him; still risky every time out but has some streamer appeal
20 Ryne Nelson ARI at OAK R OK fine, OAK was enough to bring him some streamer upside despite 4 BB
21 Kodai Senga NYM TBR R Was a strong fade for me and then dropped his best start of the season! Season-high 12 Ks came w/18 swinging strikes
22 Graham Ashcraft CIN at COL R If you ate this one, you have no one to blame but yourself
23 Josh Fleming TBR at NYM R Dropped a nice spot start with 5 shutout innings
24 Taijuan Walker PHI at SFG R Reached 40 pitches in the 1st before getting lifted, just hard to rebound from an inning like that
25 Edward Cabrera MIA WSN R He’ll have his occasional gem… just not sure the WHIP-destroying downisde is worth gambling for these rare gems
26 Marco Gonzales SEA at BOS L Just wasn’t fooling them in the slightest w/8 ER in under 2 IP
27 Luis Medina OAK ARI R OK, that’s 2 QS in a row… I’m paying attention to the live-armed prospect now — gets at SEA, v. HOU next wk which isn’t easy but he’ll draw waiver attention
28 Ross Stripling SFG PHI R A non-factor in fantasy at this point
29 Carlos Hernández KCR at SDP R Just opening a bullpen game
30 Austin Gomber COL CIN L Yeah… I mean, obviously
Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues





Paul is the Editor of Rotographs and Content Director for OOTP Perfect Team. Follow Paul on Twitter @sporer and on Twitch at sporer.

4 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
alan fogelMember since 2020
1 year ago

Great comments, succinct and enjoyable!