Starting Pitcher Chart – May 23rd

May 22, 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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I’m out of the house all day Tuesday from the early morning on so no commentary or stats on this one, just the recommendations. I’ll respond to comments when available throughout the day if you want to discuss someone further. Some of the no-X guys have some stream appeal depending how risky you are with streaming, but I wasn’t really able to highlight that without the commentary, but they are ranked in order if that helps. That said, if there’s a questionable one you want to discuss, leave a comment.

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Tuesday, May 23rd Starter Recommendations

RK	PITCHER	TM		OPP	THR	10	12	15+
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY		BAL	R	x	x	x
2	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	at	PIT	R	x	x	x
3	Sonny Gray	MIN		SFG	R	x	x	x
4	Yu Darvish	SDP	at	WSN	R	x	x	x
5	Spencer Strider	ATL		LAD	R	x	x	x
6	Kodai Senga	NYM	at	CHC	R	x	x	x
7	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	at	KCR	L	x	x	x
8	Dylan Cease	CHW	at	CLE	R	x	x	x
9	Drew Smyly	CHC		NYM	L	x	x	x
10	Logan Allen	CLE		CHW	L	x	x	x
11	Taj Bradley	TBR		TOR	R	x	x	x
12	Kyle Bradish	BAL	at	NYY	R	x	x	x
13	MacKenzie Gore	WSN		SDP	L	x	x	x
14	José Berríos	TOR	at	TBR	R		x	x
15	Eury Pérez	MIA	at	COL	R		x	x
16	Alex Cobb	SFG	at	MIN	R			x
17	Luis Medina	OAK	at	SEA	R
18	Graham Ashcraft	CIN		STL	R
19	Rich Hill	PIT		TEX	L
20	Daniel Lynch	KCR		DET	L
21	Brayan Bello	BOS	at	LAA	R
22	Bobby Miller	LAD	at	ATL	R
23	Griffin Canning	LAA		BOS	R
24	Marco Gonzales	SEA		OAK	L
25	Adam Wainwright	STL	at	CIN	R
26	J.P. France	HOU	at	MIL	R
27	Colin Rea	MIL		HOU	R
28	Ryne Nelson	ARI	at	PHI	R
29	Dylan Covey	PHI		ARI	L
30	Austin Gomber	COL		MIA	L

Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues

23 Comments

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qaneMember since 2022

2 years ago

Man I’d like to understand your concerns on Cobb to bench him in all but the deepest leagues.

Paul SporerFanGraphs Staff

Reply to qane

High WHIP and modest K-BB in a tough matchup so I’m OK sitting him here

cavebirdMember since 2018

Reply to Paul Sporer

I guess most leagues don’t have IP minimums the way mine do. I’d never make the minimums if I was benching guys like Cobb anywhere but Coors (or, as I learned the hard way because I wasn’t paying attention, Mexico City).

Jason BMember since 2017

Reply to cavebird

My H2H league has a pretty easily achievable minimum (30 IP/week) so its easier to avoid those more marginal spots. In which case, I often let the early part of the week dictate the weekend strategy. If I get out to a solid lead in ERA and WHIP I usually avoid those risky streaming starts and make my opponent try to run me down in those categories. Conversely if the ratios are bad early in the week I’ll usually punt them and stream away to chase wins and Ks.

Totally understandable. League nuances can’t fully be captured so I have no problem taking my thoughts as a baseline and adjusting for your individual league

carterMember since 2020

I am a bit surprised that you would prefer to start Eury at Coors over Cobb. Also, it is funny seeing Eovaldi listed as the two starter on any day. I mean, I agree, and he has looked great and it is a cake matchup but just a funny thought.