Starting Pitcher Chart – May 24th

Steven Bisig-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.

Wednesday, May 24th Starter Notes
RK PITCHER TM OPP 10 12 15+ IP ERA WHIP K-BB wOBA RK NOTE
1 Joe Ryan MIN SFG x x x 56 2.25 0.89 27% 14th Has gone at least 6 IP in each of his 9 starts so far this year
2 Shane McClanahan TBR TOR x x x 57 2.05 1.19 19% 16th Had a fantastic bounce back from his lone dud this year
3 Zac Gallen ARI at PHI x x x 61 2.95 1.00 25% 7th Looking to rebound from his worst start of the season… I’m definitely starting him everywhere
4 Bryce Miller SEA OAK x x x 25.1 1.42 0.51 23% 27th Has to be the best prospect call-up so far with those numbers (maybe Morel on the hitting side?)
5 James Paxton BOS at LAA x x x 11 2.45 1.09 25% 23rd Looks great through 2, I’m trusting him pretty much everywhere
6 Sandy Alcantara MIA at COL x x x 57 5.05 1.23 16% 8th I know it’s been tough, but I just don’t see a 5.00+ ERA pitcher here and I’m not sitting him anywhere; 1 of just 12 SPs w/3 gms of 9+ Ks
7 Marcus Stroman CHC NYM x x x 56 3.05 1.14 13% 15th He probably isn’t a true talent low-3.00s ERA but he’s still a pretty easy start in most situations
8 Michael Kopech CHW at CLE x x x 50.1 4.83 1.33 11% 30th I’ll roll w/him in a great matchup after his best start of the season (8 IP/1 H/10 Ks)
9 Anthony DeSclafani SFG at MIN x x x 55.1 3.09 0.99 16% 6th I do worry about that 8% HR/FB rate regressing (13% career), hopefully it doesn’t happen all in one game
10 Tyler Wells BAL at NYY x x 52 2.94 0.79 18% 16th That 1.7 HR rate is looming with the WHIP certain to go up
11 Kodai Senga NYM at CHC x x 43 3.77 1.44 16% 17th He’s succeeding with the high WHIP as he’s been able to work around the BB, but it does cut into his shallow lg value
12 Tony Gonsolin LAD at ATL x x 24 1.13 0.92 11% 12th Back on his grind with an insane .172 BABIP (.218 career)
13 Bryce Elder ATL LAD x x 52.1 2.06 1.15 14% 9th Tough matchup but I’m having a hard time sitting Elder in many spots… I can see 10-tm staffs being good enough to make him a team streamer
14 Cal Quantrill CLE CHW x x 51 4.06 1.31 6% 29th A .195 BABIP in May has his WHIP back down and allowing him to succeed w/his pitch-to-contact philosophy
15 Nestor Cortes NYY BAL x x 48.1 5.21 1.28 17% 12th Kind of a coinflip streamer right now so I understand starting him if you’re a believer, but he’s no longer must-start status
16 Trevor Williams WSN SDP x 44.1 4.26 1.26 12% 24th Decent enough streamer and SD isn’t really scary right now
17 Martín Pérez TEX at PIT x 49.1 4.01 1.52 11% 14th HRs have returned with a vengeance (1.5) making him particularly volatile
18 Ranger Suárez PHI ARI 6 10.50 2.67 12% 18th Still working into form so he’s a lower end streamer at best right now, I’m sitting him virtually everywhere
19 Johan Oviedo PIT TEX 48 4.69 1.54 9% 11th Has some gems, but his blowups sting
20 Adrian Houser MIL HOU 14.2 3.07 1.50 13% 22nd Kind of an NL version of Cal Quantrill
21 Brandon Bielak HOU at MIL 18.2 2.89 1.77 13% 25th That WHIP can’t sustain that ERA for much longer; the .407 BABIP should regress but his 1.4 HR rate limits his upside
22 Zack Greinke KCR DET 52.1 4.82 1.20 13% 23rd He’s been fine lately but his bad starts have a way of washing out 3-4 good ones so there is heavy risk if you stream him
23 Matthew Boyd DET at KCR 37.2 6.21 1.46 10% 5th HRs are back with a 1.9 in his last 6 starts (6.91 ERA) & KC is raking vL lately
24 Tyler Anderson LAA BOS 42.2 5.27 1.62 3% 6th Hasn’t allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last 4 despite a meager 3% K-BB… this spot is too risky for me
25 Ben Lively 라이블리 CIN STL 11 2.45 0.73 22% 3rd Looked good v. NYY but I’m not ready push forward with a start
26 Steven Matz STL at CIN 46.1 5.05 1.62 12% 15th Not taking his 1.4 HR rate to Cincy
27 Ryan Weathers SDP at WSN 23.2 3.42 1.14 5% 4th Can’t start that 5% K-BB against anyone
28 Yusei Kikuchi TOR at TBR 46.1 4.08 1.32 16% 2nd Homers predictably came back to bite him making him a tough start in anything but the lightest of matchups
29 Karl Kauffmann COL MIA 4.1 8.31 2.08 10% 28th No
30 Ken Waldichuk OAK at SEA 46 6.85 1.85 5% 25th Just not showing enough command of his arsenal from inning-to-inning
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.

3 Comments
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Greggmember
10 months ago

Paul, you owe Alex Cobb an apology.

Greggmember
10 months ago
Reply to  Paul Sporer

I must defend my guy against this disrespect.

He has a 3.26 xFIP and 3.48 SIERA through 58 IP and is projected for a 3.5 ERA by all systems except THE BAT. That’s not a guy that should only be started in 15+ team leagues against a middling MIN offense.