Starting Pitcher Chart – May 5th, 2025

May 5, 2025

The chart includes their performance for 2025 (I changed over from 2024 #s on April 15th — a little earlier than last yr), their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far (this changed as of April 14th which is still a pretty small sample, but we can start attacking some cold lineups or be more careful with those performing well so far), 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 riskier 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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Starter Notes May 5, 2025

RK	PITCHER	GAME	10	12	15+	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB	2025 wOBA RK	NOTE
1	Cole Ragans	KCR v CHW	x	x	x	30	4.40	1.17	29%	27th	Ragans appears set to return after being skipped last wk w/a groin strain
2	Bryce Miller	SEA at ATH	x	x	x	30	3.52	1.43	9%	15th	I’m still starting him, but this 2-step is a big litmus test after the April struggles
3	Carlos Rodón	NYY v SDP	x	x	x	42	3.43	0.98	20%	15th
4	Nick Pivetta	SDP at NYY	x	x	x	35	1.78	0.82	23%	3rd	Woof, moved off a start at PIT for a trip to the Bronx… still starting him, but that’s brutal!!
5	Ben Casparius	LAD at MIA		x	x	21	2.91	0.92	24%	20th	Not locked yet, but in consideration for this start and a possible 2-step, though missing at ARI this wknd wouldn’t be the worst as long we get this one
6	Shane Smith	CHW at KCR			x	32	2.23	1.08	11%	28th	I love Smith, I bought in during spring and he’s been great so far so it’s hard not to be excited, buuuuttt the 4.30 SIERA screams caution, espec. w/0 W upside; his matchups push him over Boyd/Canning (v. MIA this wknd) while he & Singer are probably a coinflip for me: skills (Singer) v. matchups (Smith)
7	Brady Singer	CIN at ATL			x	33	3.24	1.08	18%	9th	More bankable skills underneath his success than Boyd/Canning w/3.57 SIERA right in line w/his ERA & yet this is a really tough matchup & subsequent 2-step (at HOU); since 0-7, ATL is 5th in wOBA vR & HOU is only midpack, but still not the easiest spot to pitch
8	Matthew Boyd	CHC v SFG			x	33	2.70	1.44	12%	18th	Took advantage of at PIT for bounce back after dud v. LAD, but we’re not out of the woods yet w/concerns for this skillset as evidenced by the 4.29 SIERA; there’s a world where I can skip this 2-step and still hold Boyd, espec. w/CHW looming next wk
9	Griffin Canning	NYM at ARI			x	31	2.61	1.39	13%	4th	Similar to Boyd w/smoke & mirrors aspect to early success; limited HRs (0.6) for first time ever w/a career-best 8% HR/FB, aided by a 10 pt. spike in GB rate; leaning hard on the 85% LOB and the bill will come due on the 1.39 WHIP when it regresses; long-time Canning fan, but we have to be careful here, this is ripe for a regression wk w/CHC looming on the wknd
10	Ryne Nelson	ARI v NYM			x	17	5.82	1.18	22%	11th	Getting a spot start to give Burnes a breather & I’m ready to run it! ERA built off 9 ER in 2.3 IP v. CHC in 2 hideous outings; he has a 24% K-BB and 1.22 ERA in his other 5 outings (14.7 IP)
11	AJ Smith-Shawver	ATL v CIN			x	19	4.26	1.68	15%	8th	Hasn’t allowed >3 ER in any of his 4 starts, though just 19 IP in that time; IP is slowly rising w/each start and it gets better on the wknd w/at PIT
12	Jake Irvin	WSN v CLE			x	42	4.01	1.13	13%	22nd	Wiped away a lot of his good work w/a dud at PHI, but he was a very narrow start for that one anyway so I don’t hold it against him too much; he’s a pure streamer and CLE hasn’t been scary enough to run from
13	Luis Severino	ATH v SEA			x	43	3.30	1.17	11%	2nd	He’s pitching well w/4 straight HR-free gms, incl. 2 at home; doesn’t mean his HR issues are fixed and SEA is sneakily crushing righties
14	Luis L. Ortiz	CLE at WSN			x	32	4.78	1.41	14%	17th	Rebounded from NYY dud so I don’t mind a spin here, but the 2-step is no lock w/PHI this wknd
15	Landen Roupp	SFG at CHC			x	30	5.10	1.63	16%	5th	BB have returned, after a 2% in ST he’s up to 10% w/3+ in 4 of 6 starts;
16	Ronel Blanco	HOU at MIL			x	28	5.08	1.31	10%	19th	Has stabilized after slow start w/3.74 ERA, 1.08 WHIP in L4, but 10% K-BB and 2.1 HR9 don’t inspire a ton of confidence as he’s once again riding a tiny BABIP (.179 during this run)
17	Sandy Alcantara	MIA v LAD				26	8.31	1.65	2%	1st	You have to eat this one to get the at CHW on the weekend in weekly lgs… do you have the stomach for it?
18	Tobias Myers	MIL v HOU				7	5.14	1.86	-3%	23rd	Pulled after 2 in last start so Friday bullpen inning was just to get some work and not removal from the rotation; still have some long-term interest, but don’t love the 2-step (at TBR this wknd)
19	Miles Mikolas	STL v PIT				29	4.66	1.34	6%	25th
20	Carmen Mlodzinski	PIT at STL				26	6.58	1.81	10%	12th

Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues

2-Start Board

2-Start Chart for the Week of May 5th

RANK	PITCHER	TYPE	MATCHUPS	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB	Pitch+
1	Zack Wheeler	1	at TBR/at CLE	44	3.48	1.00	28%	105
2	Cole Ragans	1	CHW/BOS	30.2	4.40	1.17	29%	101
3	Chris Sale	1	CIN/at PIT	35.1	4.84	1.42	24%	102
4	Nathan Eovaldi	2	at BOS/at DET	42.2	2.11	0.77	26%	106
5	Nick Pivetta	2	at NYY/at COL	35.1	1.78	0.82	23%	112
6	Carlos Rodón	2	SDP/at ATH	42	3.43	0.98	20%	96
7	Drew Rasmussen	2	PHI/MIL	30.2	2.64	0.98	19%	105
8	Pablo López	2	BAL/SFG	28	2.25	1.00	20%	121
9	Seth Lugo	2	CHW/BOS	44	3.07	1.05	13%	96
10	Bryce Miller	2	at ATH/TOR	30.2	3.52	1.43	9%	88
11	Ben Casparius	3	at MIA/at ARI	21.2	2.91	0.92	24%	106
12	Lucas Giolito	3	TEX/at KCR	6	4.50	1.17	20%	114
13	AJ Smith-Shawver	3	CIN/at PIT	19	4.26	1.68	15%	93
14	Brady Singer	3	at ATL/at HOU	33.1	3.24	1.08	18%	100
15	Shane Smith	3	at KCR/MIA	32.1	2.23	1.08	11%	102
17	Zac Gallen	4	NYM/LAD	38.1	4.93	1.30	15%	102
18	Landen Roupp	4	at CHC/at MIN	30	5.10	1.63	16%	107
19	Jackson Jobe	4	at COL/TEX	24	3.38	1.33	4%	94
19	Griffin Canning	4	at ARI/CHC	31	2.61	1.39	13%	103
20	Matthew Boyd	4	SFG/at NYM	33.1	2.70	1.44	12%	98
21	Luis Severino	4	SEA/NYY	43.2	3.30	1.17	11%	96
22	Sean Burke	4	at KCR/MIA	33	4.91	1.36	7%	97
23	Cade Povich	4	at MIN/at LAA	29.2	5.16	1.65	10%	102
24	Ronel Blanco	4	at MIL/CIN	28.1	5.08	1.31	10%	100
25	Tobias Myers	4	HOU/at TBR	7	5.14	1.86	-3%	83
26	Luis L. Ortiz	5	at WAS/PHI	32	4.78	1.41	14%	94
27	Eric Lauer 라우어	5	at LAA/at SEA	4	4.50	1.25	12%	96
28	Sandy Alcantara	5	LAD/at CHW	26	8.31	1.65	2%	90
29	Tyler Anderson	5	TOR/BAL	33.2	2.67	1.04	9%	98
30	Andrew Abbott	6	at ATL/at HOU	19	2.84	1.26	14%	87
31	Chase Dollander	6	DET/SDP	25	6.48	1.52	13%	91
32	Carmen Mlodzinski	6	at STL/ATL	26	6.58	1.81	10%	105
33	Miles Mikolas	6	PIT/at WAS	29	4.66	1.34	6%	108

Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues