Starting Pitcher Chart – September 23rd, 2026

- Daily SP Chart archive
- SP Rankings (last update: 7/24)
- No 2-Start podcast episode this wk because there is just SO much uncertainty that I didn’t think there’d be a ton of value to it. I should be able to run Sat/Sun boards for y’all again this weekend to help w/those last second questions.
Welcome to the Daily SP Chart, click here if you’re new to get an idea of what I’m doing with these rankings.
- With such little time left, everything is heavily based on your particular situation so if you have any specific questions, drop a comment and I’ll help the best I can!
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| Rk | PITCHER | Team | Opponent | T | 10 | 12 | 15+ | IP | ERA | WHIP | K% | K-BB | OPP K% | opp wOBA RK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | LAD | v. SDP | R | x | x | x | 179 | 2.51 | 0.87 | 26% | 20% | 22% | 15 |
| 2 | Chris Sale | ATL | v. CIN | L | x | x | x | 157 | 2.18 | 0.99 | 30% | 25% | 25% | 9 |
| 3 | Logan Henderson | MIL | at PHI | R | x | x | x | 93.1 | 2.51 | 0.81 | 31% | 26% | 22% | 25 |
| 4 | Nolan McLean | NYM | at TEX | R | x | x | x | 172.2 | 3.18 | 1.19 | 26% | 17% | 23% | 26 |
| 5 | Sonny Gray | BOS | v. CLE | R | x | x | x | 163 | 2.82 | 1.16 | 22% | 15% | 21% | 24 |
| 6 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | v. TBR | R | x | x | x | 121.1 | 3.63 | 1.10 | 25% | 20% | 19% | 5 |
| 7 | Kevin Gausman | CHC | v. MIA | R | x | x | x | 172 | 4.55 | 1.27 | 24% | 18% | 22% | 7 |
| 8 | Framber Valdez | DET | v. WSN | L | x | x | x | 168.2 | 4.06 | 1.36 | 18% | 9% | 24% | 3 |
| 9 | Aaron Nola | PHI | v. MIL | R | x | x | x | 168.1 | 4.49 | 1.35 | 24% | 16% | 22% | 2 |
| 10 | Walbert Ureña | LAA | at ATH | R | x | x | x | 144.1 | 2.74 | 1.21 | 23% | 12% | 22% | 16 |
| 11 | Ian Seymour | TBR | at NYY | L | x | x | x | 127.1 | 4.38 | 1.17 | 29% | 22% | 24% | 8 |
| 12 | George Kirby | SEA | v. HOU | R | x | x | x | 169.2 | 4.24 | 1.39 | 20% | 14% | 22% | 13 |
| 13 | Connor Prielipp | MIN | at SFG | L | x | x | x | 120.1 | 4.94 | 1.30 | 24% | 16% | 24% | 28 |
| 14 | Foster Griffin | CLE | at BOS | L | x | x | 166.2 | 3.67 | 1.19 | 22% | 15% | 21% | 7 | |
| 15 | FW: Erick Fedde | CHW | at KCR | R | W | x | x | 138.1 | 3.90 | 1.34 | 16% | 8% | 21% | 14 |
| 16 | Max Scherzer | TOR | at BAL | R | x | x | 72.2 | 6.07 | 1.36 | 17% | 7% | 24% | 18 | |
| 17 | Ethan Pecko | HOU | at SEA | R | x | x | 28.2 | 3.77 | 1.12 | 16% | 6% | 23% | 20 | |
| 18 | Chris Bassitt | BAL | v. TOR | R | x | 97 | 4.64 | 1.55 | 16% | 8% | 19% | 22 | ||
| 19 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | at COL | R | x | 156.2 | 5.00 | 1.47 | 16% | 6% | 22% | 6 | ||
| 20 | Robbie Ray | SDP | at LAD | L | x | 162.1 | 3.60 | 1.33 | 20% | 8% | 20% | 5 | ||
| 21 | Cesar Perdomo | SFG | v. MIN | L | 19.1 | 3.72 | 1.50 | 14% | 6% | 22% | 24 | |||
| 22 | Seth Lugo | KCR | v. CHW | R | 169 | 5.06 | 1.46 | 18% | 11% | 24% | 17 | |||
| 23 | Andrew Abbott | CIN | at ATL | L | 159 | 4.70 | 1.47 | 18% | 7% | 21% | 20 | |||
| 24 | Cody Bradford | TEX | v. NYM | L | 38.2 | 4.19 | 1.50 | 12% | 6% | 23% | 25 | |||
| 25 | Matthew Liberatore | STL | at PIT | L | 149.1 | 5.36 | 1.49 | 23% | 14% | 25% | 17 | |||
| 26 | Ryan Gusto | MIA | at CHC | R | 82.2 | 4.14 | 1.44 | 19% | 12% | 21% | 3 | |||
| 27 | Jeffrey Springs | ATH | v. LAA | L | 138.1 | 6.18 | 1.47 | 18% | 9% | 25% | 22 | |||
| 28 | Mason Adams | COL | v. ARI | R | 23 | 5.09 | 1.65 | 23% | 11% | 20% | 29 | |||
| 29 | Trey Gibson | BAL | v. TOR | R | 33 | 7.36 | 1.91 | 19% | 3% | 19% | 22 | |||
| 30 | Richard Lovelady | WSN | at DET | L | 32.2 | 3.86 | 1.84 | 19% | 6% | 23% | 13 | |||
| 31 | Lake Bachar | PIT | v. STL | R | 83.1 | 3.56 | 1.14 | 25% | 15% | 22% | 27 | |||
| 32 | CJ Van Eyk | TOR | at BAL | R | 6.2 | 4.05 | 1.95 | 3% | -3% | 24% | 18 |
Intro
The chart includes their performance for 2026, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and recently added opponent’s K% (also v. SP handedness), my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues – essentially a shallow, medium, deep league setup – and then a note about some, most, or all depending on the day. 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 a much riskier stream for those spots.
These are general recommendations for standard 5×5 roto leagues, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. I usually won’t have much to write about aces who are locked into our rotations. If you want to discuss someone further, please feel free to leave a comment. I usually do a few sweeps of the comments before game time in case there are time-sensitive questions.
Color Coding:
- Green – Good Matchup (lower OPS output by SP opponent) – 21st to 30th
- Yellow – OK – 11th to 20th
- Red – Bad – 1st to 10th
Bryan Hudson opening for Fedde. Should be a good chance to steal a W. White Sox provided 14 runs of support against KC last night.
Anyone on a limited pitch count today? Logan Henderson maybe?
Nothing reported. I checked in on Henderson & Yamamoto specifically since they’re fully locked & loaded as top 2 seeds
You have to think the Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, and Brewers are going to just be getting guys enough work to keep them fresh for the playoffs as they have nothing further to play for.
The Braves and Dodgers only have the bye to play for and the magic number there is 1 so they are on the verge of having nothing to play for. The Braves game should be done or just about done by the time the Dodgers start so this could be over by the time that game starts.
The Phils, Cubs and Pads are kind of in the same boat with all of their magic number now 2 over the DBacks but since their actual playoff chances are still nominally at stake, you have to think they’ll play it reasonably straight up today.
The Guardians, White Sox, Astros and Rangers for the 2 division titles along with the Jays, O’s, Mariners and DBacks are all still mathematically alive and in the absolute thick of it. You have to think they are in all-hands-on-deck territory. I note that if the Rangers are blowing out the Mets, the Mariners will pretty much know they are eliminated by the time their game starts at 10:10 Eastern time. The O’s have a doubleheader today and with their elimination number at 1, they might be eliminated by the 2nd game.
Everyone else is eliminated..
Urena has been pretty solid for a while now. Any hesitation @ ATH or the overall weak lineup not so much a worry ?
Some hesitation but to your point about how good he’s been, that gave me the confidence to stick w/him as a 3-x. Weather coolin down a bit in Sacramento added a little confidence, too