Welcome back everyone, to my updated starts/sits column for Week 1! Your friendly neighborhood @Roto_Dubs is back again this year with his weekly starting pitcher matchups. This is our fifth year now writing this weekly column, helping fantasy baseball managers pick the best pitchers weekly.
Below are the projected starting pitching matchups for Week 1, which will be updated as rotations are inevitably tweaked. For head-to-head leagues, Week 1 will run from 3/29 through 4/8 (11 days). This column will be updated with the starters for next week once rotations are fully announced.
If you've got any questions about which pitchers can capitalize on a juicy matchup and which ones might be worth putting on the pine against a fierce offense, this is the weekly piece for you. For every week of the fantasy baseball season, we look to analyze all of the projected starting pitcher matchups and put together our optimal lineups. Here at RotoBaller, we believe that it’s key to analyze every SP matchup, each and every week, to help determine which SPs to start/sit and to hopefully find some hidden gems to bolster your teams. Let's set those optimal lineups!
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SP Matchups & Start/Sit Recommendations
This weekly piece considers the pitcher’s opponents, their career stats against the opponent, some ballpark factors and historical splits. With all of this information, we then provide our start/sit recommendations for each starting pitcher matchup for the approaching week of fantasy baseball.
This column was updated on Friday night, March 30th, to include as many starters that have been announced through April 8th. It was originally published on March 26th, and will be updated daily as more are announced.
PROBABLE PITCHERS (3/31/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
BOS@TB | Rick Porcello SP | BOS | START | Andrew Kittredge SP | TB | SIT |
CHC@MIA | Yu Darvish SP | CHC | START | Odrisamer Despaigne RP | MIA | SIT |
CHW@KC | Lucas Giolito SP | CHW | START | Ian Kennedy SP | KC | START |
CLE@SEA | Carlos Carrasco SP | CLE | START | James Paxton SP | SEA | START |
COL@ARI | German Marquez SP | COL | SIT | Zack Greinke SP | ARI | START |
HOU@TEX | Lance McCullers SP | HOU | START | Matt Moore SP | TEX | SIT |
LAA@OAK | Matt Shoemaker SP | LAA | SIT | Daniel Gossett SP | OAK | SIT |
MIL@SD | Brent Suter SP | MIL | START | Luis Perdomo SP | SD | SIT |
MIN@BAL | Kyle Gibson SP | MIN | SIT | Andrew Cashner SP | BAL | SIT |
NYY@TOR | CC Sabathia SP | NYY | SIT | Marco Estrada SP | TOR | SIT |
PHI@ATL | Vince Velasquez SP | PHI | START | Brandon McCarthy SP | ATL | START |
PIT@DET | Trevor Williams SP | PIT | SIT | Michael Fulmer SP | DET | START |
SF@LAD | Derek Holland SP | SF | SIT | Kenta Maeda SP | LAD | START |
STL@NYM | Michael Wacha SP | STL | START | Jacob deGrom SP | NYM | START |
WAS@CIN | Stephen Strasburg SP | WAS | START | Luis Castillo SP | CIN | SIT |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/1/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
BOS@TB | Hector Velazquez RP | BOS | SIT | Jake Faria SP | TB | SIT |
CHC@MIA | Jose Quintana SP | CHC | START | Dillon Peters SP | MIA | SIT |
CHW@KC | PPD | PPD | PPD | PPD |
CLE@SEA | Trevor Bauer SP | CLE | SIT | Mike Leake SP | SEA | SIT |
HOU@TEX | Gerrit Cole SP | HOU | START | Mike Minor RP | TEX | SIT |
LAA@OAK | Shohei Ohtani SP | LAA | START | Daniel Mengden SP | OAK | SIT |
MIN@BAL | Jose Berrios SP | MIN | START | Kevin Gausman SP | BAL | SIT |
NYY@TOR | Sonny Gray SP | NYY | START | Marcus Stroman SP | TOR | START |
PIT@DET | Chad Kuhl SP | PIT | SIT | Francisco Liriano RP | DET | SIT |
SF@LAD | Chris Stratton SP | SF | SIT | Rich Hill SP | LAD | START |
STL@NYM | Luke Weaver SP | STL | START | Steven Matz SP | NYM | SIT |
WAS@CIN | Gio Gonzalez SP | WAS | START | Sal Romano SP | CIN | SIT |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/2/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
BAL@HOU | Chris Tillman SP | BAL | SIT | Charlie Morton SP | HOU | START |
BOS@MIA | Brian Johnson SP | BOS | SIT | Trevor Richards SP | MIA | SIT |
CHC@CIN | Tyler Chatwood SP | CHC | START | Tyler Mahle SP | CIN | SIT |
CHW@TOR | Reynaldo Lopez SP | CHW | SIT | Jaime Garcia SP | TOR | START |
CLE@LAA | Mike Clevinger SP | CLE | SIT | JC Ramirez SP | LAA | SIT |
COL@SD | Chad Bettis SP | COL | SIT | Bryan Mitchell RP | SD | SIT |
KC@DET | Jason Hammel SP | KC | START | Francisco Liriano RP | DET | SIT |
LAD@ARI | Hyun-Jin Ryu SP | LAD | START | Taijuan Walker SP | ARI | START |
MIN@PIT | Lance Lynn SP | MIN | START | Jameson Taillon SP | PIT | START |
PHI@NYM | Ben Lively SP | PHI | SIT | Matt Harvey SP | NYM | START |
STL@MIL | Miles Mikolas SP | STL | START | Zach Davies SP | MIL | START |
TB@NYY | PPD | PPD | PPD | PPD |
TEX@OAK | Bartolo Colon SP | TEX | SIT | Andrew Triggs SP | OAK | SIT |
WAS@ATL | Tanner Roark SP | WAS | START | Sean Newcomb SP | ATL | SIT |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/3/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
BAL@HOU | TBA | TBD | Justin Verlander SP | HOU | START |
BOS@MIA | Chris Sale SP | BOS | START | Jose Urena SP | MIA | SIT |
CHC@CIN | Jon Lester SP | CHC | START | Cody Reed RP | CIN | SIT |
CHW@TOR | Carson Fulmer SP | CHW | SIT | J.A. Happ SP | TOR | START |
CLE@LAA | Josh Tomlin SP | CLE | SIT | Garrett Richards SP | LAA | START |
COL@SD | Kyle Freeland SP | COL | SIT | TBA | TBD |
KC@DET | Eric Skoglund SP | KC | SIT | TBA | TBD |
LAD@ARI | Clayton Kershaw SP | LAD | START | Zack Godley SP | ARI | START |
PHI@NYM | TBA | TBD | Seth Lugo SP | NYM | SIT |
SEA@SF | Marco Gonzales SP | SEA | SIT | Ty Blach SP | SF | SIT |
STL@MIL | Jack Flaherty SP | STL | SIT | Chase Anderson SP | MIL | START |
TEX@OAK | Cole Hamels SP | TEX | START | Kendall Graveman SP | OAK | SIT |
WAS@ATL | TBA | TBD | Julio Teheran SP | ATL | SIT |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/4/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
BAL@HOU | Dylan Bundy SP | BAL | START | Dallas Keuchel SP | HOU | START |
CHW@TOR | James Shields SP | CHW | SIT | Aaron Sanchez SP | TOR | START |
CLE@LAA | Corey Kluber SP | CLE | START | Tyler Skaggs SP | LAA | SIT |
COL@SD | Jon Gray SP | COL | START | Clayton Richard SP | SD | SIT |
KC@DET | Danny Duffy SP | KC | START | Jordan Zimmermann SP | DET | SIT |
LAD@ARI | Alex Wood SP | LAD | START | Patrick Corbin SP | ARI | SIT |
MIN@PIT | Jake Odorizzi SP | MIN | START | Ivan Nova SP | PIT | SIT |
PHI@NYM | Aaron Nola SP | PHI | START | Noah Syndergaard SP | NYM | START |
SEA@SF | Felix Hernandez SP | SEA | START | Johnny Cueto SP | SF | SIT |
STL@MIL | Carlos Martinez SP | STL | START | Jhoulys Chacin SP | MIL | SIT |
TB@NYY | Chris Archer SP | TB | START | Luis Severino SP | NYY | START |
TEX@OAK | Doug Fister SP | TEX | SIT | Sean Manaea SP | OAK | SIT |
WAS@ATL | Max Scherzer SP | WAS | START | Mike Foltynewicz SP | ATL | SIT |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/5/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
ARI@STL | Robbie Ray SP | ARI | START | Michael Wacha SP | STL | SIT |
BAL@NYY | Andrew Cashner SP | BAL | SIT | Masahiro Tanaka SP | NYY | START |
CHC@MIL | Kyle Hendricks SP | CHC | START | Brent Suter SP | MIL | SIT |
CIN@PIT | Homer Bailey SP | CIN | SIT | Trevor Williams SP | PIT | SIT |
COL@SD | Tyler Anderson SP | COL | START | TBA | TBD |
DET@CHW | Michael Fulmer SP | DET | START | Lucas Giolito SP | CHW | START |
MIA@PHI | Caleb Smith RP | MIA | SIT | Nick Pivetta SP | PHI | SIT |
NYM@WAS | Jacob deGrom SP | NYM | START | Stephen Strasburg SP | WAS | START |
SEA@MIN | James Paxton SP | SEA | START | Kyle Gibson SP | MIN | SIT |
TB@BOS | Blake Snell SP | TB | SIT | David Price SP | BOS | START |
TEX@OAK | Matt Moore SP | TEX | SIT | Daniel Gossett SP | OAK | SIT |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/6/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
ATL@COL | Brandon McCarthy SP | ATL | SIT | German Marquez SP | COL | SIT |
BAL@NYY | Kevin Gausman SP | BAL | SIT | CC Sabathia SP | NYY | SIT |
CHC@MIL | Yu Darvish SP | CHC | START | TBA | TBD |
CIN@PIT | Luis Castillo SP | CIN | SIT | Chad Kuhl SP | PIT | SIT |
KC@CLE | Ian Kennedy SP | KC | SIT | Carlos Carrasco SP | CLE | START |
LAD@SF | Kenta Maeda SP | LAD | START | Derek Holland SP | SF | SIT |
OAK@LAA | Daniel Mengden SP | OAK | START | Matt Shoemaker SP | LAA | SIT |
SD@HOU | Luis Perdomo SP | SD | SIT | Lance McCullers SP | HOU | START |
TOR@TEX | Marco Estrada SP | TOR | START | Mike Minor RP | TEX | SIT |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/7/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
ARI@STL | Zack Greinke SP | ARI | START | Luke Weaver SP | STL | START |
ATL@COL | Sean Newcomb SP | ATL | SIT | Chad Bettis SP | COL | SIT |
BAL@NYY | Chris Tillman SP | BAL | SIT | Sonny Gray SP | NYY | START |
CHC@MIL | Jose Quintana SP | CHC | START | Zach Davies SP | MIL | START |
CIN@PIT | Sal Romano SP | CIN | SIT | Jameson Taillon SP | PIT | START |
DET@CHW | Francisco Liriano RP | DET | SIT | Reynaldo Lopez SP | CHW | SIT |
KC@CLE | Jason Hammel SP | KC | SIT | Trevor Bauer SP | CLE | START |
LAD@SF | Rich Hill SP | LAD | START | Chris Stratton SP | SF | SIT |
MIA@PHI | Odrisamer Despaigne RP | MIA | SIT | Vince Velasquez SP | PHI | START |
NYM@WAS | Steven Matz SP | NYM | SIT | Gio Gonzalez SP | WAS | START |
OAK@LAA | Andrew Triggs SP | OAK | SIT | Shohei Ohtani SP | LAA | START |
SD@HOU | TBA | TBD | Gerrit Cole SP | HOU | START |
SEA@MIN | Mike Leake SP | SEA | SIT | Jose Berrios SP | MIN | START |
TB@BOS | TBA | TBD | Rick Porcello SP | BOS | START |
TOR@TEX | Marcus Stroman SP | TOR | START | TBA | TBD |
PROBABLE PITCHERS (4/8/18) | ||||
GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
ARI@STL | Taijuan Walker SP | ARI | START | Miles Mikolas SP | STL | SIT |
ATL@COL | Julio Teheran SP | ATL | SIT | Kyle Freeland SP | COL | SIT |
BAL@NYY | TBA | TBD | Jordan Montgomery SP | NYY | START |
CHC@MIL | Tyler Chatwood SP | CHC | START | Chase Anderson SP | MIL | START |
CIN@PIT | Tyler Mahle SP | CIN | SIT | TBA | TBD |
DET@CHW | TBA | TBD | Miguel Gonzalez SP | CHW | SIT |
KC@CLE | Jake Junis SP | KC | SIT | Mike Clevinger SP | CLE | START |
LAD@SF | Hyun-Jin Ryu SP | LAD | START | Ty Blach SP | SF | SIT |
MIA@PHI | Dillon Peters SP | MIA | SIT | TBA | TBD |
NYM@WAS | Matt Harvey SP | NYM | SIT | TBA | TBD |
OAK@LAA | Kendall Graveman SP | OAK | SIT | TBA | TBD |
SD@HOU | TBA | TBD | Charlie Morton SP | HOU | START |
SEA@MIN | Marco Gonzales SP | SEA | SIT | Lance Lynn SP | MIN | START |
TB@BOS | Jake Faria SP | TB | SIT | Hector Velazquez RP | BOS | SIT |
TOR@TEX | Jaime Garcia SP | TOR | SIT | Cole Hamels SP | TEX | START |