Opening Day is almost here, and we couldn't be more excited! Welcome back everyone to our starting pitcher starts/sits column for Week 1. We are thrilled to be publishing this article, finally! RotoBaller is back again this year with our weekly starting pitcher matchups and recommendations. In case you missed it, this is our eighth year now writing this weekly column, helping fantasy baseball managers pick the best pitchers weekly. On a personal note, I am thrilled to be taking on the responsibility of putting this article together each week, following the footsteps of great men like Bill Dubiel and Nick Mariano.
Below are the projected starting pitching matchups for Week 1 -- July 23rd through July 26th -- which will be updated as rotations are announced and modified. This column will make continuous adjustments for any postponements or rotation shuffles, reflecting official beat writer speculation for as many unconfirmed rotation slots as possible.
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 is 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!
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best MLB Series, NFL Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
SP Matchups & Start/Sit Recommendations
This weekly piece considers the pitcher’s opponents, their outlook against lefties and righties, 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.
Each player will be valued with a Start/Sit recommendation. Additionally, you'll see a color-coded score behind the recommendation. Green and Red provide a strong vote of confidence in starting or sitting that player. Yellow identifies players that are on the fence in this writer's mind, but leaning either Start or Sit. You could determine your level of risk and make your own decisions.
The players highlighted in yellow are the ones set for two-start weeks. Openers will have an asterisk if no "true" starter is announced by team beat writers.
Players that are grayed out are currently projected starters.
This column will be updated daily as more rotations and starters are announced through July 26th.