What’s up RotoBallers. If you are reading the column, then your teams are most likely still in the championship chase as we head into the final week of the fantasy baseball season. It's been a fun and exciting year of MLB action, and we've had a blast here at RotoBaller providing our fantasy baseball analysis.
Hopefully we've helped you along the way, and you are in a position to bring home those championships. Many RotoBaller writers have been burning off their fingertips all season long, typing and sharing their thoughts, and providing their MLB analysis with the goal of getting to this exact point in the season. We hope you've enjoyed it all, and remember you can always let us know in the comments if you have. It means a lot to writers to get feedback, and know when their work is being appreciated by readers. Most importantly, thank you all for checking in here regularly, reading this column and others, and continuing to create a great "get advice/give advice" environment in RotoBaller's live chat rooms.
With that being said, let's get back to business. Below are all of the starting pitching matchups for Week 26. The final week. The home stretch. Where dreams are made, or shattered. Where we try to bring home the bacon. As always, 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. This week there are a lot of rock solid two-start pitchers going (Felix Hernandez, Johnny Cueto, Zack Greinke, Tanner Roark, Alex Wood, David Price, Yordano Ventura, Cole Hamels, Madison Bumgarner, Alex Cobb, Adam Wainwright, Michael Pineda, Carlos Carrasco, Jeff Samardzija). In fact, one might call this the week of the tw0-start aces. It should be a fun one. And as always, there are some viable starting pitcher sleepers and streamers to consider off the waiver wire (Derek Holland, Edinson Volquez, Taijuan Walker, Shane Greene, Kevin Gausman, Kyle Hendricks, James Paxton, Danny Duffy, Jose Quintana), depending on your league size and format including AL-Only and NL-Only leagues.
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. This weekly piece considers all of the pitching performances thus far this season, 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.
Good luck this week RotoBallers. Let’s win some leagues!
SP Matchups & Start/Sit Recommendations
Editor’s Note: For you fantasy football fans, be sure to also check out RotoBaller's 2014 fantasy football waiver wire pickups list and dominate your football leagues. You can also download the waiver wire iPhone app for free, and stay easily updated on the run.
Projected starters and matchups last updated Monday 9/22:
Probable Pitchers - Monday (9/22/14) |
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Game | Visiting Starter | Start / Sit | Home Starter | Start / Sit |
ARI@MIN | Collmenter, Josh RP | ARI | Start | Nolasco, Ricky SP | MIN | Sit |
BAL@NYY | Chen, Wei-Yin SP | BAL | Start | Pineda, Michael SP | NYY | Start |
CHW@DET | Bassitt, Chris SP | CHW | Sit | Lobstein, Kyle SP | DET | Sit |
COL@SD | Matzek, Tyler SP | COL | Start | Stults, Eric SP | SD | Sit |
HOU@TEX | Tropeano, Nick SP | HOU | Sit | Holland, Derek SP | TEX | Start |
KC@CLE | Duffy, Danny SP | KC | Start | Carrasco, Carlos SP | CLE | Start |
LAA@OAK | Wilson, C.J. SP | LAA | Start | Samardzija, Jeff SP | OAK | Start |
PIT@ATL | Liriano, Francisco SP | PIT | Start | Harang, Aaron SP | ATL | Start |
SEA@TOR | Paxton, James SP | SEA | Start | Happ, J.A. SP | TOR | Sit |
SF@LAD | Peavy, Jake SP | SF | Start | Haren, Dan SP | LAD | Start |
STL@CHC | Wainwright, Adam SP | STL | Start | Wood, Travis SP | CHC | Sit |
Probable Pitchers - Tuesday (9/23/14) |
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Game | Visiting Starter | Start / Sit | Home Starter | Start / Sit |
ARI@MIN | Chafin, Andrew SP | ARI | Sit | Gibson, Kyle SP | MIN | Sit |
BAL@NYY | Jimenez, Ubaldo SP | BAL | Sit | McCarthy, Brandon SP | NYY | Start |
CHW@DET | Carroll, Scott SP | CHW | Sit | Price, David SP | DET | Start |
COL@SD | De La Rosa, Jorge SP | COL | Sit | Erlin, Robbie SP | SD | Sit |
HOU@TEX | Oberholtzer, Brett SP | HOU | Sit | Martinez, Nick P | TEX | Sit |
KC@CLE | Ventura, Yordano SP | KC | Start | Salazar, Danny SP | CLE | Start |
LAA@OAK | LeBlanc, Wade RP | LAA | Sit | Gray, Sonny SP | OAK | Start |
MIL@CIN | Fiers, Mike RP | MIL | Start | Cueto, Johnny SP | CIN | Start |
NYM@WAS | Colon, Bartolo SP | NYM | Sit | Roark, Tanner SP | WAS | Start |
PHI@MIA | Hamels, Cole SP | PHI | Start | Alvarez, Henderson SP | MIA | Start |
PIT@ATL | Cole, Gerrit SP | PIT | Start | Wood, Alex RP | ATL | Start |
SEA@TOR | Hernandez, Felix SP | SEA | Start | Dickey, R.A. SP | TOR | Sit |
SF@LAD | Bumgarner, Madison SP | SF | Start | Greinke, Zack SP | LAD | Start |
STL@CHC | Miller, Shelby SP | STL | Start | Hendricks, Kyle SP | CHC | Start |
TB@BOS | Cobb, Alex SP | TB | Start | Buchholz, Clay SP | BOS | Sit |
Probable Pitchers - Wednesday (9/24/14) |
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Game | Visiting Starter | Start / Sit | Home Starter | Start / Sit |
ARI@MIN | Nuno, Vidal SP | ARI | Sit | Hughes, Phil SP | MIN | Start |
BAL@NYY | Norris, Bud SP | BAL | Start | Greene, Shane SP | NYY | Start |
CHW@DET | Sale, Chris SP | CHW | Start | Verlander, Justin SP | DET | Sit |
COL@SD | Flande, Yohan SP | COL | Sit | TBD | TBD |
HOU@TEX | Feldman, Scott SP | HOU | Sit | Bonilla, Lisalverto RP | TEX | Sit |
KC@CLE | Vargas, Jason SP | KC | Sit | Bauer, Trevor SP | CLE | Sit |
LAA@OAK | Santiago, Hector SP | LAA | Sit | Lester, Jon SP | OAK | Start |
MIL@CIN | Lohse, Kyle SP | MIL | Start | Corcino, Daniel SP | CIN | Sit |
NYM@WAS | Gee, Dillon SP | NYM | Start | Gonzalez, Gio SP | WAS | Start |
PHI@MIA | Kendrick, Kyle SP | PHI | Sit | Hand, Brad RP | MIA | Sit |
PIT@ATL | Locke, Jeff SP | PIT | Start | Teheran, Julio SP | ATL | Start |
SEA@TOR | Walker, Taijuan SP | SEA | Start | Buehrle, Mark SP | TOR | Sit |
SF@LAD | Hudson, Tim SP | SF | Sit | Kershaw, Clayton SP | LAD | Start |
STL@CHC | Lackey, John SP | STL | Start | Arrieta, Jake SP | CHC | Start |
TB@BOS | Odorizzi, Jake SP | TB | Start | Ranaudo, Anthony SP | BOS | Sit |
Probable Pitchers - Thursday (9/25/14) |
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Game | Visiting Starter | Start / Sit | Home Starter | Start / Sit |
BAL@NYY | Gausman, Kevin RP | BAL | Start | Kuroda, Hiroki SP | NYY | Start |
KC@CHW | Shields, James SP | KC | Start | Quintana, Jose SP | CHW | Start |
MIL@CIN | Gallardo, Yovani SP | MIL | Start | Holmberg, David SP | CIN | Sit |
MIN@DET | May, Trevor SP | MIN | Sit | Scherzer, Max SP | DET | Start |
NYM@WAS | Niese, Jonathon SP | NYM | Start | Fister, Doug SP | WAS | Start |
OAK@TEX | Hammel, Jason SP | OAK | Start | Lewis, Colby SP | TEX | Sit |
PHI@MIA | Buchanan, David SP | PHI | Sit | Koehler, Tom SP | MIA | Start |
PIT@ATL | Volquez, Edinson SP | PIT | Start | Minor, Mike SP | ATL | Sit |
SD@SF | Cashner, Andrew SP | SD | Start | Petit, Yusmeiro SP | SF | Start |
SEA@TOR | Young, Chris SP | SEA | Sit | Redmond, Todd SP | TOR | Sit |
TB@BOS | Hellickson, Jeremy SP | TB | Sit | Webster, Allen SP | BOS | Sit |
Probable Pitchers - Friday (9/26/14) |
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Game | Visiting Starter | Start / Sit | Home Starter | Start / Sit |
ATL@PHI | Santana, Ervin SP | ATL | Sit | Williams, Jerome SP | PHI | Sit |
BAL@TOR | Tillman, Chris SP | BAL | Start | Stroman, Marcus SP | TOR | Start |
CHC@MIL | Jackson, Edwin SP | CHC | Sit | Garza, Matt SP | MIL | Start |
COL@LAD | Lyles, Jordan SP | COL | Sit | Hernandez, Roberto SP | LAD | Sit |
HOU@NYM | Peacock, Brad SP | HOU | Start | Wheeler, Zack SP | NYM | Start |
KC@CHW | Guthrie, Jeremy SP | KC | Sit | Noesi, Hector RP | CHW | Sit |
LAA@SEA | Weaver, Jered SP | LAA | Start | Iwakuma, Hisashi SP | SEA | Start |
MIA@WAS | Cosart, Jarred SP | MIA | Start | Zimmermann, Jordan SP | WAS | Start |
MIN@DET | Swarzak, Anthony RP | MIN | Sit | Porcello, Rick SP | DET | Start |
NYY@BOS | Capuano, Chris SP | NYY | Sit | TBD | TBD |
OAK@TEX | Kazmir, Scott SP | OAK | Start | Tepesch, Nick SP | TEX | Sit |
PIT@CIN | TBD | TBD | Leake, Mike SP | CIN | Sit |
SD@SF | Kennedy, Ian SP | SD | Start | Vogelsong, Ryan SP | SF | Sit |
STL@ARI | Wacha, Michael SP | STL | Start | Cahill, Trevor SP | ARI | Sit |
TB@CLE | Archer, Chris SP | TB | Start | House, T.J. SP | CLE | Start |
Probable Pitchers - Saturday (9/27/14) |
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Game | Visiting Starter | Start / Sit | Home Starter | Start / Sit |
ATL@PHI | Harang, Aaron SP | ATL | Start | Burnett, A.J. SP | PHI | Sit |
BAL@TOR | Gonzalez, Miguel SP | BAL | Start | Happ, J.A. SP | TOR | Sit |
CHC@MIL | Doubront, Felix SP | CHC | Sit | Peralta, Wily SP | MIL | Start |
COL@LAD | Butler, Eddie SP | COL | Sit | Wright, Jamey RP | LAD | Sit |
HOU@NYM | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
KC@CHW | Duffy, Danny SP | KC | Start | Danks, John SP | CHW | Start |
LAA@SEA | Rasmus, Cory RP | LAA | Sit | Paxton, James SP | SEA | Start |
MIA@WAS | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
MIN@DET | Nolasco, Ricky SP | MIN | Sit | Lobstein, Kyle SP | DET | Sit |
NYY@BOS | Tanaka, Masahiro SP | NYY | Start | Kelly, Joe RP | BOS | Sit |
OAK@TEX | Samardzija, Jeff SP | OAK | Start | Holland, Derek SP | TEX | Start |
PIT@CIN | Liriano, Francisco SP | PIT | Start | Simon, Alfredo RP | CIN | Start |
SD@SF | Stults, Eric SP | SD | Sit | Peavy, Jake SP | SF | Start |
STL@ARI | Lynn, Lance SP | STL | Start | Miley, Wade SP | ARI | Start |
TB@CLE | Karns, Nathan SP | TB | Sit | Kluber, Corey SP | CLE | Start |
Probable Pitchers - Sunday (9/28/14) |
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Game | Visiting Starter | Start / Sit | Home Starter | Start / Sit |
ATL@PHI | Wood, Alex RP | ATL | Start | Hamels, Cole SP | PHI | Start |
BAL@TOR | Chen, Wei-Yin SP | BAL | Start | Dickey, R.A. SP | TOR | Sit |
CHC@MIL | Turner, Jacob SP | CHC | Sit | Fiers, Mike RP | MIL | Start |
COL@LAD | Bergman, Christian SP | COL | Sit | Haren, Dan SP | LAD | Start |
HOU@NYM | McHugh, Collin SP | HOU | Start | Colon, Bartolo SP | NYM | Sit |
KC@CHW | Ventura, Yordano SP | KC | Start | Bassitt, Chris SP | CHW | Sit |
LAA@SEA | Wilson, C.J. SP | LAA | Start | Hernandez, Felix SP | SEA | Start |
MIA@WAS | Alvarez, Henderson SP | MIA | Start | Roark, Tanner SP | WAS | Start |
MIN@DET | Gibson, Kyle SP | MIN | Sit | Price, David SP | DET | Start |
NYY@BOS | Pineda, Michael SP | NYY | Start | Buchholz, Clay SP | BOS | Sit |
OAK@TEX | Gray, Sonny SP | OAK | Start | Martinez, Nick P | TEX | Sit |
PIT@CIN | Cole, Gerrit SP | PIT | Start | Cueto, Johnny SP | CIN | Start |
SD@SF | Erlin, Robbie SP | SD | Sit | Bumgarner, Madison SP | SF | Start |
STL@ARI | Wainwright, Adam SP | STL | Start | Collmenter, Josh RP | ARI | Start |
TB@CLE | Cobb, Alex SP | TB | Start | Carrasco, Carlos SP | CLE | Start |