As the season unfolds, I’ve broken down every MLB team’s starting rotation and forecasted them with each team’s upcoming schedule. You may ask, why would you do this? The most straightforward answer is finding the best upcoming matchups for the lesser-known starting pitchers.
This way, we can maximize the end of our rosters and try to squeeze every last ounce of value that might be available on a waiver wire. Or, perhaps, drop a fringe-worthy pitcher early due to horrendous matchups.
Churning your roster at the correct times is critical to in-season management. Think about it this way: do you really need to hold onto that pitcher if you won’t start him in these key weeks?
Indeed, we are ranking these matchups based on the opponent’s offense, and here are my offensive tiers to do so. Also, please don’t get held up on the offensive rankings … if your preference is to stream against SFG instead of NYY, or you think CLE should be in the “Meh” tier; go for it!
(OFF) means the team has an off-day before they play that team.
(DH) indicates a doubleheader that day.
SPOT STARTER should be obvious but it means this pitcher will only start once.
??? represents a rotational spot that is unclear, and there will be notes explaining options.
ASB is an abbreviation for All-Star Break.
- Thursday (June 22nd) is a makeup game, hence the random single game in Week 12.
Atlanta Braves
- Smooth sailing here and great matchups in Week 13.
- Soft matchups and plenty of OFF days. That’s usually a good spot to consider looking for streamers.
- Following the double-header and no OFF days, Boston will need someone to step in.
- Tanner Houck pushed to the IL will open up a spot for a few weeks. Perhaps we’ll see Corey Kluber or Nick Pivetta back in the rotation.
- Week 12 back-to-back OFF days isn’t helpful. Furthermore, the OFF day in Week 13 will muddy the waters even more.
- Unfortunately, we could see someone skipped or used out of the pen.
- Sholtens back in the rotation (maybe?), while Clevinger hits the IL. However, Sholtens recently pitched out of the pen Friday and Saturday. There’s a good chance we’ll see a bullpen game on Monday (6/19).
- Note: The Reds are taxed one tier anytime they are home. Hence, different shades for games vs. COL, ATL, and SDP.
- Getting the Rockies on the road is always nice… but the game will be in Great American Ball Park too.
- As fast as Triston McKenzie returned, he went away.
- Eagerly we all hope to see Gavin Williams promoted but it’s probably more likely Hunter Gaddis or Cody Morris getting called up. No official word yet.
- Note: The Rockies are taxed one tier anytime they are home. Hence, different shades for games vs. LAA, LAD, and DET.
- Yes, still not a rotation to spend much time on.
- This rotation suffered many injuries but should finally get some relief with Tarik Skubal’s return in Week 13.
- We expected Brandon Bielak to keep his rotation spot but, instead, he heads to the bullpen. In his place, Ronel Blanco gets a few more looks.
- Very tough matchups in Week 12.
- The Royals haven’t been able to lock down a consistent 5th starter. Instead, we’ve seen a few weeks of bullpen games.
- With only one OFF day before the break, maybe that’ll change soon. Waiting in the wings are Jonathan Heasley and Max Castillo.
- Early Week 12 OFF days and a six-man rotation are never a good combination. Someone (probably Barria) could get skipped for Ohtani to start every sixth day.
- Three OFF days in the first eight days for the Dodgers. While it might not be ideal for fantasy, the lack of healthy options will be in their favor.
- In Week 12, LAD can get away with four SPs, but someone must step in before the break.
- This will be a very tricky rotation to predict matchups.
- Bryan Hoeing is thrust into the rotation with Edward Cabrera hitting the IL.
- Adrian Houser retreats to the bullpen with Rea and Teheran sticking in the rotation.
- No OFF days until after just before the All-Star Break. It’ll be pretty straightforward to predict matchups, at least for Weeks 12-13.
- A healthy rotation with adequate OFF days hasn’t been something the Mets are used to.
- There’s an open spot in the rotation but no official announcement on who’ll make those starts. While it’s not a great spot in Week 12, matchups (@ OAK, @ STL) could be a sneaky pickup.
- JP Sears and Paul Blackburn could be viable streams in a deeper league format. However, these aren’t must-get arms.
- Week 12? Not so easy.
- Week 13? Much better place to utilize arms.
- With Roansy Contreras in the pen, Osvaldo Bido gets the looks. Additionally, Bido should be widely available for a two-start in Week 12, followed by a soft matchup in Week 13.
- There’s an open spot for Tuesday (6/20). This would be a nice time for Seth Lugo to return, as he’s been throwing simulated games. Keep in mind, he likely wouldn’t go deep into the start.
- Monday (6/19), features an opener/bullpen game. We’ve seen this several times from SFG.
- With Alex Cobb and Ross Stripling out, we might see more plenty bullpen games.
- Brutal schedule as they finish up into the break.
- Another back-to-back OFF days for St Louis. That’s rough! Even worse, three OFF days in five days.
- We’ve seen this before and they elected to use Liberatore out of the pen for a few innings. I wouldn’t put too much stock in forecasting this rotation.
- Plenty of OFF days spread until the break.
- This should mean we don’t need to worry about workloads. But it’s also the Rays.
- Outside of the Week 13 finish vs. HOU, it’s pretty smooth sailing for the Ranger’s rotation.
- Only one OFF day in the next two weeks will make matchups easier to predict.
- Toronto won’t need a 5th starter in Week 12.
- The good news is Berrios and Kikuchi should be locked into a decent Week 12 two-step (@ MIA, vs. OAK).
- The ARI makeup game removes an OFF day in Week 12. However, only one OFF day over the next few weeks will give the rotation an extra turn before the All-Star Break.
How come Dave isn’t doing these anymore??