Ian Kennedy should be able to continue his hot start this week
Here’s the breakdown of how to navigate two-start pitching options this week.
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Must Start
- Zack Greinke (STL 4/25, COL 4/30)
- Chris Sale (@TOR 4/25, @BAL 4/30)
- Jordan Zimmerman (4/25 OAK, 4/30@MIN)
- Madison Bumgarner (4/25 SD, 5/1 @NYM)
- Clayton Kershaw (4/26 MIA, 5/1 SD)
- Danny Salazar (4/25 @MIN, @PHI 5/1)
- Noah Syndergaard (4/25 CIN, 5/1 SF)
- Carlos Martinez (4/26 @ARI, 5/1 WSH)
- Cole Hamels (4/25 NYY, 5/1 LAA)
Don’t overthink it with this group. Sale has brutal matchups, but there’s no way to sit him.
High-End
- Kyle Hendricks (MIL 4/26, ATL 5/1)
- Raisel Iglesias (4/25 @NYM, @PIT 5/1)
- Ian Kennedy (4/25 @LAA, 5/1@SEA)
- Garrett Richards (4/25 KC, 5/1@TEX)
- Wei-Yin Chen (4/25 @LAD, 4/30@MIL)
- Vincent Velasquez (4/26 @WSH, 5/1 CLE)
- Gerrit Cole (4/26 @COL, 5/1 CIN)
- Taijuan Walker (4/25 HOU, 5/1 KC)
- Jaime Garcia (4/25 @ARI, 4/30 WSH)
- Chris Archer (4/25 BAL, 5/1 TOR)
- Joe Ross (4/26 PHI, 5/1 @STL)
Hendricks has had bad luck with stranding runners this season, so his current ERA is inflated and the matchups provide a good opportunity for two wins. Iglesias hasn’t been able to go deep into games this year, but he has managed to put some nice stats together, making him a good option this week.
Kennedy is due for some regression, but getting matchups in spacious parks gives me confidence that it won’t come this week. Richards has been awesome this year. The matchups this week are the only thing keeping away from “must start” status.
Chen is consistent and safe. Don’t expect spectacular numbers but blow ups are rare too. Velasquez isn’t as good as he looked to start the season, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a good pitcher. Cole looked like he was back in form against the Padres on Thursday but playing at Coors makes things difficult as we all know. Walker’s ability to find the strike zone has been impressive this year, but beware of the start against the Royals.
Garcia is an excellent pitcher, he just can’t be valued highly because of his injuries so don’t count on having him all year. It’s really hard to know what to do with Archer right now but even with his struggles, it’s difficult to bench him. Check on Ross’ status heading into the week as he has a blister so he may have his start pushed back.
Low-End
- Shelby Miller (STL 4/26, COL 5/1)
- Chad Bettis (4/26 PIT, 5/1@PHI)
- Ross Stripling (4/25 MIA, 4/30 SD)
- Jimmy Nelson (4/26 @CHC, 5/1 MIA)
- Kendall Graveman (4/25 @DET, 4/30 HOU)
- Drew Pomeranz (4/25 @SF, 5/1 @LAD)
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Miller hit the DL before he can make either of these starts, but even if he is able to he hasn’t looked right all year. Bettis has been useful this season, but he has still struggled with the home run ball just enough to make me cautious. Stripling is a nice story, but he’s a streaming option. I would shy away from Nelson this week because his strikeouts have been inconsistent and he gets a start against the Cubs, but he’s not a horrible option. I like Graveman and he has been really good to start the season, but this week will be a challenge. Pomeranz is intriguing and is working his way into being a good streaming option.
Stay Away
- Jeff Locke (4/25 @COL, 4/30 CIN)
- Rich Hill (4/26 @DET, 5/1 HOU)
- John Danks (@TOR 4/26, @BAL 5/1)
- Jorge De La Rosa (4/25 PIT, 4/30@PHI)
- Mike Pelfrey (4/26 OAK, 5/1 @MIN)
- Doug Fister (4/25 @SEA, 4/30@OAK)
- Tom Koehler (4/26 @LAD, 5/1@MIL)
- Tommy Milone (4/25 CLE, 5/1 DET)
- Nathan Eovaldi (4/25 @TEX, 5/1 @BOS)
- R.A. Dickey (4/25 CWS, 5/1 @TB)
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Daniel Marcus is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Daniel, check out his archive, visit fantasy-phenoms.com, or follow him @danmarcus3.
