Steven Wright’s high walk rate could be disastrous against the Yankees and White Sox this upcoming week

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Must Start

• Jake Arrieta (5/3 @PIT, 5/8 WSH)
• Jose Quintana (5/3 BOS, 5/8 MIN)
• Dallas Keuchel (5/2 MIN, 5/7 SEA)
• Matt Harvey (5/3 @ATL, 5/8 @SD)
• Johnny Cueto (5/2 @CIN, 5/7 COL)

Quintana needs his due. He’s been excellent this season and may finally be able to rack up some wins. Keuchel has firmly fallen out of must-start territory when he is on the road, but he is still shut down when pitching at home. Cueto never gets his due, and it’s always one thing or another that experts don’t like about him, but the thing they always miss is that he’s a very good pitcher and gets good results.

High-End

• Patrick Corbin (5/3 @MIA, 5/8 @ATL)
• Chris Tillman (5/3 NYY, 5/8 OAK)
• Justin Verlander (5/3 @CLE, 5/8 TEX)
• Edinson Volquez (5/2 WSH, 5/8 @CLE)
• Jimmy Nelson (5/2 @HOU, 5/7 @CIN)
• Aaron Nola (5/3 @STL, 5/8 @MIA)
• Adam Wainwright (5/2 PHI, 5/7 PIT)
• Michael Wacha (5/3 PHI, 5/8 PIT)
• Marco Estrada (5/3 TEX, 5/8 LAD)

It’s hard to say forget Corbin’s last two starts, but he has a great chance to give fantasy owners a short memory this week. Tillman has been outstanding beside one start on the road, so with two home starts this week I like him. Verlander has routinely started slowly in games this season, but he has managed to settle down and rack up the strikeouts as he has 31 in 29 2/3 innings this season.

Volquez got rocked last outing, and his matchups aren’t the easiest, but he has been very good this season outside of his last start.  Nelson is one of the few bright spots for the Brewers this season, and he already has three wins, which is surprising given the team he pitches for. Nola has been excellent, he has handed out only six free passes in 33 innings this season, though this week will be a test with two road starts.

It’s hard to roll Wainright out in weekly lineups, but he’s got two home starts against two teams that struggle to score runs (the Pirates’ run total is highly inflated by a recent road trip to Coors Field and Chase Field). Wacha doesn’t get the fantasy love he deserves as he posts excellent ratios and should have a good chance for two wins this week. I’ll begrudgingly acknowledge that Estrada has gotten results this season, but I still don’t think it’ll last.

Low-End

• Steven Wright (5/3 @CWS, 5/8 @NYY)
• Kyle Hendricks (5/2 @PIT, 5/7 WSH)
• Brandon Finnegan (5/2 SF, 5/7 MIL)
• Collin McHugh (5/3 MIN, 5/8 SEA)
• Justin Nicolino (5/3 ARI, 5/8 PHI)
• Bartolo Colon (5/2 ATL, 5/7 @SD)
• Sonny Gray (5/2 SEA, 5/8 @BAL)
• Jeremy Hellickson (5/2 @STL, 5/7 @MIA)
• Nate Karns (5/2 @OAK, 5/7 @HOU)
• James Shields (5/2 COL, 5/7 NYM)
• Jeff Samardzija (5/3 @CIN, 5/8 COL)
• Hisashi Iwakuma (5/3 @OAK, 5/8 @HOU)
• Gio Gonzalez (5/2 @KC, 5/7 @CHC)
• Tanner Roark (5/3 @KC, 5/8 @CHC)

The magic isn’t going to continue for Wright as he continues to live dangerously with the amount of walks he surrenders. Hendricks is solid but lacks the strikeouts to make him a true fantasy asset. I was very close to putting Finnegan as a high-end option, and he is a great streaming option this week.

McHugh simply hasn’t been good this year. Nicolino is a potential streamer this week due to the matchups but may not stick in the rotation long-term. Colon is a safe streaming option with a good chance to pick up two wins this week.

Seeing Gray in this category is a bit shocking (for me included), but he isn’t racking up strikeouts and has struggled with his control this season. Hellickson has looked good, but I just can’t buy in until there is a larger sample, so with that said you can start him this week but understand the high risk attached to doing so. Karns is a nice streaming play as he should get strikeouts and owners can hope for one win this week.

Shields has his ratios back but has sacrificed strikeouts, and wins will be incredibly difficult for him to find this season. There’s a difference between a good real life pitcher and fantasy pitcher, and Jeff Samardzija is the perfect example.

Iwakuma might finally be slowing down. Both Gonzalez and Roark have been good this season, but two road starts against two excellent lineups are enough to scare me off in most circumstances.

Stay Away

• Bud Norris (5/2 @NYM, 5/8 ARI)
• Jon Moscot (5/3 SF, 5/8 MIL)
• Josh Tomlin (5/3 DET, 5/8 KC)
• Jon Gray (5/2 @SD, 5/7 @SF)
• Jered Weaver (5/2 @MIL, 5/8 TB)
• Taylor Jungmann (5/3 @HOU, 5/8 @CIN)
• Ricky Nolasco (5/2 @HOU, 5/8 @CWS)
• Luis Severino (5/3 @BAL, 5/8 BOS)
• Jon Niese (5/2 CHC, 5/8 @STL)
• Andrew Cashner (5/3 COL, 5/8 NYM)
• A.J. Griffin (5/2 @TOR, 5/7 @DET)
• Martin Perez (5/3 @TOR, @ DET)
• R.A. Dickey (5/2 TEX, 5/7 LAD)

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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.