Welcome back to Sit/Start, where every Saturday here at Pitcher List, we review all expected starting pitcher matchups for the week ahead. I will be carrying over Max Freeze’s ranking system from last year.
There are three labels: Start, Maybe, and Sit. Starts are sure-fire starts for those particular pitchers. This does not mean that they are incapable of having a bad outing, but I consider them more likely than not to have a good outing if they are designated as a Start.
However, the degree of confidence I have in a pitcher to have a strong outing is judged by their number in the tier. For example, I am much more confident that a Start-10 will have a good outing over a Start-7, even though I expect both to perform well.
The same goes for the other tiers. Maybes are starts that are a bit riskier, but depending on your league size or roster requirements, they may need to be used. A Start-10 is a pitcher who I believe will almost definitely have a strong outing, for example, Shane Bieber at the Detroit Tigers. A Sit-1 is a pitcher who under no circumstances you should consider starting.
It has been interesting to see how many new names appear here week after week. It makes my job and your job more difficult to figure out who is worth taking a shot on and who isn’t. Take a look below, and see how your rotation shapes up this week. Feel free to question my rankings in the comments, and let’s discuss!
Monday – 4/26 | |||||
Date | Game | Away Pitcher | Sit / Start | Home Pitcher | Sit / Start |
4/26 | KCR at DET | Keller | Sit-2 | Turnbull | Maybe-4 |
4/26 | MIN at CLE | Berrios | Start-9 | Plesac | Maybe-5 |
4/26 | NYY at BAL | Kluber | Sit-2 | Zimmermann | Sit-1 |
4/26 | OAK at TBR | Manaea | Start-7 | Hill | Sit-1 |
4/26 | CHC at ATL | Davies | Sit-1 | Morton | Start-8 |
4/26 | MIA at MIL | Rogers | Start-9 | Burnes | Start-10 |
4/26 | PHI at STL | Wheeler | Maybe-6 | Wainwright | Maybe-4 |
4/26 | LAA at TEX | Ohtani | Maybe-6 | Lyles | Sit-1 |
4/26 | SEA at HOU | Sheffield | Sit-2 | Urquidy | Maybe-5 |
4/26 | COL at SFG | Gomber | Sit-1 | DeSclafani | Maybe-6 |
4/26 | CIN at LAD | Mahle | Start-7 | Urias | Start-7 |
Tuesday – 4/27 | |||||
Date | Game | Away Pitcher | Sit / Start | Home Pitcher | Sit / Start |
4/27 | MIN at CLE | Maeda | Maybe-6 | Civale | Maybe-5 |
4/27 | KCR at PIT | Junis | Start-7 | Anderson | Maybe-6 |
4/27 | NYY at BAL | German | Sit-1 | Kremer | Sit-3 |
4/27 | WSN at TOR | Scherzer | Start-9 | Stripling | Sit-1 |
4/27 | BOS at NYM | Richards | Sit-1 | Peterson | Sit-2 |
4/27 | OAK at TBR | Montas | Maybe-4 | Wacha | Sit-2 |
4/27 | CHC at ATL | Williams | Sit-2 | Anderson | Start-7 |
4/27 | MIA at MIL | Castano | Sit-1 | Houser | Maybe-4 |
4/27 | PHI at STL | Eflin | Maybe-6 | Martinez | Sit-2 |
4/27 | LAA at TEX | Quintana | Start-7 | Foltynewicz | Sit-1 |
4/27 | SEA at HOU | Gonzales | Sit-1 | Javier | Start-7 |
4/27 | DET at CHW | Urena | Sit-2 | Rodon | Start-7 |
4/27 | SDP at ARI | Paddack | Maybe-6 | Kelly | Sit-1 |
4/27 | COL at SFG | Chi Gonzalez | Sit-2 | Sanchez | Maybe-4 |
4/27 | CIN at LAD | Hoffman | Sit-1 | Buehler | Start-7 |
Wednesday – 4/28 | |||||
Date | Game | Away Pitcher | Sit / Start | Home Pitcher | Sit / Start |
4/28 | MIN at CLE | Happ | Sit-1 | Allen | Sit-2 |
4/28 | MIA at MIL | Alcantara | Start-9 | Anderson | Sit-1 |
4/28 | CIN at LAD | Gray | Maybe-5 | Kershaw | Start-7 |
4/28 | KCR at PIT | Minor | Sit-1 | Keller | Sit-1 |
4/28 | BOS at NYM | Pivetta | Sit-1 | deGrom | Start-9 |
4/28 | NYY at BAL | Montgomery | Sit-3 | Lopez | Sit-2 |
4/28 | WSN at TOR | Fedde | Sit-3 | Matz | Maybe-6 |
4/28 | OAK at TBR | Irvin | Sit-2 | Glasnow | Start-8 |
4/28 | CHC at ATL | Hendricks | Sit-3 | Ynoa | Maybe-5 |
4/28 | PHI at STL | Moore | Sit-1 | Oviedo | Sit-2 |
4/28 | LAA at TEX | Cobb | Start-7 | Dunning | Maybe-6 |
4/28 | SEA at HOU | Dunn | Sit-1 | Greinke | Start-7 |
4/28 | DET at CHW | Mize | Sit-2 | Lynn | Start-10 |
4/28 | SDP at ARI | Weathers | Sit-2 | Widener | Sit-2 |
4/28 | COL at SFG | Marquez | Maybe-6 | Wood | Maybe-5 |
Thursday – 4/29 | |||||
Date | Game | Away Pitcher | Sit / Start | Home Pitcher | Sit / Start |
4/29 | NYY at BAL | Cole | Start-10 | Means | Maybe-6 |
4/29 | OAK at TBR | Bassitt | Sit-2 | Yarbrough | Sit-3 |
4/29 | PHI at STL | Nola | Start-9 | Hyun Kim | Sit-1 |
4/29 | SEA at HOU | Kikuchi | Maybe-4 | Odorizzi | Sit-2 |
4/29 | CHC at ATL | Alzolay | Sit-2 | Smyly | Maybe-4 |
4/29 | LAD at MIL | Bauer | Start-9 | Peralta | Start-7 |
4/29 | BOS at TEX | Perez | Sit-1 | Gibson | Maybe-4 |
4/29 | DET at CHW | Boyd | Sit-3 | Cease | Maybe-4 |
4/29 | COL at ARI | Senzatela | Sit-1 | Weaver | Maybe-4 |
Friday – 4/30 | |||||
Date | Game | Away Pitcher | Sit / Start | Home Pitcher | Sit / Start |
4/30 | STL at PIT | Gant | Sit-2 | Brubaker | Sit-3 |
4/30 | NYM at PHI | Lucchesi | Sit-2 | Anderson | Sit-1 |
4/30 | DET at NYY | Fulmer | Maybe-5 | Taillon | Maybe-5 |
4/30 | MIA at WSN | Lopez | Start-8 | Lester | Sit-1 |
4/30 | ATL at TOR | Fried | Sit-3 | Ray | Sit-1 |
4/30 | HOU at TBR | McCullers | Maybe-6 | Fleming | Sit-1 |
4/30 | CHC at CIN | Arrieta | Sit-1 | Miley | Maybe-4 |
4/30 | BOS at TEX | Eovaldi | Start-9 | Arihara | Maybe-4 |
4/30 | CLE at CHW | Bieber | Start-9 | Keuchel | Sit-3 |
4/30 | KCR at MIN | Singer | Maybe-5 | Pineda | Maybe-5 |
4/30 | LAD at MIL | May | Start-8 | Woodruff | Start-8 |
4/30 | BAL at OAK | Harvey | Sit-2 | Luzardo | Maybe-4 |
4/30 | COL at ARI | Gray | Maybe-4 | Bumgarner | Sit-1 |
4/30 | LAA at SEA | Heaney | Start-7 | Flexen | Maybe-4 |
4/30 | SFG at SDP | Gausman | Maybe-4 | Darvish | Start-9 |
Saturday – 5/1 | |||||
Date | Game | Away Pitcher | Sit / Start | Home Pitcher | Sit / Start |
5/1 | MIA at WSN | Rogers | Start-8 | Ross | Sit-1 |
5/1 | DET at NYY | Turnbull | Sit-2 | Kluber | Sit-2 |
5/1 | KCR at MIN | Duffy | Maybe-5 | Shoemaker | Sit-1 |
5/1 | CLE at CHW | McKenzie | Sit-3 | Giolito | Start-8 |
5/1 | BAL at OAK | Zimmermann | Sit-1 | Manaea | Start-7 |
5/1 | HOU at TBR | Urquidy | Maybe-4 | Hill | Sit-1 |
5/1 | CHC at CIN | Davies | Sit-1 | Castillo | Maybe-6 |
5/1 | NYM at PHI | Stroman | Start-7 | Wheeler | Start-7 |
5/1 | STL at PIT | Flaherty | Start-8 | Cahill | Maybe-4 |
5/1 | BOS at TEX | Rodriguez | Start-7 | Lyles | Sit-1 |
5/1 | ATL at TOR | Morton | Start-8 | Ryu | Start-8 |
5/1 | LAD at MIL | Urias | Start-8 | Burnes | Start-8 |
5/1 | COL at ARI | Gomber | Sit-1 | Gallen | Start-8 |
5/1 | SFG at SDP | Webb | Sit-2 | Snell | Start-8 |
5/1 | LAA at SEA | Canning | Maybe-4 | Margevicius | Sit-1 |
Sunday – 5/2 | |||||
Date | Game | Away Pitcher | Sit / Start | Home Pitcher | Sit / Start |
5/2 | DET at NYY | Urena | Sit-2 | German | Sit-1 |
5/2 | STL at PIT | Wainwright | Maybe-4 | Kuhl | Sit-1 |
5/2 | MIA at WSN | Castano | Sit-1 | Corbin | Sit-1 |
5/2 | ATL at TOR | Anderson | Start-8 | Stripling | Sit-1 |
5/2 | CHC at CIN | Williams | Sit-2 | Mahle | Start-8 |
5/2 | HOU at TBR | Javier | Maybe-6 | Wacha | Sit-1 |
5/2 | KCR at MIN | Keller | Sit-1 | Berrios | Start-9 |
5/2 | LAD at MIL | Buehler | Start-8 | Houser | Sit-1 |
5/2 | CLE at CHW | Plesac | Maybe-4 | Rodon | Start-7 |
5/2 | BOS at TEX | Richards | Sit-1 | Foltynewicz | Sit-1 |
5/2 | BAL at OAK | Kremer | Sit-2 | Montas | Maybe-5 |
5/2 | LAA at SEA | Bundy | Start-8 | Sheffield | Sit-1 |
5/2 | COL at ARI | Chi Gonzalez | Sit-1 | Kelly | Sit-1 |
5/2 | SFG at SDP | DeSclafani | Maybe-5 | Musgrove | Start-10 |
5/2 | NYM at PHI | Walker | Maybe-5 | Eflin | Maybe-6 |
Love this feature but could you guys please include first and last name? Thanks!
Why the pessimism on Weathers? He’s looked great in his 2 starts vs. the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks aren’t necessarily a formidable opponent? Also a high likelihood of a W.
I have to know your thoughts on why Bumgarner is a Sit-1.
He is looking slightly better than last year, but he also had a 6.48 ERA last year. The current ERA is right in that range, and even though I think it will get a little better, you can’t count on Bumgarner to give you a solid outing against any team. His ground ball rate is abysmal, and he is giving up hard contact. He is very susceptible to the long ball. Also, the 3.16 BB/9 isn’t encouraging.
Thanks for responding- I hope you’re right. I was originally thinking that a pitcher that has pitched well (at least as reflected in his statline) for two starts in a row, meeting the Rockies on the road, might be a juicy streaming opportunity. I might pass on that now.