Welcome to Mounds of Decisions, a new daily series where I’ll be dishing out starting pitching advice for owners in leagues that allow daily transactions. Not sure whether to start or bench a certain pitcher? Well, you’ve come to the right place. The format is simple. Each probable starting pitcher will be placed into one of four groups:
-Start in 12-team mixed leagues
-Start in deeper mixed leagues (13-15 teams)
-Start in very deep mixed leagues (16+ teams) and mono leagues
-Do not start in any league
Note that these articles will be posted a day in advance so that you can check your league’s waiver wire to see if any of the recommended plays are available.
Start in 12-team mixed leagues
Max Scherzer (vs. COL)
Corey Kluber (vs. TOR)
Charlie Morton (vs. TEX) – Who said last year was an aberration?
Chris Archer (vs. PHI)
Jake Arrieta (@TB) – He was a little shaky in his season debut but should do a lot better this time around versus a Rays team that ranks in the bottom third of the majors in runs scored, batting average and OPS.
Chase Anderson (@NYM) – Coming off strong outing versus a potent Cubs lineup.
Matt Harvey (vs. MIL) – If you’d rather drop him to the deeper mixed league category, I’m fine with that too.
Jameson Taillon (@MIA) – The long-awaited breakout season is underway.
Garrett Richards (@KC) – Stick with him despite sky-high walk rate.
Jake Junis (vs. LAA) – After tossing 14 scoreless innings to open the season while holding the opposition to a .089 batting average, Junis should be owned in all leagues by now. Strangely enough, he’s still available in more than one-quarter of both ESPN and Yahoo leagues. This is a challenging matchup as the Angels lead the majors in runs scored, but I’ll go for it.
Taijuan Walker (@LAD) – The strikeout rate could use some improvement but I’m a big fan of him this year.
Rich Hill (vs. ARI) – An automatic start when healthy. The problem is that he’s often not healthy.
Start in deeper mixed leagues
Mike Minor (@HOU) – Dangerous matchup but he has the stuff to dominate any lineup when he’s on his game.
Jon Gray (@WAS) – Inconsistent start to the season for this popular breakout pick. The matchup difficulty relegates him to deep-league status for this one.
Miles Mikolas (@CIN) – I haven’t been overly impressed in general, but the 10/0 K/BB ratio is encouraging.
Lance Lynn (vs. CHW) – He got a late start this spring, so think of April as sort of an extended spring training.
Alex Cobb (@BOS) – Not exactly an ideal matchup for his season debut. Could become a reliable 12-team mixed league SP before long though.
Reynaldo Lopez (@MIN) – Could take a giant step forward this season.
Hector Velazquez (vs. BAL)
Derek Holland (@SD) – Ride this hot streak while it lasts.
Start in very deep mixed leagues and mono leagues
Sean Newcomb (@CHC) – Tough matchup but the strikeout upside is tempting.
Do not start in any league
Marco Gonzales (vs. OAK)
Clayton Richard (vs. SF)
Francisco Liriano (vs. NYY)
Kendall Graveman (@SEA)
Cody Reed (vs. STL)
Jaime Garcia (@CLE)
Trevor Richards (vs. PIT)
TBD Starters: Yankees
Thank you for reading
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