Welcome, patrons, to the weekly update of the TSDB!
There are fewer slam dunks this week, though the Top Shelf still has a couple gems you might not expect. Flipside: the dirtiest filth of the Bar Mat isn’t quite as plentiful as some weeks either. So take that for what you will, though I never recommend starting anyone down there on the Mat.
So, bar patron, how about? Why don’t you and I dive right in?
Pitchers’ projected starts for the next week are sourced from Rudy Gamble’s Streamonator as of the update at 10:50am Eastern.
The bold pitchers below are the most extreme version of each section. The best of the Top Shelf, the safest of the Well, the worst of the Bar Mat.
The Top Shelf
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Gerrit Cole, NYY | TB(MO) | TOR(SA) |
| Joe Musgrove, SD | @MIA(MO) | WSH(SA) |
| Brandon Woodruff, MIL | LAD(TU) | @CHC(SU) |
| Alek Manoah, TOR | BAL(TU) | @NYY(SU) |
| Luis Castillo, SEA | @LAA(MO) | @OAK(SU) |
| Joe Ryan, MIN | KC(MO) | TEX(SU) |
| Dylan Cease, CHW | HOU(TU) | @CLE(SU) |
Notes
- Luis Castillo with two road starts is probably the most interesting play here. Since the move to Seattle, Castillo has a 1.88 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP, with 3:1 K:BB ratio. Anybody hurling like that who gets a start in Oakland needs to be in your lineup.
The Well
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Julio Urias, LAD | @MIL(MO) | MIA(SU) |
| Nestor Cortes, NYY | TB(TU) | TOR(SU) |
| Sean Manaea, SD | @MIA(TU) | WSH(SU) |
| Spencer Strider, ATL | NYM(MO) | HOU(SA) |
| Jose Quintana, STL | COL(TU) | @ARI(SU) |
| Sandy Alcantara, MIA | SD(MO) | @LAD(SU) |
| Charlie Morton, ATL | NYM(TU) | HOU(SU) |
| Nick Pivetta, BOS | @PIT(TU) | @BAL(SU) |
| Aaron Civale, CLE | DET(MO) | CHW(SU) |
| Jeffrey Springs, TB | @NYY(TU) | KC(SU) |
| Alex Cobb, SF | ARI(MO) | @COL(SA) |
| Jose Urquidy, HOU | @CHW(MO) | @ATL(SU) |
| Freddy Peralta, MIL | LAD(MO) | @CHC(SA) |
| JP Sears, OAK | @TEX(TU) | SEA(SU) |
| Mike Minor, CIN | PHI(MO) | @PIT(SU) |
| Mitch Keller, PIT | BOS(TU) | CIN(SU) |
| Noah Syndergaard, PHI | @CIN(MO) | NYM(SU) |
| Josiah Gray, WSH | CHC(MO) | @SD(SA) |
| Carlos Carrasco, NYM | @ATL(MO) | @PHI(SA) |
| Marcus Stroman, CHC | @WSH(MO) | MIL(SA) |
| Merrill Kelly, ARI | @SF(TU) | STL(SU) |
| Patrick Corbin, WSH | CHC(TU) | @SD(SU) |
Notes
- This is a huge group this week, with 7 upper-tier Well pitchers, with twice that many just a step below.
- The way this works, you can generally expect that everybody in bold here, down to Charlie Morton, could score more than any one-start pitcher this week. (with the possible exception of Shane McClanahan)
The Bar Mat
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Yusei Kikuchi, TOR | BAL(MO) | @NYY(SA) |
| Glenn Otto, TEX | OAK(MO) | @MIN(SA) |
| Kyle Bradish, BAL | @TOR(MO) | BOS(SA) |
| Cole Ragans, TEX | OAK(TU) | @MIN(SU) |
| Taijuan Walker, NYM | @ATL(TU) | @PHI(SU) |
| Justin Steele, CHC | @WSH(TU) | MIL(SU) |
| Madison Bumgarner, ARI | @SF(MO) | STL(SA) |
| James Kaprielian, OAK | @TEX(MO) | SEA(SA) |
| Dean Kremer, BAL | @TOR(TU) | BOS(SU) |
| Kris Bubic, KC | @MIN(MO) | @TB(SA) |
| Johnny Cueto, CHW | HOU(MO) | @CLE(SA) |
| Zack Greinke, KC | @MIN(TU) | @TB(SU) |
| Kyle Freeland, COL | @STL(TU) | SF(SU) |
| Jakob Junis, SF | ARI(TU) | @COL(SU) |
| Drew Hutchison, DET | @CLE(MO) | LAA(SU) |
| Jalen Beeks, TB | @NYY(MO) | KC(SA) |
Notes
- Don’t start these jamokes.
