Better late than never, right?
Luckily for me it isn’t Patriot’s Day, so there is still time to get this info to y’all. Thanks for understanding, Barflys.
This week’s Low Point of Reference is the Sawx’s James Paxton, who comes in just over the “I’m going to put your name in bold in the Bar Mat” threshold of technically being worth positive value this week. So anyone past him, as usual, you just don’t want to start this week.
On the High side, Kevin Gausman is this week’s best-projected single-starter, not that you’d be considering benching the names above him anyway.
So, why don’t you and I dive right in?
Pitchers’ projected starts for the week are sourced from Rudy Gamble’s Streamonator as of the update at 10:30am Eastern, Monday morning.
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 High Point of Reference is the best 1-start pitcher of the week. The Low Point of Reference is the 1-start pitcher at or nearest to the 72nd-ranked SP of the week.
The Top Shelf
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Gerrit Cole, NYY | DET(TU) | MIL(SU) |
| Logan Webb, SF | @CHC(MO) | COL(SU) |
| Zach Eflin, TB | BOS(TU) | SEA(SU) |
| Jose Berrios, TOR | @OAK(MO) | KC(SU) |
| Corbin Burnes, MIL | @PIT(MO) | @NYY(SU) |
| Merrill Kelly, ARI | COL(MO) | @CHC(SA) |
| Pablo Lopez, MIN | @CLE(MO) | NYM(SU) |
| Clayton Kershaw, LAD | @MIA(TU) | @WSH(SU) |
| Brandon Pfaadt, ARI | COL(TU) | @CHC(SU) |
| Kevin Gausman, TOR | KC(SA) | High Point of Reference |
| Aaron Civale, TB | BOS(MO) | SEA(SA) |
| Reid Detmers, LAA | BAL(TU) | CLE(SU) |
Notes
- I’ll be honest. I had to look up Brandon Pfaadt to see if that name is really real. I’ll also be honest, I’m not 100% sure what Streamonator sees in him this week, other than the cupcake start against the Rockies in Phoenix. But I’ve also learned over the years to trust Streamonator. Always trust.
The Well
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus Luzardo, MIA | LAD(TU) | @PHI (SU) |
| Lucas Giolito, CLE | MIN(MO) | @LAA(SU) |
| Andrew Heaney, TEX | HOU(MO) | OAK(SU) |
| Bryce Miller, SEA | @CIN(TU) | @TB(SU) |
| Bryan Woo, SEA | @CIN(MO) | @TB(SA) |
| Justin Steele, CHC | SF(MO) | ARI(SA) |
| Cole Ragans, KC | CHW(MO) | @TOR(SU) |
| Brayan Bello, BOS | @TB(MO) | BAL(SU) |
| Alex Faedo, DET | @NYY(TU) | CHW(SU) |
Notes
- The Well feels quite a bit more solid this week than some past weeks. At least a few of these guys are regularly Top Shelf pitchers with easier matchups. You should feel good running this group out this week.
The Bar Mat
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Darius Vines, ATL | STL(TU) | PIT(SU) |
| Kyle Hendricks, CHC | SF(TU) | ARI(SU) |
| Miles Mikolas, STL | @ATL(TU) | @CIN(SU) |
| J.P. France, HOU | @TEX(MO) | SD(SU) |
| Kenny Rosenberg, LAA | BAL(MO) | CLE(SA) |
| James Paxton, BOS | @TB(WE) | Low Point of Reference |
| Jesse Scholtens, CHW | @KC(MO) | @DET(SU) |
| Tejay Antone, CIN | SEA(MO) | STL(SU) |
| Ken Waldichuk, OAK | TOR(MO) | @TEX(SU) |
| Rich Hill, SD | PHI(MO) | @HOU(SU) |
| Peter Lambert, COL | @ARI(MO) | @SF(SU) |
| Colin Selby, PIT | MIL(MO) | @ATL(SU) |
Notes
- Congratulations to Peter Lambert, who narrowly avoids being yet another Rockies pitcher at the very bottom of the Bar Mat. Cheers, Peter!
