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Please see our player page for Dustin May to see projections for today, the next 7 days and rest of season as well as stats and gamelogs designed with the fantasy baseball player in mind.

Wow, has it already been a week since the first installment of the 2024 Top Keepers was unveiled? Time flies when the baseball playoffs are in full swing.

Last week I looked at the top relievers to keep (2024 Top Keepers – Relievers). This week the focus is on starting pitchers.

Like relievers, starting pitchers can be a little inconsistent from year to year, making it tough to nail down the top keepers. I went pretty deep this year with a list of 85, allowing for a nice mix of veteran pitchers and young up-and-comers.

That said, I’m sure I missed some pitchers you probably like more and listed players higher than you think they deserve to be.

However, I like the list I have put together and I hope you find it useful as you build your fantasy staff.

Now let’s get on with the rankings!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

“The guys we have in here, in this clubhouse. These guys are home. This locker room for the last three months is where I’ve placed my bowl of cocktail wieners and beans on top of this wooden bench and dined, while people around me have said, ‘Really? You have to eat in here?’ This locker is where I hang my Mets’ jersey, where, before me, once Hubie Brooks hung his Mets’ jersey, and before him, another guy whose name I’m forgetting. That’s a legacy, and we’re damn proud. Mets is written across our chest, like a stigmata.” That was Justin Verlander as he tried to pretend to not want to be traded, making his best effort on the field — 8 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.47. Verlander is carrying his worst peripherals in fifteen years — 7.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 4.49 xFIP, just hideous stuff for a guy of his caliber, but maybe the inspiration to get off the Mets will be all he needs. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Good day to you, Razzfam! Happy almost All-Star Week! Also, welcome to Strained Oblique Season! *toots weak, off-key party horn* That’s right. We have 3 folks that joined the IL because of that nasty oblique injury (Altuve, Jazz, Royce Lewis). Fear not (or fear…not too much)! The All-Star break is upon us. Some guys get […]

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“Four score and seven ‘And that’s me quoting me’s ago, my Fordfathers said, ‘Stop calling us Fordfathers, you idiot, it’s forefathers!” That was a quote from our most true patriot, Grey, the Fantasy Master Lothario, don’t abbreviate it. Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July, and you still have all ten fingers, and, if you don’t, I hope at least you had nearby an appropriately-sized, half-eaten hot dog to use as a tourniquet. Someone who doesn’t have a working ten fingers is Mike Trout. He looks like Captain America, so somehow it tracks that on the day with the most hand injuries in America, he gets his. Brutal news for sure, but every toilet flush fills up with a dog getting a clean glass of water, and that’s Jo Adell, as he was promoted. Since Trout is likely out six to eight weeks, this gives the Angels ample opportunity to find new ways to not play Adell. I kid. Kinda. I’d grab Adell in most leagues to see if he can finally click. Anyway. here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Happy June, folx! I’m heading into the second stretch of the season with a bit more blurby-type approach, similar to your other favorite writers like The Itch and Chuck Palahniuk. I mentioned this early in the year as well, but I’ll repeat it here for good measure: I’m only responding to comments on the day of publication now. I love y’all, but I need to carve out some time for the people I call “family” instead of “folx.” I talk to Coolwhip and JKJ literally everyday and they have access to my data. If you haven’t said “hey” to them, give them a shout. 

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It’s nearly freaking Memorial Day, folx! I finally relented on No Mow May today and sheered about 8 million dandelions from my backyard. Do you know the meaning of “deadhead”? Other than being one of the greatest Devin Townsend songs. Oh, and that other band with Jerry Garcia. Oh, and the trucker slang. That’s right — the fourth guess did the trick! It’s when you pop the head off a dandelion. I suppose you could do this maliciously while cackling, but I do it with a lawnmower that dates to the 1980s. Have I succeeded in giving you a feeling that my life is ultra-exciting like Grey’s? 

And now, much like Grey, let’s see if we can save your fantasy baseball team as it heads into the 1/3 mark of the season. 

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Think Buck Showalter is old. That’s not bad, in general. Some of my favorite people are old. I’m a Cougar Hunter. I have radar for hard candies. The problem with Showalter is he’s got old thinking. He’s platooning Brett Baty. He thinks Thomas Phamily is still a thing. He’s not following the latest in baseball which is: Play your kids! The Braves have been winning with the formula: Play your kids! for a few years now. So, with that said, the Mets called up their next great hitting prospect, Mark Vientos (1-for-4, 2 RBIs) as he hit his 1st homer. Can Vientos play outfield? Absolutely not. Can Vientos steal at-bats from Baty? Ugh, maybe. Can Vientos run? His speed has been described as “an 80-year-old baby crawling with tennis balls on its knees.” Can Vientos hit bombs? To the freakin’ moon! He kinda reminds me of a young Evan Longoria. Now take everything you’ve thought about Longoria over the last seven years, scrub it from your brain, and think about Longoria as if this is 2016. Your brain in 2016, “Rays should lock this Longoria guy up for another ten years! He’s amazing! Wait! They let Longoria walk? Wow, what a mistake! They just let a perennial 30+ homer, .270 hitter go! Rays will be in last place for the next decade. What a bunch of losers!” So, your 2016 brain is kinda remembering correctly. Your 2016 was also a big dumb brain, but that’s only in hindsight. Longo was good at that point. Mark Vientos can be good too. For what it’s Wuertz, Prospect Itch has been down on Vientos for as long as Vientos has been down on the farm. For this year, do I want Mark Vientos in a redraft league? Absolutely, but back to the Buck shituation. He’s going to play where? DH? Okay, and Vogelbach is being benched indefinitely? By the  guy who is still playing the Phamily? No. That leaves Vientos, the Metsmaker, in a platoon. By the way, regarding the title: It’s because it causes Coke to explode. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH)

Welcome to CES, the biggest electronics trade show in the world! In year’s past, I’ve debuted many different mind-altering products, and that was just the year I showed up with peyote! You might remember our booth from last year where we debuted the first Ay-I. It was AI, but it added a thick Italian accent to all its answers.“What is Death Valley?” “Ay-I suppose it’s-a desert! But it could be anywhere me and my buddies did an impromptu burial-ay-oh!” Then there was the year I debuted my chopsticks that attached to the end of fingers so you could get to the bottom of any snack bag! Pringles, you no longer defeat me! Then there was the year I debuted giant leafs. Now, instead of picking up after your dog, you just camouflage it! All ingenious products, to be sure, but this year we have something that’s only available in minors. Naïveté to believe in Santa? No! Christian Encarnacion-Strand! Maybe I’ll be shocked, like after sticking my finger in this plug, but I think there’s only one big minor league promotion left, bat-wise, and it’s CES. Maybe it will be Elly De La Cruz, but, because of his age, I think Cincy drags their heels with him. Maybe I’m wrong on that. Would love to be! If Cincy wasn’t so good as a park, CES’s insanely low walk rate might bother me. It doesn’t because he’s going to hit for so much power. He could be a top 20 overall power bat when he’s called up. There’s a chance here for a guy who hits 25+ homers in only three-quarters of the season. It might come with a .240 or lower average, but the power is going to be special. I’ve already stashed him in a few leagues, because it feels like it’s only a matter of time, and I know he’s a winner! Like that year I debuted pill compartments, but for clothes! (This seriously is a good idea. Hit me up on my mobile and let’s chat about emerging markets.) Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?