August is upon us! The penultimate full month of the MLB season has arrived. Is your fantasy team like the Orioles, shocking the league and destroying everyone’s expectations? Is it like the A’s or Royals, just a few futile games– maybe less than a full week!– away from locking in that losing season with their 82nd loss?
Either way, you know what you have at this point. If your league allows trades at all, the trade deadline is probably just a couple weeks away– if you have a playoff structure, it may have already passed. While I’m not writing a player acquisition column, you should still be able to use my humble scribblings to scour your waiver wire. No, no one from The Top Shelf is just going to be sitting there, unless your league is at least half-dead at this point. But there are always gems in The Well. You just have to know where to dig.
This week’s Point of Reference is Spencer Strider, who finds himself about halfway down The Top Shelf, between Framer Valdez and Jack Flaherty, with his one start against the Angels this week. The point of pointing this out is that it means anyone in the table above Strider is indeed a better play than any 1-start pitcher this week.
So, 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 12:20pm 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler Glasnow, TB | @NYY(MO) | @DET(SU) |
| Corbin Burnes, MIL | @WSH(MO) | PIT(SA) |
| George Kirby, SEA | BOS(MO) | @LAA(SA) |
| Pablo Lopez, MIN | @STL(TU) | ARI(SU) |
| Freddy Peralta, MIL | @WSH(TU) | PIT(SU) |
| Carlos Rodon, NYY | TB(TU) | HOU(SU) |
| Alex Cobb, SF | ARI(MO) | @OAK(SU) |
| Zac Gallen, ARI | @SF(TU) | @MIN (SU) |
| Jack Flaherty, STL | MIN(TU) | COL(SU) |
| Spencer Strider, ATL | LAA(TU) | Point of Reference |
| Framber Valdez, HOU | CLE(TU) | @NYY(SU) |
| Charlie Morton, ATL | LAA(MO) | @CHC(SU) |
| Sandy Alcantara, MIA | PHI(TU) | @TEX(SU) |
| Andrew Abbott, CIN | @CHC(MO) | WSH(SA) |
| Julio Urias, LAD | OAK(TU) | @SD(SU) |
| Jon Gray, TEX | CHW(TU) | MIA(SU) |
Notes
- Milwaukee’s top two get to feast on the losing-record-holding Nats and Bucs this week, so both Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes are excellent plays (not that you needed me to tell you that).
- I think this is one of the highest spots Alex Cobb has enjoyed this year… the home matchup against the one-game-back D’backs is a crucial series for the Giants, so Cobb will enjoy the relative vacation he’ll experience heading across the Bay to the cavernous Coliseum to play the A’s.
The Well
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Bryce Miller, SEA | BOS(TU) | @LAA(SU) |
| Griffin Canning, LAA | @ATL(MO) | SEA(SU) |
| Edward Cabrera, MIA | PHI(MO) | @TEX(SA) |
| Taijuan Walker, PHI | @MIA(MO) | KC(SA) |
| Justin Steele, CHC | CIN(TU) | ATL(SU) |
| Domingo German, NYY | TB(MO) | HOU(SA) |
| Ranger Suarez, PHI | @MIA(TU) | KC(SU) |
| Brayan Bello, BOS | @SEA(MO) | TOR(SA) |
| Chris Bassitt, TOR | BAL(MO) | @BOS(SU) |
| Kyle Bradish, BAL | @TOR(TU) | NYM(SU) |
Notes
- A lot of dart throws here this week. Normally in a situation like this, I’d suggest leaning toward the home-and-home starters, but both Justin Steele and Domingo German have a very rough pair of opponents this week. Caveat emptor, as per usual.
The Bar Mat
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Marcus Stroman, CHC | CIN(MO) | ATL(SA) |
| Seth Lugo, SD | @COL(MO) | LAD(SU) |
| J.P. France, HOU | CLE(MO) | @NYY(SA) |
| Kyle Gibson, BAL | @TOR(MO) | NYM(SA) |
| Ben Lively, CIN | @CHC(TU) | WSH(SU) |
| Jose Quintana, NYM | @KC(TU) | @BAL(SU) |
| Jake Irvin, WSH | MIL(MO) | @CIN(SU) |
| Zack Greinke, KC | NYM(TU) | @PHI (SU) |
| Ryne Nelson, ARI | @SF(MO) | @MIN (SA) |
| Noah Syndergaard, CLE | @HOU(MO) | CHW(SU) |
| Osvaldo Bido, PIT | DET(TU) | @MIL(SU) |
| Tanner Banks, CHW | @TEX(TU) | @CLE(SU) |
| Austin Gomber, COL | SD(MO) | @STL(SU) |
Notes
- Austin Gomber, come on down! I need to go back at some point after the season and see how many times the very last pitcher in The Bar Mat was a Rox hurler. I’m guessing >50%.
