As we inch nearer and nearer to the end of the fantasy baseball season, there seem to be more and more clunkers down there in the Bar Mat. Lots of potential land mines here, double-dippers with a better chance of hurting your team than helping it. But hey, that’s why I’m here.
We’re deep into the heart of September, and fantasy titles are on the line! 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 11:35am 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Corbin Burnes, MIL | NYM(TU) | @CIN(SU) |
| Dylan Cease, CHW | CLE(TU) | DET(SU) |
| Shane McClanahan, TB | HOU(TU) | TOR(SU) |
| Clayton Kershaw, LAD | ARI(TU) | STL(SU) |
| Luis Castillo, SEA | @OAK(TU) | @KC(SU) |
| Edward Cabrera, MIA | CHC(MO) | WSH(SU) |
| Nestor Cortes, NYY | PIT(TU) | BOS(SU) |
| Charlie Morton, ATL | WSH(TU) | @PHI(SU) |
| Nick Lodolo, CIN | BOS(TU) | MIL(SU) |
| Carlos Rodon, SF | @COL(TU) | @ARI(SU) |
Notes
- Boy, Luis Castillo sure did benefit from a change of scenery out of Cincy, eh? Drafting him in 2021 was one of my biggest recent mistakes, but here he is, killing it with Seattle.
- Welcome back to the Top Shelf, Charlie Morton.
The Well
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Wright, ATL | WSH(MO) | @PHI(SA) |
| Luis Garcia, HOU | @TB(MO) | @BAL(SU) |
| Brayan Bello, BOS | @CIN(TU) | @NYY(SU) |
| Roansy Contreras, PIT | @NYY(TU) | CHC(SU) |
| Logan Gilbert, SEA | @LAA(MO) | @KC(SA) |
| Drew Rasmussen, TB | HOU(MO) | TOR(SA) |
| Merrill Kelly, ARI | @LAD(MO) | SF(SA) |
| Sonny Gray, MIN | @CLE(MO) | LAA(SA) |
| JP Sears, OAK | SEA(TU) | NYM(SU) |
| Ross Stripling, TOR | @PHI(TU) | @TB(SU) |
| Cal Quantrill, CLE | MIN(MO) | @TEX(SA) |
| Tyler Wells, BAL | DET(MO) | HOU(SA) |
Notes
- Fewer “sure thing” safe bets here in The Well than usual, and yeah… that’s an A’s pitcher! I know.
- Partly because the Bar Mat is so full this week, you might need to roll the dice on players from this group a little more than you’re comfortable with. Suck it up, buttercup.
The Bar Mat
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Jose Suarez, LAA | SEA(MO) | @MIN(SU) |
| Austin Voth, BAL | DET(TU) | HOU(SU) |
| Mike Clevinger, SD | STL(TU) | @COL(SU) |
| Adam Wainwright, STL | @SD(TU) | @LAD(SU) |
| Cole Ragans, TEX | LAA(TU) | CLE(SU) |
| Zack Greinke, KC | MIN(TU) | SEA(SU) |
| Dylan Bundy, MIN | @KC(TU) | LAA(SU) |
| Hunter Gaddis, CLE | @CHW(TU) | @TEX(SU) |
| Wade Miley, CHC | @MIA(MO) | @PIT(SA) |
| Trevor Williams, NYM | @MIL(MO) | @OAK(SU) |
| Adrian Sampson, CHC | @MIA(TU) | @PIT(SU) |
| Jakob Junis, SF | @COL(MO) | @ARI(SA) |
| Tyler Alexander, DET | @BAL(MO) | @CHW(SU) |
| Zach Davies, ARI | @LAD(TU) | SF(SU) |
| Matt Bush, MIL | NYM(MO) | @CIN(SA) |
| Cory Abbott, WSH | @ATL(MO) | @MIA(SU) |
| Kyle Freeland, COL | SF(TU) | SD(SU) |
| Chad Kuhl, COL | SF(MO) | SD(SA) |
Notes
- Every time I put Clev in here, I feel a little bad about it.
