No Doubt
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Justin Verlander | HOU | @CIN | @NYY |
| Clayton Kershaw | LAD | SF | COL |
| Jose Berrios | MIN | BOS | @KC |
| Jacob deGrom | NYM | @ATL | @CHC |
In the last 15 months, Justin Verlander has married Kate Upton, had a baby girl, and is leading the player rater among pitchers. It’s been a good stretch for Verly. While he likely doesn’t maintain the current sub 2.50 ERA and sub 0.75 WHIP with a .171 BABIP and 92.1% LOB rate, I doubt anyone will complain about a high 2s to low 3s ERA with a 30% K rate for one of the best teams in the league. I don’t really know what else to tell you about this group, so, here’s a Kate Upton gif.
Pretty…Pretty Good
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Luis Castillo | CIN | HOU | @MIL |
| Mike Soroka | ATL | NYM | @WSH |
| Brandon Woodruff | MIL | @SD | CIN |
| Jack Flaherty | STL | MIA | LAA |
| Patrick Corbin | WSH | PHI | ATL |
Luis Castillo and Mike Soroka should really be in their own tier and I considered putting them in the No Doubt tier, but Castillo wtih 2 bad match-ups and Soroka going to Washington keeps them down one tier. After getting touched up by the Pirates, Brandon Woodruff has back to back quality starts with a combined 16 Ks. Woodruff’s velocity is up each month of the season and it’s good to see he’s not tiring yet as we get ready for summer ball. Flaherty and Corbin get one more shot before being demoted to a lower tier, but I have to believe the talent will win out.
Start Em If You Got Em
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Kenta Maeda | LAD | SF | COL |
| Yonny Chirinos | TB | @NYY | @OAK |
| Cole Hamels | CHC | CWS | NYM |
| Mike Clevinger | CLE | @TEX | DET |
| Lance Lynn | TEX | CLE | CWS |
| Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | TB | HOU |
Mike Clevinger may welcome a return to the mound with the off the field issues around him. He gets 2 plus match-ups in his return from the IL. It’s always a little risky starting a pitcher coming back from injury, but rehab news was positive with 5.1 IP of shutout ball in his last outing hitting mid 90s with the fastball. A good showing this week will continue Clevinger’s rise to become a legitimate ace.
Serviceable
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Zach Plesac | CLE | @TEX | DET |
| Zack Wheeler | NYM | @ATL | @CHC |
| Zach Eflin | PHI | @WSH | MIA |
| Miles Mikolas | STL | MIA | LAA |
| Mike Fiers | OAK | BAL | TB |
| Merrill Kelly | ARZ | COL | SF |
| Michael Pineda | MIN | BOS | @KC |
Zach Plesac got touched up for the first time, but I’m still bullish on the young righty. Plesac mixes a mid 90s fastball with a nice change up. The slider and curve are decent pitches, but still works in progress. However, he has a calm demeanor on the mound and consistently gets ahead of batters with a 61.3% first strike rate, which would be top 40 if he qualified.
Do You Feel Lucky Punk?
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Marcus Stroman | TOR | LAA | @BOS |
| Wade Miley | HOU | @CIN | @NYY |
| Danny Duffy | KC | @SEA | MIN |
| Tyler Skaggs | LAA | @TOR | @STL |
| Rick Porcello | BOS | @MIN | TOR |
We’ve been waiting for Tyler Skaggs to put it together, and it feels like we’ll always be waiting. This season is a microcosm of his whole career with glimpses of greatness followed by the fantasy baseball equivalent of being kicked in the nuts. St. Louis and Toronto are both bottom 6 offenses so far in June and bottom third against lefties for the season. I’m feeling lucky and willing to give him a chance.
Brown Paper Bag
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Felix Pena | LAA | @TOR | @STL |
| Jake Arrieta | PHI | @WSH | MIA |
| Adrian Sampson | TEX | CLE | CWS |
| Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | HOU | @MIL |
| Ryan Yarbrough | TB | @NYY | @OAK |
| Mitch Keller | PIT | DET | SD |
| Yusei Kikuchi | SEA | KC | BAL |
Mitch Keller is seemingly a polarizing prospect despite having strong rankings across the board. Nobody will be surprised if he doesn’t get both starts as the Pirates continue to play with his service time and try to keep him rookie eligible through 2029. His first 2 looks at the majors this season have no been strong, but I do believe he will be a solid pitcher for years to come. He just may take more of the Jose Berrios learning curve than the Walker Buehler dominance out of the gate.
Free Streamonator Pick of the Week: Yusei Kikuchi. He got it together and put an acceptable outing together against the Twins and gets two bottom 7 offenses.
Eyes Wide Shut
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Homer Bailey | KC | @SEA | MIN |
| Brett Anderson | OAK | BAL | TB |
| Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | @SD | CIN |
| Daniel Norris | DET | @PIT | @CLE |
| Andrew Cashner | BAL | @OAK | @SEA |
| Gabriel Ynoa | BAL | @OAK | @SEA |
The case could be made for Bretty Anderson to move up one grouping as he’s performed admirably this year, but a lack of Ks (12.6%) only has minimal fantasy impact outside of deeper leagues. He does have 5 straight starts without giving up more than 3 earned runs at least if you’re digging deep.
I Immediately Regret This Decision
| Player | Team | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 |
| Shaun Anderson | SF | @LAD | @ARZ |
| Erick Fedde | WSH | PHI | ATL |
| Tyler Beede | SF | @LAD | @ARZ |
| Elieser Hernandez | MIA | @STL | @PHI |
| Antonio Senzatela | COL | @ARZ | @LAD |
| Jordan Yamamoto | MIA | @STL | @PHI |
| Edwin Jackson | TOR | LAA | LAA |
Notes
- The Padres continue to employ a 6 man rotation and/or bullpen days, but Joey Lucchesi would be Serviceable for me if he does get 2 starts.
- Pirates are scheduled for a 4 man rotation this week, so, I ranked Mitch Keller, but there’s a chance he only gets 1 even he if performs well.
- Tigers may also use a 4 man rotation for the week, which would give Daniel Norris 2 starts to fit in as an Eyes Wide Shut starter.
- Last, the Red Sox may use a 4 man rotation this week and put David Price up in the Start Em If You Got Em group.
Projected 2 Start Pitcher Days
| AL EAST | |
| BAL | Monday, Tuesday |
| BOS | Monday |
| NYY | Monday, Tuesday |
| TB | Monday, Tuesday |
| TOR | Monday, Tuesday |
| AL CENTRAL | |
| CWS | X |
| CLE | Monday, Tuesday |
| DET | X |
| KC | Monday, Tuesday |
| MIN | Monday, Tuesday |
| AL WEST | |
| HOU | Monday, Tuesday |
| LAA | Monday, Tuesday |
| OAK | Monday, Tuesday |
| SEA | Monday, Tuesday |
| TEX | Monday, Tuesday |
| NL EAST | |
| ATL | Monday |
| MIA | Monday, Tuesday |
| NYM | Monday, Tuesday |
| PHI | Monday, Tuesday |
| WSH | Monday, Tuesday |
| NL CENTRAL | |
| CHC | Tuesday |
| CIN | Monday, Tuesday |
| MIL | Monday, Tuesday |
| PIT | X |
| STL | Monday, Tuesday |
| NL WEST | |
| ARZ | Tuesday |
| COL | Tuesday |
| LAD | Monday, Tuesday |
| SD | Monday |
| SF | Monday, Tuesday |
