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    Fantasy Baseball: Week 11 pitcher Start 'Em & Sit 'Em

    Fantasy baseball expert William Dubiel previews every starting pitching matchups for the upcoming week, with start and sit calls for every game.
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    Unless you've got a roster stacked with high-end pitchers you'll start against any matchup, you'll probably need to keep a close eye on the schedule as you get ready to set your lineup for the upcoming week. You'll need to know which of your starters have bad matchups, which are set for two starts in the upcoming week, and which fringe-y options might just be worth going out to grab on waivers. 

    Which is why you'll definitely want to check out SportsLine's weekly pitching Start 'Em & Sit 'Em chart from William Dubiel. A 15-year Fantasy veteran, Dubiel got his start in Fantasy baseball and has done work for Rotoballer, Metro US and multiple other outlets during his career. He was named the No. 4 MLB Ranker for the 2017 MLB season, so if there's anybody who can give you an edge in your Fantasy baseball league, it's him.

    Now, he's helping you set your pitching lineup each week. William goes through every starting pitcher matchup for the upcoming week, making start and sit picks for each game. Here are some of William's calls for Week 11:

    • It's no secret the Baltimore Orioles are yielding homers at a historic pace, and thanks to those team-wide toils it's been a pretty safe bet to avoid their pitching staff altogether. After an inauspicious April, however, Dylan Bundy has righted the ship in May and has risen from the ashes of the Baltimore pitching staff to emerge as a viable Fantasy starter once again. Over his last five starts, Bundy has posted a 2.64 ERA with just four homers allowed across 30.2 innings pitched. That's still not a good mark, but it's miles better than his April number (nine homers in 24.2 IP). "Stuff" has never been Bundy's problem — he's always had a quality slider to back up his fastball, and a change-up and curveball that seem to come and go depending on the start. His fastball velocity is inconsistent, and the average velocity has oddly been trending down every season for the 26-year-old. Despite that, he's currently posting the best swinging strike percentage of his career (13.3%), and he's had a couple starts this season in which he's looked legitimately dominant. Bundy is a start for me against the Rangers on Monday, and I actually have him as a start on the road against Houston this week as well, facing a lineup that is far less intimidating without Jose Altuve, George Springer and Carlos Correa in it. 
    • There are plenty of think pieces out there that examine why Trevor Bauer became a ghost of his former self once the calendar flipped to May. The change is drastic — in April he posted a 2.66 ERA, and in May he nearly triple that (6.52). A pretty significant factor you can point to is his startling walk rate — Bauer's rate has risen to 11.3% from last year's 8.0% mark. Bauer's stuff certainly hasn't gone anywhere, as he's still striking out batters at a 27.5% clip, one of the better marks in baseball. His fastball velocity hasn't dropped a bit, and he's still using his vicious slider to achieve an 11.3 swinging strike percentage. I'm running from him this week in a matchup against the mighty Minnesota Twins--who currently have more homers than anyone in the majors — with Bauer giving them up more than 2.5 times as often this year as last year (1.17 per 9IP up from 0.46).  
    • I've previously opined about the un-startability (don't go to Merriam-Webster for that one) of Mike Foltynewicz, but it appears as though he's officially turned a corner. Over his last two starts, Foltynewicz is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA across 12 innings. He struck out ten in those two starts and, more importantly, walked zero. He'd struggled severely up until this point, so his season-long numbers are still pretty ghastly, but his most recent outing against the Cardinals was very reminiscent of the ace he became in 2018 — seven strikeouts over six innings of shutout ball. Foltynewicz should mow down the anemic Pirates offense this week, so the buy-low window is closing fast.
    • The early-season issues with Cardinals rookie Dakota Hudson were obvious; he gave up far too many homers and walked enough guys to never make it deep into games. The 24-year-old righty has quietly resolved the home run issue, allowing just one since April 27th. He's also working efficiently enough to go deeper into ballgames, and not in an innings-eating kind of way — Hudson has thrown quality starts in five of his last six appearances. With two or fewer earned runs allowed in each of his last three starts, Hudson has whittled away his ERA to an impressive (for a rookie) 3.96. And, while his 4.81 SIERA indicates some potential regression, I don't think it's coming quick as long as he keeps the ball in the yard. This week he matches up against the ice-cold Anthony DeSclafani and the 21st-ranked Cincinnati Reds offense, and I fully expect him to keep up this hot streak. 

    So, how will you know which other pitchers to start and which to avoid? ... Join SportsLine right now to get access to the tools and date that can help you make the right decision!

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    William Dubiel

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