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    Fantasy Baseball: Week 14 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 13:

    • Adam Plutko's sub-par season-long stats are weighed down in large part by one disastrous outing. On May 23rd he was smacked around by the Rays for 12 hits and seven earned runs (on four homers) in just 5.1 innings. That poor outing inflated his season ERA at 4.55 through five starts, but what he's done in the other four is what I'm paying attention to. His ERA in those starts is a very tidy 2.82, and his WHIP is an outstanding 0.85 thanks in large part to his stellar 2.7% walk rate. His SIERA (4.67) is just barely above his ERA and with the exception of a low BABIP there isn't a ton of indication that Plutko is performing above his potential. This week Plutko draws the Royals and Orioles, so in a two-start week he's a terrific streaming option. 
    • If you don't spend time poring over Twitter for gifs of particularly disgusting pitches like some of us, you may not be familiar with Trevor Richards' change-up. It's one of the most deceptive pitches in baseball, and Richards has ridden it to a solid 3.54 ERA through 84 innings in 2019. He's approaching a strikeout per inning after exceeding that benchmark over 126.1 IP last season, and while his walk rate is holding consistent right around 10%. As a member of the Marlins he has just a 3-7 record despite the above average peripheral stats, but I still feel very comfortable trusting him in most matchups, particularly in rotisserie formats. He gets Philadelphia and Washington in a two-start week, and neither middling offense has enough firepower to scare me away from Richards.
    • Nick Pivetta spent the back half of April and most of May in AAA Lehigh Valley after a rough opening to the season, but since returning on May 28th he's produced pretty consistently for Fantasy players. While his most recent start against the Nationals did not go as planned (5.1 IP, 6 ER), the four starts before that were terrific. He produced a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP across those four starts (26.2 IP), and even had the strikeout stuff working, striking out more than a batter per inning. The most impressive part of those four starts was Pivetta's efficiency — he had just four walks in that span, which marks a significant improvement from his inauspicious April. As I mentioned, his most recent start on Thursday night was sub-par, but with a matchup against the Mets this week I have Pivetta penciled in for a bounce-back performance.
    • From mid-April to mid-May, Jose Quintana looked like he was going to have a full-on career renaissance. Following an April 5th eight-run implosion, Quintana rattled off eight great starts in a row, posting a 2.32 ERA with 43 strikeouts across 50.1 innings. Since that hot streak, Quintana has struggled with efficiency, pitching 5.1 innings or fewer in four of five starts. His ERA, which was down to 3.30, is creeping back towards 4.00. Unfortunately with the red-hot Braves on deck for this week, Quintana will be heading to the pine for me, despite his drastically better improvement at home (2.98 ERA) vs. on the road (4.93 ERA).

    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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