X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Exploiting Early Strength of Schedule for Starting Pitchers

Frank Ammirante dives into the early portion of the 2021 MLB schedule to find advantages among starting pitchers. Some SP should be higher fantasy baseball draft targets based on favorable early matchups.

It's important to have a strong starting rotation for your fantasy teams. If you rely on too many high-upside arms with wide ranges of outcomes, you could be struggling to keep up in pitching categories the rest of the season, especially ERA and WHIP. High-volume pitchers with elite strikeout rates are hard to find in the later rounds or on the waiver wire, so you need to make sure that you secure at least one top-tier pitcher early in your drafts.

The problem is that it can be difficult to determine which pitchers to target. When ranking starting pitchers, we look at track record, peripheral skills, pitch usage, and team context, but one factor is often overlooked: strength of schedule. While it's tough to rely on projected matchups for starting pitchers in August, we can target April as a way of getting ahead of the competition in the early stages of the season.

In this article, we'll focus on every team's schedule in April to help determine which starting pitchers have the best opportunity to start their season off strong after dominating a few weak lineups. We'll use last season's data combined with my own projections to help group each offense into tiers. This research can help act as a tiebreaker if you're deciding between two similar starters and also identify some intriguing streamers. Let's start the season off strong by taking advantage of exploitable matchups.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

2020 Review

While the 60-game season is a much smaller sample, it's important to use this data as a baseline to determine 2021 outlooks for each offense. When targeting an opponent, we need to look at their overall wRC+ along with their RHP/LHP splits. It's also important to examine their K% to see if the matchup has increased upside for strikeouts.

Let's dive into last season's numbers to help project the strongest and weakest offenses for the upcoming season.

Team wRC+ K% vs. RHP wRC+ vs. RHP K% vs. LHP wRC+ vs. LHP
LAD 122 (1st) 20.2% (2nd) 126 (T-1st) 20.7% (4th) 113 (8th)
NYM 121 (2nd) 22.4% (11th) 125 (3rd) 20.8% (T-5th) 114 (7th)
ATL 120 (3rd) 23.6% (14th) 126 (T-1st) 27.8% (29th) 101 (15th)
NYY 116 (4th) 21.4% (7th) 122 (4th) 22.6% (15th) 97 (T-18th)
SD 115 (5th) 20.7% (4th) 119 (5th) 23.2% (16th) 106 (10th)
SF 113 (T-6th) 22.2% (10th) 107 (9th) 21.8% (12th) 127 (3rd)
CHW 113 (T-6th) 26.2% (27th) 105 (T-12th) 21.7% (11th) 142 (1st)
TB 110 (8th) 26.3% (28th) 105 (T-12th) 28.5% (30th) 121 (T-4th)
PHI 109 (T-9th) 21.9% (T-8th) 106 (T-10th) 20.8% (T-5th) 118 (6th)
LAA 109 (T-9th) 20.9% (5th) 112 (6th) 22.0% (14th) 102 (T-13th)
BOS 106 (11th) 23.3% (13th) 108 (T-7th) 24.5% (24th) 102 (T-13th)
TOR 105 (12th) 21.9% (T-8th) 106 (T-10th) 23.7% (18th) 105 (T-11th)
WAS 104 (T-13th) 21.0% (6th) 97 (19th) 18.5% (1st) 121 (T-4th)
BAL 104 (T-13th) 22.8% (12th) 105 (T-12th) 23.3% (17th) 98 (17th)
OAK 102 (15th) 23.7% (15th) 105 (T-12th) 24.2% (23rd) 93 (22nd)
MIN 101 (16th) 25.5% (24th) 108 (T-7th) 21.3% (10th) 81 (24th)
HOU 100 (17th) 19.8% (1st) 102 (16th) 19.7% (2nd) 95 (20th)
MIA 96 (18th) 25.1% (21st) 89 (T-25th) 23.9% (21st) 111 (9th)
STL 93 (19th) 24.3% (19th) 92 (T-21st) 21.2% (9th) 97 (T-18th)
CHC 92 (20th) 25.9% (26th) 98 (18th) 24.9% (T-25th) 74 (T-28th)
KC 91 (T-21st) 24.5% (20th) 91 (23rd) 21.9% (13th) 94 (21st)
CIN 91 (T-21st) 25.6% (25th) 96 (20th) 24.0% (22nd) 78 (T-26th)
SEA 91 (T-21st) 24.0% (17th) 99 (17th) 27.3% (28th) 72 (30th)
MIL 89 (T-24th) 27.2% (29th) 84 (26th) 24.9% (T-25th) 105 (T-11th)
DET 89 (T-24th) 28.2% (30th) 76 (28th) 23.8% (T-19th) 141 (2nd)
ARI 88 (26th) 20.4% (3rd) 92 (T-21st) 21.0% (7th) 78 (T-26th)
CLE 87 (27th) 23.8% (16th) 89 (T-25th) 20.5% (3rd) 84 (23rd)
COL 76 (T-28th) 24.2% (18th) 74 (29th) 23.8% (T-19th) 80 (25th)
TEX 76 (T-28th) 25.3% (22nd) 78 (27th) 26.0% (27th) 74 (T-28th)
PIT 73 (30th) 25.5% (T-23rd) 64 (30th) 21.1% (8th) 99 (16th)

Tier 1: Dodgers, Yankees, Padres

The Yankees were able to finish fourth in wRC+ despite getting only 208 plate appearances combined from sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Tier 2: Braves, Mets, White Sox, Rays, Phillies, Angels, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Nationals, Cardinals, Astros

The Mets ranked second in wRC+ in 2020 and they just added shortstop Francisco Lindor and catcher James McCann to their lineup. They should remain as one of the best lineups in baseball. The Blue Jays have a young and talented lineup with power from 1-9. George Springer should help them take the next step. The Cardinals should be much improved with the addition of third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Astros lost Springer, but the return of Yordan Alvarez will add some much-needed power into their lineup if he can stay healthy this time around.

Tier 3: Brewers, Reds, Athletics, Twins, Cubs, Giants, Orioles, Diamondbacks

The Brewers and Reds each under-produced while the Giants and Orioles performed above expectations relative to the skill in their lineups. Expect bounce-back seasons from Milwaukee's Christian Yelich and Cincinnati's Nick Castellanos. These offenses have potential but they should not be feared.

Tier 4: Mariners, Royals, Marlins, Indians, Rockies, Rangers, Tigers, Pirates

These offenses will be terrific matchups for your pitchers this season. The Indians lost Francisco Lindor, so their offense looks to remain as one of the worst in baseball. The Rockies no longer are the threat they once were, especially after trading Arenado. Obviously, you have to approach Coors Field with caution, but this is not a formidable lineup by any means. The Pirates were awful last year and they just traded one of their best hitters in Josh Bell.

 

April Schedule

Let's now take a look at each team's schedule in April. You'll find the opponent's tier in brackets as well as their mean tier in the second column.

Team Mean Tier Rank
CHW 3.56 at LAA (2) at SEA (4) KC (4) CLE (4) at BOS (2) at CLE (4) TEX (4) DET (4) CLE (4)
MIN 3.33 at MIL (3) at DET (4) SEA (4) BOS (2) at LAA (2) at OAK (3) PIT (4) at CLE (4) KC (4)
HOU* 3.11 at OAK (3) at LAA (2) OAK (3) DET (4) at SEA (4) at COL (4) LAA (2) SEA (4) at TB (2)
KC 3.00 TEX (4) at CLE (4) at CHW (2) LAA (2) TOR (2) TB (2) at DET (4) at PIT (4) at MIN (3)
DET 3.00 CLE (4) MIN (3) at CLE (4) at HOU (2) at OAK (3) PIT (4) KC (4) at CHW (2) at NYY (1)
LAA 3.00 CHW (2) HOU (2) at TOR (2) at KC (4) MIN (3) TEX (4) at HOU (2) at TEX (4) at SEA (4)
SF 3.00 at SEA (4) at SD (1) COL (4) CIN (3) at MIA (4) at PHI (2) MIA (4) COL (4) at SD (1)
HOU 3.11 at OAK (3) at LAA (2) OAK (3) DET (4) at SEA (4) at COL (4) LAA (2) SEA (4) at TB (2)
LAA 3.00 CHW (2) HOU (2) at TOR (2) at KC (4) MIN (3) TEX (4) at HOU (2) at TEX (4) at SEA (4)
CHC 2.89 PIT (4) MIL (3) at PIT (4) at MIL (3) ATL (2) NYM (2) MIL (3) at ATL (2) at CIN (3)
PIT 2.89 at CHC (3) at CIN (3) CHC (3) SD (1) at MIL (3) at DET (4) at MIN (3) KC (4) STL (2)
LAD 2.89 at COL (4) at OAK (3) WAS (2) COL (4) at SD (1) at SEA (4) SD (1) CIN (3) at MIL (3)
CLE 2.78 at DET (4) KC (4) DET (4) at CHW (2) at CIN (3) CHW (2) NYY (1) MIN (3) at CHW (2)
BOS 2.78 BAL (3) TB (2) at BAL (3) at MIN (3) CHW (2) TOR (2) SEA (4) at NYM (2) at TEX (4)
CIN 2.78 STL (2) PIT (4) at ARI (3) at SF (3) CLE (4) ARI (3) at STL (2) at LAD (1) CHC (3)
STL 2.78 at CIN (3) at MIA (4) MIL (3) WAS (2) at PHI (2) at WAS (2) CIN (3) PHI (2) at PIT (4)
SD 2.78 ARI (3) SF (3) at TEX (4) at PIT (4) LAD (1) MIL (3) at LAD (1) at ARI (3) SF (3)
MIL 2.67 MIN (3) at CHC (3) at STL (2) CHC (3) PIT (4) at SD (1) at CHC (3) MIA (4) LAD (1)
NYY 2.67 TOR (2) BAL (3) at TB (2) at TOR (2) TB (2) ATL (2) at CLE (4) at BAL (3) DET (4)
BAL 2.67 at BOS (2) at NYY (1) BOS (2) SEA (4) at TEX (4) at MIA (4) OAK (3) NYY (1) at OAK (3)
TB 2.56 at MIA (4) at BOS (2) NYY (1) TEX (4) at NYY (1) at KC (4) TOR (2) OAK (3) HOU (2)
OAK 2.56 HOU (2) LAD (1) at HOU (2) at ARI (3) DET (4) MIN (3) at BAL (3) at TB (2) BAL (3)
NYM 2.56 at WAS (2) at PHI (2) MIA (4) PHI (2) at COL (4) at CHC (3) WAS (2) BOS (2) at PHI (2)
ATL 2.44 at PHI (2) at WAS (2) PHI (2) MIA (4) at CHC (3) at NYY (1) ARI (3) CHC (3) at TOR (2)
MIA 2.44 TB (2) STL (2) at NYM (2) at ATL (2) SF (3) BAL (3) at SF (3) at MIL (3) at WAS (2)
PHI 2.33 ATL (2) NYM (2) at ATL (2) at NYM (2) STL (2) SF (3) at COL (4) at STL (2) NYM (2)
TEX 2.22 at KC (4) TOR (2) SD (1) at TB (2) BAL (3) at LAA (2) at CHW (2) LAA (2) BOS (2)
SEA 2.22 SF (3) CHW (2) at MIN (3) at BAL (3) HOU (2) LAD (1) at BOS (2) at HOU (2) LAA (2)
TOR 2.22 at NYY (1) at TEX (4) LAA (2) NYY (1) at KC (4) at BOS (2) at TB (2) WAS (2) ATL (2)
WAS 2.22 NYM (2) ATL (2) at LAD (1) at STL (2) ARI (3) STL (2) at NYM (2) at TOR (2) MIA (4)
COL 2.22 LAD (1) ARI (3) at SF (3) at LAD (1) NYM (2) HOU (2) PHI (2) at SF (3) at ARI (3)

*The Rockies have a bottom-tier offense, but they're much better at Coors, so keep that in mind when looking at these matchups.

 

Observations

The White Sox have a fantastic schedule to open up the season, facing Cleveland (three times), Rangers, Tigers, Mariners, and Royals. This means that you should bump up Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn in your rankings while also considering Dallas Keuchel and Dylan Cease as back-end starters or streamers.

The Twins also have a flurry of exploitable matchups, including Cleveland, Pirates, Tigers, Royals, and Mariners. You should definitely target Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios while monitoring Michael Pineda, Randy Dobnak, and J.A. Happ as streamers.

The Blue Jays will have to deal with the Yankees (twice), along with the Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Nationals, and Braves. I would bump down Hyun-Jin Ryu in your rankings, especially due to his lower strikeout rate. However, you could stream one of their pitchers in exploitable matchups against the Rangers and Royals.

Any NL West team besides the Dodgers and Padres is going to have a tough time dealing with these two juggernauts as well as Coors Field. The Rockies are in the worst spot and you should continue to take each of their starters off your draft boards.

 

Key Takeaways

Use this chart to help you draft late-round streamers that will let you start your season strong. The Royals get to face the Rangers and Cleveland in the first two series, so pitchers like Brad Keller and Brady Singer should be on your radar. The Tigers take on Cleveland twice, so you could look at one of their young arms like Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, or Matt Manning in the later rounds as potential streamers.

Overall, it's a great idea to target AL Central pitchers this season, especially elite arms like Lucas Giolito and Kenta Maeda. While you shouldn't downgrade pitchers with tough early-season schedules too much, it's definitely in play as a tiebreaker. Strength of schedule is too often overlooked in fantasy baseball.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Seiya Suzuki41 mins ago

Hits Home Run No. 2 On Tuesday
Brent Rooker55 mins ago

Goes Deep In Tuesday's Loss
Shea Langeliers1 hour ago

Launches Second Long Ball Of The Season
Casey Mize1 hour ago

Allows One Hit In Season Debut
Heliot Ramos1 hour ago

Goes Deep On Tuesday
Logan Webb2 hours ago

Tosses Seven Innings Of One-Run Ball
Eugenio Suárez8 hours ago

Eugenio Suarez Hits Go-Ahead Grand Slam Tuesday
A.J. Puk8 hours ago

Earns First Save Of Season Tuesday
Michael King8 hours ago

Fans 11 In Five Shutout Innings Tuesday
Christian Yelich8 hours ago

Hits First Homer Of Season, Steals Base Tuesday
Anthony Bender9 hours ago

Earns First Save Of Season Tuesday
Robert Hassell III9 hours ago

Has Three-Hit Day At Triple-A
Thomas Harrington9 hours ago

Hit Hard In MLB Debut Tuesday
Gunnar Henderson9 hours ago

Hits Solo Homer In Triple-A Rehab Game Tuesday
Marcelo Mayer9 hours ago

Hits First Home Run At Triple-A
Zebby Matthews9 hours ago

Twirls Five Shutout Innings At Triple-A
Hurston Waldrep10 hours ago

Fans Seven In Win At Triple-A
Angel Genao10 hours ago

Dealing With Shoulder Injury
Clarke Schmidt10 hours ago

To Return April 15 Or 16
Shane Baz11 hours ago

Strikes Out 10
Mike Tauchman11 hours ago

Begins Rehab Assignment
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP
10
9
11
10
12
19
13
22
14
24
15
25
16
33
17
39
18
40
19
41

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
1
1
2
3
3
7
4
11
6
14
7
15
8
18
9
19
10
20

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Calvin Ridley - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Picks, Draft Sleepers

Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings: Overvalued, Undervalued Players (2025)

Dynasty fantasy football rankings constantly shift, especially as we inch closer to the new season and fantasy drafts. Dynasty managers know the importance of finding those underrated players who could be steals in drafts or trades. They also know some players are overhyped due to unsustainable trends or past production. I'll break down two overvalued […]


Justin Fields - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Best Fantasy Football Moves During 2025 NFL Free Agency

It has been a wild offseason so far in the NFL. Plenty of players have switched teams in free agency, and some stars were even traded. Deebo Samuel Sr. was dealt to the Washington Commanders, Geno Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, and DK Metcalf has a new home with the Pittsburgh Steelers. These […]


Tyreek Hill - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Three Aging Fantasy Football Players To Sell In Dynasty Leagues

It's hard to always know when to sell off your aging fantasy football players. Often, it's also difficult to accept that it's better to move on from a player when he's coming off a productive season and still has a lot left in the tank. But I believe it's better to be a year early […]


J.J. McCarthy - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Draft Sleepers

Five Fantasy Football Superflex Quarterback Breakouts, Draft Targets (2025)

If you’ve ever played in a Superflex fantasy football league, then you know how important quarterbacks are in this format. The ability to start multiple stud quarterbacks can carry you to a Superflex title. Unfortunately, finding two such players isn’t so easy. All the top signal-callers come off draft boards first, and that makes it […]


Omarion Hampton - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks - NFL Draft

Ideal Landing Spots For The Top 12 Fantasy Football Rookies - 2025 NFL Draft

Then, the NFL Draft continues to inch closer and closer. This is a very interesting class, with a handful of players who could be stars in the NFL and reshape fantasy football leagues going forward. Here are the ideal landing spots for the top 12 fantasy football rookies. These picks exist in conversation with each […]


Jalen Coker - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Eight Best Ball Late Round Value Fantasy Football Players To Target For 2025

Fantasy football is the most popular game in all of sports. It has gone from a paper-and-pen game to a multi-million dollar-a-year one. While redraft leagues are the most popular form of fantasy football, best ball leagues are quickly gaining steam. The best part of best ball leagues is the ability to draft thousands of […]


Abdul Carter - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2025 NFL Draft Rankings: Top 10 Fantasy Football Edge Rusher Prospects

Edge rusher is the most important, most coveted, and most highly-paid position on defense in the NFL. It stands to reason that the most important position in the entire game being quarterback, and by a wide margin, means the most important position on defense are the players that are tasked with disrupting opposing QBs as […]


Brock Purdy - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Picks

Brock Purdy Dynasty Fantasy Football Outlook and Trade Value

Despite becoming the all-time leading passer for the Iowa State Cyclones, Brock Purdy wasn't a highly touted prospect due to his perceived lack of athleticism. The 49ers picked him with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, but Mr. Irrelevant quickly proved everyone wrong. In his first two years, he started in back-to-back NFC […]


Michael Florio's Football Show - Podcast RotoBaller Network

Florio's Football Show: Scouting NFL Draft Prospects!

Michael F Florio goes over some of the top prospects from this years NFL Draft. Florio talks about what he looks for when watching prospect tape and explains what traits translate best to the NFL level. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (SiriusXM channel 87) on Sundays from 6-7 am. You can […]


Najee Harris - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Dynasty Fantasy Football Buy or Sell: Najee Harris, Rico Dowdle, Jordan Mason

One year ago, we discussed the futures of Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Aaron Jones as those free agents found new homes. This year's headliners are Najee Harris, Rico Dowdle, and Jordan Mason. Not quite the same. Still, with every transaction come implications for dynasty fantasy football rosters across the globe. Below, we […]


Romeo Doubs - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Early 2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Undervalued NFC Draft Targets

While the 2025 fantasy football redraft season is still several months away, there is no such thing as being too prepared for your fantasy draft. Fantasy football is year-round, even for those who only play in redraft leagues. The landscape of fantasy football will change between today and the start of redraft season, with the […]


Detroit Lions Defense, Aidan Hutchinson - Fantasy Football DST Rankings, Streamers, IDP Sleepers

2025 Fantasy Football IDP Sleepers: Five Draft Targets

It's notably difficult to identify sleepers in fantasy football IDP leagues. The skill of the players in question is very important, but situation also plays a large factor, as does a recent history of injuries. Rather than bucketing them into groups, it's better to analyze each one individually, look at where they are in terms […]


Ashton Jeanty - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

Ashton Jeanty's Top Potential Landing Spots For 2025: Fantasy Football NFL Draft Outlook

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty will enter the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the best prospects in the class. Jeanty just ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns across 14 games this past college season. Those 2,601 rush yards were the second-most of all-time in FBS history, only behind Barry Sanders's 2,628 rush yards […]