RADIO
Opening Day is finally here! Welcome back everyone to our starts/sits column for Week 1. We are back again this year with our weekly starting pitcher matchups and recommendations. In case you missed it, this is our sixth year now writing this weekly column, helping fantasy baseball managers pick the best pitchers weekly.
Below are the projected starting pitching matchups for Week 1, which will be updated as rotations are inevitably announced and tweaked. For head-to-head leagues, Week 1 will run from 3/28 through 4/7 (11 days). This column will continue to be updated with the starters for next week once rotations are fully announced.
If you've got any questions about which pitchers can capitalize on a juicy matchup and which ones might be worth putting on the pine against a fierce offense, this is the weekly piece for you. For every week of the fantasy baseball season, we look to analyze all of the projected starting pitcher matchups and put together our optimal lineups. Here at RotoBaller, we believe that it’s key to analyze every SP matchup, each and every week, to help determine which SPs to start/sit and to hopefully find some hidden gems to bolster your teams. Let's set those optimal lineups!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:- Fantasy baseball draft kit
- Fantasy baseball rankings
- Team Sync platform and Draft Assistant
- Fantasy baseball mock draft simulator
- Fantasy baseball draft cheat sheets
- Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
- Fantasy baseball prospects
SP Matchups & Start/Sit Recommendations
This weekly piece considers the pitcher’s opponents, their career stats against the opponent, some ballpark factors and historical splits. With all of this information, we then provide our start/sit recommendations for each starting pitcher matchup for the approaching week of fantasy baseball.
This column was last updated on Monday, April 3rd, and will be updated daily as more rotations and starters are announced through April 7th.
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - THURSDAY (3/28/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| ARI@LAD | Zack Greinke | ARI | START | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | START |
| ATL@PHI | Julio Teheran | ATL | SIT | Aaron Nola | PHI | START |
| BAL@NYY | Andrew Cashner | BAL | SIT | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | START |
| BOS@SEA | Chris Sale | BOS | START | Marco Gonzales | SEA | SIT |
| CHC@TEX | Jon Lester | CHC | SIT | Mike Minor | TEX | SIT |
| CHW@KC | Carlos Rodon | CHW | START | Brad Keller | KC | SIT |
| CLE@MIN | Corey Kluber | CLE | START | Jose Berrios | MIN | START |
| COL@MIA | Kyle Freeland | COL | START | Jose Urena | MIA | SIT |
| DET@TOR | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | SIT | Marcus Stroman | TOR | SIT |
| HOU@TB | Justin Verlander | HOU | START | Blake Snell | TB | START |
| LAA@OAK | Trevor Cahill | LAA | START | Mike Fiers | OAK | SIT |
| NYM@WAS | Jacob deGrom | NYM | START | Max Scherzer | WAS | START |
| PIT@CIN | Jameson Taillon | PIT | START | Luis Castillo | CIN | SIT |
| SF@SD | Madison Bumgarner | SF | START | Eric Lauer | SD | START |
| STL@MIL | Miles Mikolas | STL | START | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | START |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - FRIDAY (3/29/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| ARI@LAD | Robbie Ray | ARI | START | Ross Stripling | LAD | START |
| BOS@SEA | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | START | Yusei Kikuchi | SEA | SIT |
| COL@MIA | German Marquez | COL | START | Trevor Richards | MIA | SIT |
| DET@TOR | Matthew Boyd | DET | SIT | Matt Shoemaker | TOR | SIT |
| HOU@TB | Gerrit Cole | HOU | START | Charlie Morton | TB | START |
| LAA@OAK | Matt Harvey | LAA | SIT | Marco Estrada | OAK | SIT |
| SF@SD | Derek Holland | SF | SIT | Joey Lucchesi | SD | START |
| STL@MIL | Jack Flaherty | STL | START | Freddy Peralta | MIL | SIT |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - SATURDAY (3/30/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| ARI@LAD | Zack Godley | ARI | SIT | Kenta Maeda | LAD | START |
| ATL@PHI | Bryse Wilson | ATL | SIT | Nick Pivetta | PHI | START |
| BAL@NYY | Nate Karns | BAL | SIT | James Paxton | NYY | START |
| BOS@SEA | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | START | Mike Leake | SEA | SIT |
| CHC@TEX | Yu Darvish | CHC | START | Edinson Volquez | TEX | SIT |
| CHW@KC | Reynaldo Lopez | CHW | START | Jake Junis | KC | SIT |
| CLE@MIN | Trevor Bauer | CLE | START | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | SIT |
| COL@MIA | Tyler Anderson | COL | SIT | Pablo Lopez | MIA | START |
| DET@TOR | Spencer Turnbull | DET | SIT | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | SIT |
| HOU@TB | Collin McHugh | HOU | START | Tyler Glasnow | TB | SIT |
| LAA@OAK | Felix Pena | LAA | SIT | Brett Anderson | OAK | SIT |
| NYM@WAS | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | START | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | START |
| PIT@CIN | PPD | -- | PPD | -- |
| SF@SD | Dereck Rodriguez | SF | SIT | Nick Margevicius | SD | SIT |
| STL@MIL | Dakota Hudson | STL | SIT | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | SIT |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - SUNDAY (3/31/19) | ||||
| GAME | STARTER | START/SIT | STARTER | START/SIT |
| ARI@LAD | Luke Weaver | ARI | SIT | Walker Buehler | LAD | START |
| ATL@PHI | Kyle Wright | ATL | SIT | Jake Arrieta | PHI | START |
| BAL@NYY | Dylan Bundy | BAL | SIT | J.A. Happ | NYY | START |
| BOS@SEA | Rick Porcello | BOS | START | Wade LeBlanc | SEA | SIT |
| CHC@TEX | Cole Hamels | CHC | START | Lance Lynn | TEX | SIT |
| CHW@KC | Lucas Giolito | CHW | SIT | Jorge Lopez | KC | SIT |
| CLE@MIN | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | START | Michael Pineda | MIN | SIT |
| COL@MIA | Jon Gray | COL | START | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | SIT |
| DET@TOR | Matt Moore | DET | SIT | Trent Thornton | TOR | SIT |
| HOU@TB | Wade Miley | HOU | START | Yonny Chirinos | TB | SIT |
| LAA@OAK | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | START | Frankie Montas | OAK | SIT |
| NYM@WAS | Zack Wheeler | NYM | START | Patrick Corbin | WAS | START |
| PIT@CIN | Trevor Williams | PIT | START | Sonny Gray | CIN | SIT |
| SF@SD | Jeff Samardzija | SF | SIT | Chris Paddack | SD | START |
| STL@MIL | Michael Wacha | STL | SIT | Corbin Burnes | MIL | SIT |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - MONDAY (4/1/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| ARI@SD | Merrill Kelly | ARI | SIT | Matt Strahm | SD | START |
| BAL@TOR | David Hess | BAL | SIT | Sean Reid-Foley | TOR | SIT |
| BOS@OAK | David Price | BOS | START | Aaron Brooks | OAK | SIT |
| CHC@ATL | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | START | Sean Newcomb | ATL | START |
| CHW@CLE | Ivan Nova | CHW | SIT | Mike Clevinger | CLE | START |
| COL@TB | Chad Bettis | COL | SIT | Ryne Stanek | TB | SIT |
| DET@NYY | Tyson Ross | DET | SIT | Domingo German | NYY | START |
| HOU@TEX | Brad Peacock | HOU | START | Drew Smyly | TEX | SIT |
| LAA@SEA | Chris Stratton | LAA | SIT | Felix Hernandez | SEA | SIT |
| MIL@CIN | Zach Davies | MIL | SIT | Tanner Roark | CIN | SIT |
| NYM@MIA | Steven Matz | NYM | START | Caleb Smith | MIA | START |
| SF@LAD | Drew Pomeranz | SF | SIT | Julio Urias | LAD | START |
| STL@PIT | Adam Wainwright | STL | SIT | Chris Archer | PIT | START |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - TUESDAY (4/2/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| ARI@SD | Zack Greinke | ARI | START | Eric Lauer | SD | SIT |
| BAL@TOR | Andrew Cashner | BAL | SIT | Marcus Stroman | TOR | START |
| BOS@OAK | Chris Sale | BOS | START | Mike Fiers | OAK | SIT |
| COL@TB | Kyle Freeland | COL | START | Blake Snell | TB | START |
| DET@NYY | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | SIT | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | START |
| HOU@TEX | Justin Verlander | HOU | START | Shelby Miller | TEX | SIT |
| LAA@SEA | Trevor Cahill | LAA | SIT | Marco Gonzales | SEA | START |
| MIL@CIN | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | SIT | Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | SIT |
| MIN@KC | Jose Berrios| MIN | START | Brad Keller | KC | START |
| NYM@MIA | Jason Vargas | NYM | START | Jose Urena | MIA | SIT |
| PHI@WAS | Zach Eflin | PHI | SIT | Max Scherzer | WAS | START |
| SF@LAD | Madison Bumgarner | SF | START | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | START |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - WEDNESDAY (4/3/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| ARI@SD | Robbie Ray | ARI | START | Joey Lucchesi | SD | START |
| BAL@TOR | Nate Karns | BAL | SIT | Matt Shoemaker | TOR | START |
| BOS@OAK | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | START | Marco Estrada | OAK | SIT |
| CHC@ATL | Jon Lester| CHC | START | Julio Teheran | ATL | START |
| CHW@CLE | Carlos Rodon | CHW | START | Corey Kluber | CLE | START |
| COL@TB | German Marquez | COL | START | Charlie Morton | TB | START |
| DET@NYY | Matthew Boyd | DET | SIT | Jonathan Loaisiga | NYY | START |
| HOU@TEX | Gerrit Cole | HOU | START | Mike Minor | TEX | SIT |
| MIL@CIN | Freddy Peralta | MIL | SIT | Luis Castillo | CIN | START |
| MIN@KC | Kyle Gibson | MIN | SIT | Homer Bailey | KC | SIT |
| NYM@MIA | Jacob deGrom | NYM | START | Trevor Richards | MIA | START |
| PHI@WAS | Aaron Nola| PHI | START | Anibal Sanchez | WAS | START |
| SF@LAD | Derek Holland | SF | SIT | Ross Stripling | LAD | START |
| STL@PIT | Miles Mikolas | STL | START | Jameson Taillon | PIT | START |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - THURSDAY (4/4/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| BOS@OAK | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | START | Brett Anderson | OAK | SIT |
| CHC@ATL | Yu Darvish | CHC | SIT | Max Fried | ATL | SIT |
| CIN@PIT | Tyler Mahle | CIN | SIT | Jordan Lyles | PIT | SIT |
| KC@DET | Jake Junis | KC | START | Spencer Turnbull | DET | SIT |
| NYY@BAL | James Paxton | NYY | START | Alex Cobb | BAL | SIT |
| SD@STL | N/A | PPD | N/A | PPD |
| SEA@CHW | N/A | PPD | N/A | PPD |
| TEX@LAA | Edinson Volquez | TEX | SIT | Matt Harvey | LAA | START |
| TOR@CLE | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | START | Trevor Bauer | CLE | START |
| WAS@NYM | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | START | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | START |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - FRIDAY (4/5/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| BOS@ARI | Rick Porcello | BOS | START | Zack Godley | ARI | SIT |
| SEA@CHW | Yusei Kikuchi | SEA | SIT | Reynaldo Lopez | CHW | START |
| SD@STL | Nick Margevicius | SD | SIT | Jack Flaherty | STL | START |
| CHC@MIL | Jose Quintana | CHC | SIT | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | START |
| CIN@PIT | Sonny Gray | CIN | SIT | Joe Musgrove | PIT | START |
| LAD@COL | Kenta Maeda | LAD | START | Tyler Anderson | COL | SIT |
| MIA@ATL | Pablo Lopez | MIA | START | Kevin Gausman | ATL | START |
| MIN@PHI | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | START | Nick Pivetta | PHI | SIT |
| OAK@HOU | Frankie Montas | OAK | SIT | Collin McHugh | HOU | START |
| TB@SF | Tyler Glasnow | TB | START | Dereck Rodriguez | SF | START |
| TEX@LAA | Lance Lynn | TEX | SIT | Felix Pena | LAA | START |
| TOR@CLE | Trent Thornton | TOR | START | Shane Bieber | CLE | START |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - SATURDAY (4/6/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| BOS@ARI | David Price | BOS | START | Luke Weaver | ARI | SIT |
| CHC@MIL | Cole Hamels | CHC | SIT | Corbin Burnes | MIL | START |
| CIN@PIT | Tanner Roark | CIN | SIT | Trevor Williams | PIT | START |
| KC@DET | Jorge Lopez | KC | START | Matt Moore | DET | START |
| LAD@COL | Walker Buehler | LAD | START | Jon Gray | COL | SIT |
| MIA@ATL | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | START | Kyle Wright | ATL | START |
| MIN@PHI | Michael Pineda | MIN | START | Jake Arrieta | PHI | START |
| NYY@BAL | J.A. Happ | NYY | START | Dylan Bundy | BAL | SIT |
| OAK@HOU | Aaron Brooks | OAK | SIT | Wade Miley | HOU | START |
| SD@STL | Chris Paddack | SD | START | Michael Wacha | STL | SIT |
| SEA@CHW | Mike Leake | SEA | START | Lucas Giolito | CHW | SIT |
| TB@SF | Ryne Stanek | TB | SIT | Jeff Samardzija | SF | SIT |
| TEX@LAA | Drew Smyly | TEX | SIT | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | START |
| TOR@CLE | Thomas Pannone | TOR | SIT | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | START |
| WAS@NYM | Patrick Corbin | WAS | START | Steven Matz | NYM | START |
| PROBABLE PITCHERS - SUNDAY (4/7/19) | ||||
| GAME | VISITING STARTER | START/SIT | HOME STARTER | START/SIT |
| BOS@ARI | Hector Velazquez | BOS | SIT | Merrill Kelly | ARI | SIT |
| CHC@MIL | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | START | Zach Davies | MIL | SIT |
| CIN@PIT | Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | START | Chris Archer | PIT | START |
| KC@DET | Brad Keller | KC | START | Tyson Ross | DET | START |
| LAD@COL | Julio Urias | LAD | START | Chad Bettis | COL | SIT |
| MIA@ATL | Caleb Smith | MIA | START | Sean Newcomb | ATL | START |
| MIN@PHI | Jose Berrios | MIN | START | Zach Eflin | PHI | START |
| NYY@BAL | Domingo German | NYY | START | David Hess | BAL | SIT |
| OAK@HOU | Mike Fiers | OAK | SIT | Brad Peacock | HOU | START |
| SD@STL | Matt Strahm | SD | START | Adam Wainwright | STL | SIT |
| SEA@CHW | Wade LeBlanc | SEA | START | Ivan Nova | CHW | SIT |
| TB@SF | Yonny Chirinos | TB | START | Drew Pomeranz | SF | SIT |
| TEX@LAA | Shelby Miller | TEX | SIT | Chris Stratton | LAA | SIT |
| TOR@CLE | Marcus Stroman | TOR | START | Mike Clevinger | CLE | START |
| WAS@NYM | Max Scherzer | WAS | START | Zack Wheeler | NYM | START |
