Who Should I Start? Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Tool for Lineup Decisions (Apr 17 - Apr 23)

Whether you are prepping to set your weekly lineups or determining who to play in a pivotal daily matchup, choosing who to start vs. sit is one of the most nerve-wracking and potentially frustrating aspects of fantasy baseball. Fortunately, there is a free solution available at RotoBaller. The Who Should I Start? Tool allows you to quickly compare any two players and receive fantasy projections for today, tomorrow, or the current week.

The tool provides rankings, projections, recent news, and schedules side-by-side to aid in your decision-making. The tool defaults to ESPN scoring, but the Premium version within Team Sync will use your league's scoring and roster settings.

Each week, I will use the tool to review a few interesting start/sit comparisons for the final day of the period and preview the following week. Hopefully, this series will help both daily fantasy managers end their weeks strong and also get them comfortable with routinely using the tool during the week to make tough roster decisions. Let's get into some start vs. sit comparisons for Weeks 3 and 4!

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Who Should I Start for Fantasy Baseball?

First Base

Rowdy Tellez vs. Christian Walker

Our first comparison is between two power-hitting first basemen who have gotten off to slow starts to the season. Both players are widely rostered with Tellez at 69% and Walker at 83%, but fantasy managers have probably been benching both if they have other options. For those who don't, which player is the better option to start on Sunday?

RotoBaller gives Tellez a strong recommendation. First, Tellez gets the better pitching matchup at Yu Darvish as opposed to 2022 National League Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. Tellez also has twice as many walks as Walker and has hit five home runs to two this season, giving him the higher point projection with a higher upside in roto as well.

Looking ahead to Week 4, the Diamondbacks will play every day, while the Brewers will play six games. The Diamondbacks will face tougher overall matchups at the Cardinals and against the Padres, while the Brewers will be at the Mariners and against the Red Sox.

The Brewers are also projected to face two lefties vs. one for the Diamondbacks, and Tellez usually sits against lefties. The matchups are pretty even overall and Walker should see more at-bats, giving him the edge for weekly lineups in Week 4 despite Tellez performing a bit better.

Cubs Outfielders

Seiya Suzuki vs. Ian Happ

We will next compare two Cubs outfielders. Seiya Suzuki recently returned from an oblique injury suffered in Spring Training, hitting a homer Friday in his first game back. Happ recently signed an extension and has gotten off to a hot start, slashing .349/.481/.628. 

Happ gets the slight recommendation for Sunday. They will face lefty Julio Urias, and both have historically had decent results against lefties. Their projections are very close, but Happ has a slight edge across the board. As Suzuki is just returning to play, Happ seems like a safer bet.

Both players present a similar profile of decent average with power and speed potential. Suzuki should be a fantasy asset once he gets back into the swing of things, but Happ's strong start makes him the more attractive option for Week 4.

Scuffling Starters

Logan Webb vs. Aaron Nola

This comparison is for two higher-end fantasy starters who have been underwhelming to start the season. Logan Webb has posted an impressive 31.4% strikeout rate through his first three starts but has a lackluster 4.76 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Aaron Nola has been even worse, with a 7.04 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and 22.4% strikeout rate.

Despite their high draft positions, frustrated fantasy managers may consider sitting them for the final day of the period. Which pitcher does RotoBaller prefer?

Interestingly, the tool gives Nola a strong recommendation despite facing a tougher matchup at the Reds. Nola is projected to pitch an inning more than Webb with a lower ERA and WHIP. This makes sense given their career histories, but I would not blame fantasy managers for being nervous to start Nola given his slow start. Further, Webb gets a clearly better matchup at the Tigers.

Looking to next week, Nola has a better matchup on paper against the Rockies, while Webb gets the Mets at home. However, the Rockies have actually gotten off to a decent start offensively, compared to an underperforming Mets. While both pitchers have not contributed what fantasy managers were expecting, Webb has performed better than Nola and has provided above-average strikeout numbers.

Considering everything, I would give the Week 4 edge to Webb. While fantasy managers are likely reluctant to sit their top pitchers, it may not be a bad idea to sit Nola until he can turn things around, particularly in roto leagues. 

RotoBaller Favorites

Edouard Julien (2B) vs. Spencer Steer (3B)

This comparison comes from some of the most viewed players on RotoBaller's site in the past couple of days. Edouard Julien and Spencer Steer are both widely available but are both intriguing young fantasy players. If fantasy managers are looking to take a bit of a gamble, who should they go with?

Steer gets the strong recommendation here. Both face tough matchups on paper, but Gerrit Cole has pitched as expected while Nola has struggled, as mentioned above. Steer's hot start has translated into the projections, as he is expected to have a significantly better performance on Sunday than Julien.

Both clubs have good matchups in Week 4, with the Twins playing three at the Red Sox and three against the Nationals and the Reds getting seven games against the Rays and at the Pirates. Julien offers more steal upside compared to Steer, but fantasy managers will be flying relatively blind with Julien given his very small MLB sample.

This outlook may be different later in the season, but Steer has started the season too well to not get the nod here. Unless fantasy managers are dead set on trying to pick up some steals, Steer is the safer and higher-upside start for Week 4.

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