RADIO
Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher starts/sits for fantasy baseball Week 5 - Monday, April 22 through Sunday, April 28. We're almost a full month into the MLB season, and starting pitching is more important than ever now with all the recent injuries. We're here as always to guide you with our start/sit recommendations for the week ahead, and to help you make those winning lineup decisions.
For 12 years running, we have been writing this Starting Pitcher Starts and Sits series every week right here at RotoBaller. I'm JB Branson, filling in for Nick Mariano this week, and I'll be your captain for this journey through the 2024 season. There's tons of firepower and TLC that mix together to provide this piece each week, including looking at stats, trends matchups, and more to get our picks ready.
If you're new here, read below to get caught up on what this all is and how to best use it. Good luck with your fantasy baseball starting pitcher lineup decisions!
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Start/Sit Data Overview
Ahead of each week of the fantasy baseball season, we publish the table below. We have the probable starters for every game of the week and a grade for them on a 0-100 scale. The intent is to give you advice and to inspire some confidence (or lack thereof) in your decisions to start or sit certain pitchers.
Please note that beyond the usual "Start" and "Sit" labels, there is a third category called "context-dependent." This is because different leagues call for different actions and those in start-sit purgatory may be worth the gamble to some. Also, we put the arms best projected to start or get bulk innings, but some situations are fluid and we update ASAP to reflect accurate information, especially at the outset of the season.
The "starts" category includes pitchers you'd likely start in every league. The "sits" are pitchers that you likely sit in every league. The "context-dependent" means we're on the fence and it's up to you to decide based on your league settings. How deep your league is, which roto/points categories, and so on. Let's get to it! Here are your starts and sits for what we're calling Week 5 of the fantasy season, which covers April 22 through April 28.
Week 5 Start/Sit Recommendations (April 22-28)
Updated start/sit recommendations for this week's MLB games. This chart is updated daily as probable starters are constantly changing with game postponements, injuries, and other events. If you can't see the chart below, click here to see the starts/sits on a separate page:
Week 5 Start/Sit Recommendations (April 22-28)
| Date | Game | Team | Pitcher | Grade | Start/Sit | 2 Starts |
| 4/22 | OAK@NYY | OAK | JP Sears | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/22 | OAK@NYY | NYY | Carlos Rodon | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | PHI@CIN | PHI | Ranger Suarez | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | PHI@CIN | CIN | Hunter Greene | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | MIL@PIT | MIL | Joe Ross | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | MIL@PIT | PIT | Jared Jones | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | DET@TB | DET | Tarik Skubal | 80 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | DET@TB | TB | Zack Littell | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | MIA@ATL | MIA | Ryan Weathers | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | MIA@ATL | ATL | Bryce Elder | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | TOR@KC | TOR | Yusei Kikuchi | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | TOR@KC | KC | Brady Singer | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | CWS@MIN | CWS | Jonathan Cannon | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | CWS@MIN | MIN | Chris Paddack | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | ARI@STL | ARI | Brandon Pfaadt | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | ARI@STL | STL | Lance Lynn | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | SD@COL | SD | Dylan Cease | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | SD@COL | COL | Austin Gomber | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/22 | BAL@LAA | BAL | Albert Suarez | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | BAL@LAA | LAA | Reid Detmers | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/22 | NYM@SF | NYM | Jose Quintana | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/22 | NYM@SF | SF | Keaton Winn | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/23 | BOS@CLE | BOS | Tanner Houck | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/23 | BOS@CLE | CLE | Ben Lively | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | PHI@CIN | PHI | Cristopher Sanchez | 65 | START | N |
| 4/23 | PHI@CIN | CIN | Andrew Abbott | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | MIL@PIT | MIL | Bailey Falter | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/23 | MIL@PIT | PIT | TBD | SIT | N | |
| 4/23 | LAD@WAS | LAD | James Paxton | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | LAD@WAS | WAS | Patrick Corbin | 25 | SIT | Y |
| 4/23 | DET@TB | DET | Kenta Maeda | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/23 | DET@TB | TB | Ryan Pepiot | 80 | START | N |
| 4/23 | OAK@NYY | OAK | Paul Blackburn | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | OAK@NYY | NYY | Marcus Stroman | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/23 | MIA@ATL | MIA | Trevor Rogers | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/23 | MIA@ATL | ATL | Max Fried | 65 | START | N |
| 4/23 | HOU@CHC | HOU | J.P. France | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/23 | HOU@CHC | CHC | Jordan Wicks | 25 | SIT | Y |
| 4/23 | TOR@KC | TOR | Kevin Gausman | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | TOR@KC | KC | Michael Wacha | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | CWS@MIN | CWS | Erick Fedde | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | CWS@MIN | MIN | Pablo Lopez | 80 | START | Y |
| 4/23 | ARI@STL | ARI | Tommy Henry | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/23 | ARI@STL | STL | Steven Matz | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/23 | SEA@TEX | SEA | Logan Gilbert | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/23 | SEA@TEX | TEX | Dane Dunning | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/23 | SD@COL | SD | Michael King | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/23 | SD@COL | COL | Ryan Feltner | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/23 | BAL@LAA | BAL | Grayson Rodriguez | 65 | START | N |
| 4/23 | BAL@LAA | LAA | Griffin Canning | 20 | SIT | N |
| 4/23 | NYM@SF | NYM | Luis Severino | 70 | START | N |
| 4/23 | NYM@SF | SF | Logan Webb | 70 | START | N |
| 4/24 | ARI@STL | ARI | Jordan Montgomery | 65 | START | N |
| 4/24 | ARI@STL | STL | Kyle Gibson | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | NYM@SF | NYM | Sean Manaea | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | NYM@SF | SF | Blake Snell | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | BAL@LAA | BAL | Dean Kremer | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | BAL@LAA | LAA | Tyler Anderson | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | BOS@CLE | BOS | Cooper Criswell | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | BOS@CLE | CLE | Carlos Carrasco | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | PHI@CIN | PHI | Spencer Turnbull | 65 | START | N |
| 4/24 | PHI@CIN | CIN | Nick Lodolo | 65 | START | N |
| 4/24 | MIL@PIT | MIL | Bryse Wilson | 85 | START | N |
| 4/24 | MIL@PIT | PIT | Josh Fleming | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | LAD@WAS | LAD | Landon Knack | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | LAD@WAS | WAS | Jake Irvin | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | DET@TB | DET | Jack Flaherty | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | DET@TB | TB | Shawn Armstrong | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | OAK@NYY | OAK | Joe Boyle | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | OAK@NYY | NYY | Clarke Schmidt | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | MIA@ATL | MIA | Sixto Sanchez | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | MIA@ATL | ATL | Reynaldo Lopez | 70 | START | N |
| 4/24 | HOU@CHC | HOU | Spencer Arrighetti | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | HOU@CHC | CHC | Jameson Taillon | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | TOR@KC | TOR | Yariel Rodriguez | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | TOR@KC | KC | Alec Marsh | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | CWS@MIN | CWS | Garrett Crochet | 70 | START | N |
| 4/24 | CWS@MIN | MIN | Joe Ryan | 85 | START | N |
| 4/24 | SEA@TEX | SEA | Bryce Miller | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | SEA@TEX | TEX | Jon Gray | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/24 | SD@COL | SD | Matt Waldron | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/24 | SD@COL | COL | Ty Blach | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/25 | MIL@PIT | MIL | Freddy Peralta | 85 | START | N |
| 4/25 | MIL@PIT | PIT | Mitch Keller | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/25 | BOS@CLE | BOS | Chase Anderson | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/25 | BOS@CLE | CLE | Triston McKenzie | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/25 | PHI@CIN | PHI | Zack Wheeler | 85 | START | N |
| 4/25 | PHI@CIN | CIN | Nick Martinez | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/25 | CWS@MIN | CWS | Michael Soroka | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/25 | CWS@MIN | MIN | Simeon Woods Richardson | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/25 | TOR@KC | TOR | Jose Berrios | 70 | START | N |
| 4/25 | TOR@KC | KC | Cole Ragans | 75 | START | N |
| 4/25 | HOU@CHC | HOU | Justin Verlander | 70 | START | N |
| 4/25 | HOU@CHC | CHC | Javier Assad | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/25 | SEA@TEX | SEA | Luis Castillo | 70 | START | N |
| 4/25 | SEA@TEX | TEX | Andrew Heaney | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/25 | SD@COL | SD | Randy Vasquez | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/25 | SD@COL | COL | Dakota Hudson | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/25 | LAD@WAS | LAD | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 75 | START | N |
| 4/25 | LAD@WAS | WAS | MacKenzie Gore | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/25 | OAK@NYY | OAK | Alex Wood | 20 | SIT | N |
| 4/25 | OAK@NYY | NYY | Nestor Cortes | 80 | START | N |
| 4/26 | KC@DET | KC | Seth Lugo | 70 | START | N |
| 4/26 | KC@DET | DET | Reese Olson | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | OAK@BAL | OAK | Ross Stripling | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/26 | OAK@BAL | BAL | Corbin Burnes | 90 | START | N |
| 4/26 | LAD@TOR | LAD | Gavin Stone | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | LAD@TOR | TOR | Chris Bassitt | 65 | START | N |
| 4/26 | CHC@BOS | CHC | Shota Imanaga | 75 | START | N |
| 4/26 | CHC@BOS | BOS | Kutter Crawford | 75 | START | N |
| 4/26 | STL@NYM | STL | Miles Mikolas | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/26 | STL@NYM | NYM | Jose Butto | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | WAS@MIA | WAS | Trevor Williams | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | WAS@MIA | MIA | Anthony Maldonado | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/26 | CLE@ATL | CLE | Logan Allen | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/26 | CLE@ATL | ATL | Chris Sale | 75 | START | N |
| 4/26 | TB@CWS | TB | Zach Eflin | 75 | START | N |
| 4/26 | TB@CWS | CWS | Chris Flexen | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/26 | CIN@TEX | CIN | Graham Ashcraft | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | CIN@TEX | TEX | Nathan Eovaldi | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | NYY@MIL | NYY | Luis Gil | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | NYY@MIL | MIL | Colin Rea | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | MIN@LAA | MIN | Bailey Ober | 75 | START | N |
| 4/26 | MIN@LAA | LAA | Patrick Sandoval | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | ARI@SEA | ARI | Zac Gallen | 80 | START | N |
| 4/26 | ARI@SEA | SEA | Emerson Hancock | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | PHI@SD | PHI | Aaron Nola | 75 | START | N |
| 4/26 | PHI@SD | SD | Joe Musgrove | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | PIT@SF | PIT | Quinn Priester | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/26 | PIT@SF | SF | Kyle Harrison | 70 | START | N |
| 4/27 | LAD@TOR | LAD | Tyler Glasnow | 80 | START | N |
| 4/27 | LAD@TOR | TOR | Yusei Kikuchi | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/27 | OAK@BAL | OAK | JP Sears | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/27 | OAK@BAL | BAL | Cole Irvin | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | STL@NYM | STL | Sonny Gray | 75 | START | N |
| 4/27 | STL@NYM | NYM | Adrian Houser | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/27 | CIN@TEX | CIN | Hunter Greene | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/27 | CIN@TEX | TEX | Michael Lorenzen | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | CHC@BOS | CHC | Ben Brown | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | CHC@BOS | BOS | Josh Winckowski | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/27 | WAS@MIA | WAS | Mitchell Parker | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | WAS@MIA | MIA | Edward Cabrera | 65 | START | N |
| 4/27 | HOU@COL | HOU | Ronel Blanco | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | HOU@COL | COL | Cal Quantrill | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/27 | KC@DET | KC | Brady Singer | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/27 | KC@DET | DET | Casey Mize | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | TB@CWS | TB | Aaron Civale | 70 | START | N |
| 4/27 | TB@CWS | CWS | Jonathan Cannon | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/27 | NYY@MIL | NYY | Carlos Rodon | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/27 | NYY@MIL | MIL | Joe Ross | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/27 | CLE@ATL | CLE | Tanner Bibee | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | CLE@ATL | ATL | Charlie Morton | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | PHI@SD | PHI | Taijuan Walker | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | PHI@SD | SD | Dylan Cease | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/27 | PIT@SF | PIT | Martin Perez | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | PIT@SF | SF | Jordan Hicks | 65 | START | N |
| 4/27 | MIN@LAA | MIN | Chris Paddack | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/27 | MIN@LAA | LAA | Jose Soriano | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/27 | ARI@SEA | ARI | Slade Cecconi | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/27 | ARI@SEA | SEA | George Kirby | 65 | START | N |
| 4/28 | OAK@BAL | OAK | Paul Blackburn | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | OAK@BAL | BAL | Albert Suarez | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | CLE@ATL | CLE | Ben Lively | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/28 | CLE@ATL | ATL | Bryce Elder | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | LAD@TOR | LAD | James Paxton | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | LAD@TOR | TOR | Kevin Gausman | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | KC@DET | KC | Michael Wacha | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | KC@DET | DET | Tarik Skubal | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | STL@NYM | STL | Lance Lynn | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | STL@NYM | NYM | Jose Quintana | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | WAS@MIA | WAS | Patrick Corbin | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/28 | WAS@MIA | MIA | Ryan Weathers | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | TB@CWS | TB | Zack Littell | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | TB@CWS | CWS | Erick Fedde | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | NYY@MIL | NYY | Marcus Stroman | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | NYY@MIL | MIL | Tobias Myers | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/28 | CIN@TEX | CIN | Andrew Abbott | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | CIN@TEX | TEX | Dane Dunning | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | HOU@COL | HOU | Hunter Brown | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/28 | HOU@COL | COL | Austin Gomber | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/28 | PIT@SF | PIT | Jared Jones | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | PIT@SF | SF | Keaton Winn | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | MIN@LAA | MIN | Pablo Lopez | 80 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | MIN@LAA | LAA | Reid Detmers | 85 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | ARI@SEA | ARI | Brandon Pfaadt | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | ARI@SEA | SEA | Logan Gilbert | 75 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | PHI@SD | PHI | Ranger Suarez | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | PHI@SD | SD | Michael King | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/28 | CHC@BOS | CHC | Jordan Wicks | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/28 | CHC@BOS | BOS | Tanner Houck | 75 | START | Y |
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