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Let's keep the opening ceremonies rolling as we hit the first full week of the MLB season with our starting pitcher starts/sits for fantasy baseball Week 1 -- Monday, March 31 through Sunday, April 6. There are still a few arms yet to debut, and you know we're excited to see what they can do! Bookmark us for every start/sit option and possible two-start decisions for your rosters.
For 13 years running, we have been writing this Starting Pitcher Starts and Sits series weekly here at RotoBaller. I'm Nick Mariano, and I'll lead you through the 2025 season. All kinds of firepower go into supplying this piece each week to produce a beloved series for our readers.
New readers should absorb the section below to learn the column's goal and how best to use it. We wish you the best of luck with your fantasy baseball starting pitcher lineup decisions to start the season right. Let's start April on a high note!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:- Fantasy baseball trade analyzer
- BvP matchups data (Batter vs. Pitcher)
- PvB matchups data (Pitcher vs. Batter)
- Who should I start? Fantasy baseball comparisons
- Daily MLB starting lineups
- Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
- Fantasy Baseball live scoreboard
- Fantasy baseball injury reports
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 inspire 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 or actionable arms who may return from the injured list or be called up. Still, some situations are fluid, and we update ASAP to reflect accurate information. The early season comes with perceived rotation plans, but we know things can change quickly and often, so check back frequently!
The "starts" category includes pitchers you'd likely start in every league. The "sits" are pitchers you likely sit in every league.
The "context-dependent" means it is close, and it's up to you to decide based on your league settings or team needs (wins, strikeouts, etc.), how deep your league is, which roto/points categories are scored, and so on.
Here are your starts and sits for what we're still calling Week 1 of the fantasy season (continuing the short half-week opener), which covers March 31 through April 6. Let's get to it!
Week 1 Start/Sit Recommendations (March 31 - April 6)
Updated start/sit recommendations for this week's MLB games. This chart is updated daily as probable starters are constantly changing with postponements, injuries, etc. Scroll down further for a color-coded chart. If you can't see the chart below, click here to see the starts/sits on a separate page:
| Date | Game | Team | Pitcher | Grade | Start/Sit | 2 Starts |
| 3/31 | MIN@CHW | MIN | Chris Paddack | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | MIN@CHW | CHW | Martin Perez | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | KC@MIL | KC | Kris Bubic | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | KC@MIL | MIL | Elvin Rodriguez | 15 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | BOS@BAL | BOS | Sean Newcomb | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | BOS@BAL | BAL | Cade Povich | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | COL@PHI | COL | German Marquez | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | COL@PHI | PHI | Cristopher Sanchez | 70 | START | Y |
| 3/31 | TEX@CIN | TEX | Kumar Rocker | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | TEX@CIN | CIN | Brady Singer | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | NYM@MIA | NYM | David Peterson | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | NYM@MIA | MIA | Cal Quantrill | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | PIT@TB | PIT | Carmen Mlodzinski | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | PIT@TB | TB | Drew Rasmussen | 65 | START | Y |
| 3/31 | WAS@TOR | WAS | Michael Soroka | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | WAS@TOR | TOR | Bowden Francis | 65 | START | Y |
| 3/31 | LAA@STL | LAA | Tyler Anderson | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | LAA@STL | STL | Miles Mikolas | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | SF@HOU | SF | Jordan Hicks | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | SF@HOU | HOU | Ronel Blanco | 65 | START | Y |
| 3/31 | CLE@SD | CLE | Luis L. Ortiz | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | CLE@SD | SD | Kyle Hart | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | DET@SEA | DET | Jackson Jobe | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | DET@SEA | SEA | Emerson Hancock | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | CHC@ATH | CHC | Ben Brown | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 3/31 | CHC@ATH | ATH | Joey Estes | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | ATL@LAD | ATL | Grant Holmes | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 3/31 | ATL@LAD | LAD | Tyler Glasnow | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/1 | TEX@CIN | TEX | Nathan Eovaldi | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | TEX@CIN | CIN | Carson Spiers | 25 | SIT | Y |
| 4/1 | NYM@MIA | NYM | Kodai Senga | 70 | START | N |
| 4/1 | NYM@MIA | MIA | Sandy Alcantara | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | PIT@TB | PIT | TBD (Joey Wentz?) | 20 | SIT | N |
| 4/1 | PIT@TB | TB | Shane Baz | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | ARI@NYY | ARI | Corbin Burnes | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/1 | ARI@NYY | NYY | Will Warren | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/1 | WAS@TOR | WAS | Trevor Williams | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | WAS@TOR | TOR | Jose Berrios | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | MIN@CHW | MIN | Simeon Woods Richardson | 65 | START | N |
| 4/1 | MIN@CHW | CHW | Shane Smith | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | KC@MIL | KC | Michael Lorenzen | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | KC@MIL | MIL | Chad Patrick | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/1 | LAA@STL | LAA | Kyle Hendricks | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/1 | LAA@STL | STL | Matthew Liberatore | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | SF@HOU | SF | Logan Webb | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | SF@HOU | HOU | Hayden Wesneski | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | CLE@SD | CLE | Logan Allen | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/1 | CLE@SD | SD | Michael King | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | DET@SEA | DET | Casey Mize | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | DET@SEA | SEA | Logan Gilbert | 85 | START | N |
| 4/1 | CHC@ATH | CHC | Justin Steele | 70 | START | N |
| 4/1 | CHC@ATH | ATH | Luis Severino | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | ATL@LAD | ATL | Chris Sale | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/1 | ATL@LAD | LAD | Dustin May | 65 | START | N |
| 4/2 | TEX@CIN | TEX | Jack Leiter | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | TEX@CIN | CIN | Hunter Greene | 70 | START | N |
| 4/2 | PIT@TB | PIT | Paul Skenes | 85 | START | N |
| 4/2 | PIT@TB | TB | Ryan Pepiot | 65 | START | N |
| 4/2 | KC@MIL | KC | Cole Ragans | 70 | START | N |
| 4/2 | KC@MIL | MIL | Freddy Peralta | 65 | START | N |
| 4/2 | LAA@STL | LAA | Yusei Kikuchi | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | LAA@STL | STL | Sonny Gray | 70 | START | N |
| 4/2 | MIN@CHW | MIN | Pablo Lopez | 80 | START | N |
| 4/2 | MIN@CHW | CHW | Sean Burke | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | WAS@TOR | WAS | MacKenzie Gore | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | WAS@TOR | TOR | Kevin Gausman | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | CHC@ATH | CHC | Jameson Taillon | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | CHC@ATH | ATH | Jeffrey Springs | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | CLE@SD | CLE | Ben Lively | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/2 | CLE@SD | SD | Dylan Cease | 70 | START | N |
| 4/2 | DET@SEA | DET | Tarik Skubal | 90 | START | N |
| 4/2 | DET@SEA | SEA | Luis Castillo | 70 | START | N |
| 4/2 | SF@HOU | SF | Landen Roupp | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | SF@HOU | HOU | Framber Valdez | 75 | START | N |
| 4/2 | NYM@MIA | NYM | Clay Holmes | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | NYM@MIA | MIA | Connor Gillispie | 20 | SIT | N |
| 4/2 | BOS@BAL | BOS | Garrett Crochet | 70 | START | N |
| 4/2 | BOS@BAL | BAL | Zach Eflin | 65 | START | N |
| 4/2 | COL@PHI | COL | Kyle Freeland | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/2 | COL@PHI | PHI | Zack Wheeler | 90 | START | N |
| 4/2 | ARI@NYY | ARI | Zac Gallen | 65 | START | N |
| 4/2 | ARI@NYY | NYY | Carlos Rodon | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/2 | ATL@LAD | ATL | Bryce Elder | 20 | SIT | N |
| 4/2 | ATL@LAD | LAD | Blake Snell | 70 | START | N |
| 4/3 | BOS@BAL | BOS | Tanner Houck | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/3 | BOS@BAL | BAL | Charlie Morton | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/3 | COL@PHI | COL | Antonio Senzatela | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/3 | COL@PHI | PHI | Taijuan Walker | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/3 | HOU@MIN | HOU | Hunter Brown | 70 | START | N |
| 4/3 | HOU@MIN | MIN | Joe Ryan | 65 | START | N |
| 4/3 | ARI@NYY | ARI | Merrill Kelly | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/3 | ARI@NYY | NYY | Carlos Carrasco | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/3 | CIN@MIL | CIN | Nick Lodolo | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/3 | CIN@MIL | MIL | Nestor Cortes | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | CHW@DET | CHW | Jonathan Cannon | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | CHW@DET | DET | Jack Flaherty | 75 | START | N |
| 4/4 | STL@BOS | STL | Erick Fedde | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | STL@BOS | BOS | Walker Buehler | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | SD@CHC | SD | Nick Pivetta | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | SD@CHC | CHC | Shota Imanaga | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | TOR@NYM | TOR | Yariel Rodriguez | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | TOR@NYM | NYM | Tylor Megill | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | ATH@COL | ATH | Osvaldo Bido | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | ATH@COL | COL | Ryan Feltner | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | NYY@PIT | NYY | Max Fried | 70 | START | N |
| 4/4 | NYY@PIT | PIT | Bailey Falter | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | SEA@SF | SEA | Bryce Miller | 75 | START | N |
| 4/4 | SEA@SF | SF | Justin Verlander | 65 | START | N |
| 4/4 | ARI@WAS | ARI | Brandon Pfaadt | 65 | START | N |
| 4/4 | ARI@WAS | WAS | Jake Irvin | 20 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | LAD@PHI | LAD | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 65 | START | N |
| 4/4 | LAD@PHI | PHI | Jesus Luzardo | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | MIA@ATL | MIA | Tyler Phillips | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | MIA@ATL | ATL | Spencer Schwellenbach | 80 | START | N |
| 4/4 | BAL@KC | BAL | Dean Kremer | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | BAL@KC | KC | Seth Lugo | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | TB@TEX | TB | Zack Littell | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | TB@TEX | TEX | Tyler Mahle | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | CIN@MIL | CIN | Nick Martinez | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | CIN@MIL | MIL | Tyler Alexander | 30 | SIT | N |
| 4/4 | CLE@LAA | CLE | Gavin Williams | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/4 | CLE@LAA | LAA | Jose Soriano | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | CHW@DET | CHW | Davis Martin | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/5 | CHW@DET | DET | Reese Olson | 65 | START | N |
| 4/5 | HOU@MIN | HOU | Spencer Arrighetti | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | HOU@MIN | MIN | Bailey Ober | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | SD@CHC | SD | Randy Vasquez | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/5 | SD@CHC | CHC | Matthew Boyd | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | ARI@WAS | ARI | Eduardo Rodriguez | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | ARI@WAS | WAS | Mitchell Parker | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/5 | LAD@PHI | LAD | Roki Sasaki | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | LAD@PHI | PHI | Aaron Nola | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | NYY@PIT | NYY | Marcus Stroman | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | NYY@PIT | PIT | Andrew Heaney | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | BAL@KC | BAL | Tomoyuki Sugano | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | BAL@KC | KC | Michael Wacha | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | STL@BOS | STL | Andre Pallante | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | STL@BOS | BOS | Richard Fitts | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | TB@TEX | TB | Taj Bradley | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | TB@TEX | TEX | Jacob deGrom | 75 | START | N |
| 4/5 | TOR@NYM | TOR | Chris Bassitt | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 4/5 | TOR@NYM | NYM | Griffin Canning | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/5 | CIN@MIL | CIN | Brady Singer | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/5 | CIN@MIL | MIL | Elvin Rodriguez | 15 | SIT | Y |
| 4/5 | MIA@ATL | MIA | Max Meyer | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/5 | MIA@ATL | ATL | AJ Smith-Shawver | 65 | START | N |
| 4/5 | ATH@COL | ATH | JP Sears | 25 | SIT | N |
| 4/5 | ATH@COL | COL | German Marquez | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/5 | SEA@SF | SEA | Bryan Woo | 70 | START | N |
| 4/5 | SEA@SF | SF | Robbie Ray | 80 | START | N |
| 4/5 | CLE@LAA | CLE | Tanner Bibee | 75 | START | N |
| 4/5 | CLE@LAA | LAA | Jack Kochanowicz | 35 | SIT | N |
| 4/6 | ARI@WAS | ARI | Corbin Burnes | 80 | START | Y |
| 4/6 | ARI@WAS | WAS | Michael Soroka | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | LAD@PHI | LAD | Tyler Glasnow | 65 | START | Y |
| 4/6 | LAD@PHI | PHI | Cristopher Sanchez | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | MIA@ATL | MIA | Cal Quantrill | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | MIA@ATL | ATL | Grant Holmes | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/6 | NYY@PIT | NYY | Will Warren | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | NYY@PIT | PIT | Carmen Mlodzinski | 20 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | TOR@NYM | TOR | Bowden Francis | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | TOR@NYM | NYM | David Peterson | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | CHW@DET | CHW | Martin Perez | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | CHW@DET | DET | Jackson Jobe | 70 | START | Y |
| 4/6 | BAL@KC | BAL | Cade Povich | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | BAL@KC | KC | Kris Bubic | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | HOU@MIN | HOU | Ronel Blanco | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | HOU@MIN | MIN | Chris Paddack | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | CIN@MIL | CIN | Carson Spiers | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | CIN@MIL | MIL | Chad Patrick | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | SD@CHC | SD | Kyle Hart | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | SD@CHC | CHC | Ben Brown | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | TB@TEX | TB | Drew Rasmussen | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | TB@TEX | TEX | Kumar Rocker | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | ATH@COL | ATH | Joey Estes | 15 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | ATH@COL | COL | Bradley Blalock | 20 | SIT | N |
| 4/6 | SEA@SF | SEA | Emerson Hancock | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | SEA@SF | SF | Jordan Hicks | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 4/6 | CLE@LAA | CLE | Luis L. Ortiz | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | CLE@LAA | LAA | Tyler Anderson | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | STL@BOS | STL | Miles Mikolas | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 4/6 | STL@BOS | BOS | Sean Newcomb | 35 | SIT | Y |
Start/Sit Color-Coded Matchups Chart (March 31 - April 6)
The below grid shows the same data but as a color-coded grid:
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