FanDuel fantasy baseball tips: Starting pitcher rankings-May 26
After a Memorial Day filled with fireworks in Major League Baseball, many fantasy baseball owners are scrambling to recover their ERA. There were plenty of home runs to go around yesterday, but it was a rough day for starting pitchers. To get your rotation set for tonight’s 15 games, check out my statin pitcher rankings on the following slides.
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Whether you’re playing daily fantasy baseball or in a season-long league, getting the right starting pitcher can be the difference between a great day and a miserable one. The rankings on the following slides are divided into stay-away options, high-risk options, sleeper options, solid starters, and star options. They’re ranked in the general order that I would start them in most formats.
If you are looking to get into daily fantasy baseball, follow the link above to get your team start on FanDuel. FanDuel only has one starting pitcher slot, so getting good production from that spot is absolutely vital.
Whether you agree or disagree with the starting pitcher rankings, let me know your feedback on the bottom of the page in the comments or by following @FansidedFantasy on Twitter. You can find all our ongoing coverage on our fantasy baseball hub where we’ll be posting new analysis all week long.
Scroll through the following slides for a look at all 30 probable pitchers in today’s starting pitching rankings starting with the options I would stay away from.
Stay-away Options
@ Mets. Jerome Williams. 30. player. 6. Williams has allowed three runs or more in his last eight starts and has failed to go longer than five innings in any of his last five outings. I’m not totally sold on the Mets offense, but I’m even less sold on Williams so stay far away from him in all formats . Philadelphia Phillies
player. 102. Shoemaker was such a nice sleeper at times last year, but this season his ERA has swollen to 6.29 after allowing three or more runs in seven of his eight starts. He had a good outing two starts ago, but he failed to build on it his last time out getting crushed by the Blue Jays allowing eight runs in six innings to fall to 3-4.. Los Angeles Angels. vs Padres. Matt Shoemaker. 29
@ Angels. Odrisamer Despaigne. 28. player. 127. Despaigne is coming off one of his best starts of the season which came against the Cubs as he held them to just two runs in six innings. However, he had given up 20 hits and 15 runs in his two starts prior to that outing while only lasting a total of eight innings. After a stretch like that, I’m staying away until Despaigne strings more together than just one good outing.. San Diego Padres
Feldman returns to Baltimore to face his former team looking to level his record at 4-4. He has allowed three runs or more in each of his last four starts while compiling an ugly 6.35 ERA to go with a 1-2 record. Feldman started a pair of games against the O’s last year and went 0-1 with an 8.74 ERA allowing 11 runs in 11.1 innings.. Houston Astros. @ Orioles. Scott Feldman. 27. player. 135
Tampa Bay Rays. vs. Mariners. Alex Colome. 26. player. 21. Colome pitched five scoreless innings in his last start, but it was more of the escape-artist variety than the dominant outing it looks like at first glance. He comes in 3-1 but has allowed a lot of baserunners and has only pitched past the fifth inning one time in his five starts.
Jason Vargas. 25. player. 7. Vargas is coming off the DL and jumping right into a hostile environment as he takes on the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He’s missed three weeks of action, so I’d stay away for this start to see where he is before investing in Vargas.. Kansas City Royals. @ Yankees
Miami Marlins. @ Pirates. Jose Urena. 24. player. 82. Urena definitely has potential, but he’ll be making his first MLB start today against the Pirates after being recalled from Triple-A. In Triple-A, he had a very good ERA, but he didn’t pile up strikeouts and could struggle adjusting to the Majors. Either way, he’s too risky to use in his start today.
Next: High-Risk Options