10-Team League
Chris Paddack – Paddack has been very good for the Padres this season, posting a 1.67 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP while striking out 30 over 27 innings. If only the man could get some run support as he owns just a 1-1 record over his five starts. Paddack is owned in 72% of standard leagues which likely puts him at even lower ownership in 10 team leagues. His next start won’t exactly be the easiest as he faces the Braves in Atlanta but it’s clear this kid should be on a roster in all formats.
Eduardo Rodríguez – The Red Sox pitching staff got off to a miserable start to the season but as we approach May they have started to right the ship with Rodriguez posting a 3.00 ERA while striking out 21 over 18 innings in his last three starts. His next outing will come at home against an Oakland A’s team that has started to cool off offensively. We know ERod can rack up the strike outs and when he gets going he can be a very dominant SP. The only downside with ERod is he doesn’t go very deep into games.
12-Team League
Marcus Stroman – Seeing Stroman’s ownership at just 66-percent in standard leagues is a bit surprising given his start to the season. He is coming off back-to-back dominant starts against the A’s in which he held them to just one run while striking out 13 over 15 innings. His next start comes on the road against the Angels whose lineup is never very impressive outside of Mike Trout so if Stroman can limit his mistakes there he should be in for another strong outing.
Caleb Smith - I was hesitant to recommend Smith last week as he drew a start against the Phillies but he went on to toss six innings of one run baseball while striking out eight. We know that Smith is a big-time strikeout pitcher and he will look to keep his string of strong starts going when he faces the Indians this upcoming week who will be forced to field a lineup without a DH as they travel to an NL park.
Mike Minor – The sabermetric stats say Minor is due for some regression but his start on Saturday was mighty impressive as he allowed just one run over seven innings while striking out 13 Mariners. He now owns a 2.88 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP while striking out nearly a batter per inning. His next start will come against the Blue Jays who just added Vladimir Guerrero Jr to their lineup but overall it can be shut down as it’s not very strong top to bottom.
15-Team League
Homer Bailey – Bailey struggled in his last start against the Rays, lasting just an inning while allowing four runs on three hits while walking four and striking out none. Those starts have been few and far between for Bailey this season who has been decent at times with an impressive strikeout rate. His next start will actually be today (Sunday) but his start for the upcoming week will be against the Tigers in Detroit. The Tigers lineup is starting to get going but if Bailey can avoid the walks I think he can have another strong outing with high strikeout upside.
Chris Bassitt – Bassitt tossed five shutout innings in his season debut, allowing just two hits while striking out seven against the Rangers. His start this upcoming week will be on the road against the Pirates which should be a solid match up for him as he faces a National League lineup with the pitcher instead of an American League lineup with a DH. He does actually start this afternoon (Sunday) against the Blue Jays so maybe you will want to see if he can have another successful outing before taking the leap but in deep leagues beggers can’t be choosers.