You know how Week 1 immediately divided the user base into two factions, those who regarded opening weekend as its own separate scoring period and those who combined with the first full week for a supersized scoring period? Well, the All-Star break presents another such opportunity.
Once again, play resumes in the middle of a week, and because there's no clear consensus over what to do about it, some of us will be splitting off here. Yes, those of you who know Week 17 as Week 16 because of choices your league made earlier this season are about to fall behind by one more.
That's because, when in doubt, CBS defaults to more scoring periods, treating this first weekend after the break as its own. Many leagues opt for the alternative, extending the four-day period to 11 days, which can obviously change the complexion of a player's upcoming schedule.
When it comes to recommending players, then, two lists are needed to account for the different variants, and that's what I've put together here, making streamer recommendations for both the short week and the long. The only players who qualify are those rostered in no more than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
Ian Seymour's final start before the break was a clunker, but you shouldn't let it scare you away from the considerable upside he showed in his three starts prior, as depicted best by a 13.5 K/9 rate and 14.2 percent swinging-strike rate. The Red Sox may have been hot before the break, but they're still tied for the second-worst offense in baseball.
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Griffin Jax entered the break with a 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 9.0 K/9 in his final seven starts, and while only one of them went beyond five innings, the underlying data, particularly the amount of swing-and-miss, suggests he may have even left some meat on the bone. If nothing else, he seems like a safe choice against a Red Sox lineup that, again, ranks second-to-last.
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Jared Jones' stuff has looked good since his return from UCL surgery, and he finally had an outing to match just before the All-Star break, throwing six perfect innings against the Braves. The Guardians offense has mostly sputtered without Jose Ramirez and is tied with the Red Sox for second-to-last overall.
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Landen Roupp has been hit or miss this year, but he finished the first half on a high note with eight strong innings against the Blue Jays and still boasts a 3.36 xERA and 3.29 FIP overall. I think he's worth starting more weeks than not, but particularly during a short one against a bottom-five offense like the Mariners.
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The spike in fastball effectiveness that fueled Cade Cavalli's 13-strikeout effort three turns ago has not carried over to subsequent starts, but he still turned in a quality effort just before the break. I'm not saying he's a must against an injury-depleted Athletics lineup, but in a week when your choices are likely limited, you could certainly do worse.
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Why face just one of the offenses tied for second-to-last when you can face both? The extended scoring period provides Ian Seymour with that opportunity.
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The Blue Jays have outscored the Guardians by only seven runs this season, so practically speaking, it's just as favorable of a second turn as Ian Seymour has. Griffin Jax faced the Blue Jays on May 13 and threw five scoreless innings.
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The Royals had a 31-run outburst over the span of two days but averaged just 2.2 runs in their final five games to close out the first half. I've already said Landen Roupp is worth starting more weeks than not, so adding the Royals to a schedule that already includes the Mariners is nothing that should scare you away.
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Dustin May hasn't gone the minimum five innings required for a win since his complete game shutout against the Padres on June 15, but he seemed to have regained his effectiveness in his final two turns before the break, short though they were. He's not the biggest strikeout pitcher, but he'll be facing two of the three most strikeout-prone teams this week.
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In his four starts since rejoining the rotation in late June, Reynaldo Lopez has been throwing nearly as hard as he did in his memorable 2024 season, when he had a 1.99 ERA. Sustainability is a major question, but a favorable two-start slate against bottom-10 offenses might be justification enough to roll the dice.
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