We go around baseball's rotations every Sunday of the season in our weekly Pitching Planner. We highlight every matchup, recommended two-start options, sleepers and busts and much more.
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Brandon Webb vs. COL (Cook), vs. LAD (Kuroda)
- Dan Haren vs. COL (Jimenez), vs. LAD (Wolf)
- Doug Davis vs. COL (Morales)
- Jon Garland vs. LAD (McDonald)
- Max Scherzer skipped, begins on 15-day DL (shoulder)
Two-starter(s): Webb and Haren. They are must-starts in all
leagues.
Who is getting skipped: Scherzer. He won't go until
the D-Backs need a No. 5 starter April 14.
One-week sleeper:
Garland. He makes his D-Backs debut vs. the Dodgers.
One-week bust:
Scherzer. He won't start.
Atlanta Braves
- Derek Lowe at PHI (Myers), vs. WAS (Lannan)
- Jair Jurrjens at PHI (Moyer), vs. WAS (Olsen)
- Javier Vazquez at PHI (Blanton)
- Kenshin Kawakami vs. WAS (Martis)
- Tom Glavine skipped, begins on 15-day DL (shoulder)
Two-starter(s): Lowe and Jurrjens. They are must-starts in all
leagues.
Who is getting skipped: Glavine. He won't start until
the Braves need a No. 5 starter April 18.
One-week sleeper:
Kawakami. Japanese import is at home vs. the Nationals. Lock it up!
One-week
bust: Glavine. He won't start.
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Player | % Change | |
1. | Jason Motte, RP, Cardinals | 35 |
2. | Trevor Cahill, SP, Athletics | 21 |
3. | Kenshin Kawakami, SP, Braves | 18 |
4. | Jordan Zimmermann, SP, Nationals | 18 |
5. | Fernando Rodney, RP, Tigers | 17 |
6. | Kelvim Escobar, SP, Angels | 15 |
7. | Carlos Villanueva, SP, Brewers | 14 |
8. | Brett Anderson, SP, Athletics | 14 |
9. | Heath Bell, RP, Padres | 12 |
10. | Koji Uehara, SP, Orioles | 12 |
Baltimore Orioles
- Jeremy Guthrie vs. NYY (Sabathia), vs. TB (Niemann)
- Koji Uehara vs. NYY (Wang)
- Alfredo Simon vs. NYY (Burnett)
- Mark Hendrickson vs. TB (Sonnanstine)
- Adam Eaton vs. TB (Shields)
Two-starter(s): Guthrie. He is risky vs. the Yankees and Rays,
but at least he is at home.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: None. Look elsewhere.
One-week bust: Everyone.
Avoid all five of the O's starters in Week 1, if possible. Heck, avoid
them for the season until the prospects come up.
Boston Red Sox
- Josh Beckett vs. TB (Shields), at LAA (Saunders)
- Jon Lester vs. TB (Kazmir)
- Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. TB (Garza)
- Tim Wakefield at LAA (Adenhart)
- Brad Penny at LAA (Moseley)
Two-starter(s): Beckett. Tough matchups, but he is a must-start
in all leagues.
Who is getting skipped: Penny, but he will
start the first time a No. 5 starter is needed April 12, which is the
last day of Week 1.
One-week sleeper: Penny.
One-week
bust: Wakefield. He starts on the road at the Angels.
Chicago Cubs
- Carlos Zambrano at HOU (Oswalt), at MIL (Bush)
- Ryan Dempster at HOU (Rodriguez), at MIL (Suppan)
- Ted Lilly at HOU (Moehler)
- Rich Harden at MIL (Looper)
- Sean Marshall skipped
Two-starter(s): Zambrano and maybe Dempster. They are must-start
pitchers regardless.
Who is getting skipped: Maybe Marshall.
One-week
sleeper: All top four starters are advisable options.
One-week
bust: Marshall. He might not start.
Chicago White Sox
- Mark Buehrle vs. KC (Meche), vs. MIN (Blackburn)
- Gavin Floyd vs. KC (Greinke)
- John Danks vs. MIN (Dickey)
- Jose Contreras vs. KC (Davies)
- Bartolo Colon vs MIN (Liriano)
Two-starter(s): Buehrle. He is an option for deeper leagues vs.
KC and MIN.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Buehrle, although his "ace" status likely has him owned
already.
One-week bust: Contreras and Colon. They shouldn't be
trusted just yet.
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1 | Brad Penny | BOS |
2 | Andy Sonnanstine | TB |
3 | Kyle Lohse | STL |
4 | Trevor Cahill | OAK |
5 | Barry Zito | SF |
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1 | Oliver Perez | NYM |
2 | Jeremy Guthrie | BAL |
3 | Aaron Cook | COL |
4 | Bronson Arroyo | CIN |
5 | Nick Blackburn | MIN |
Cincinnati Reds
- Aaron Harang vs. NYM (Santana), vs. PIT (Snell)
- Edinson Volquez vs. NYM (Pelfrey)
- Micah Owings vs. NYM (Perez)
- Johnny Cueto vs. PIT (Karstens)
- Bronson Arroyo vs. PIT (Maholm)
Two-starter(s): Harang. He is trimmer and ready for a big rebound
season, a solid start.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Cueto. Usually risky, a matchup vs. the Pirates makes him a
must-start option.
One-week bust: Arroyo. He had a bad spring
and is struggling with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Cleveland Indians
- Cliff Lee at TEX (Millwood), vs. TOR (Halladay)
- Fausto Carmona at TEX (Padilla)
- Carl Pavano at TEX (McCarthy)
- Scott Lewis vs. TOR (Richmond)
- Anthony Reyes vs. TOR (Purcey)
Two-starter(s): Lee. He is a must-start in all leagues.
Who
is getting skipped: None.
One-week sleeper: Lewis.
Unheralded prospect had a great spring and is a nice flier in deeper
formats.
One-week bust: Pavano. His Indians debut at Texas is
potentially dangerous. Watch him closely if he pitches well, because he
will be a two-start pitcher the following week.
Colorado Rockies
- Aaron Cook, at ARI (Webb), vs. PHI (Myers)
- Ubaldo Jimenez at ARI (Haren)
- Franklin Morales at ARI (Davis)
- Jason Marquis vs. PHI (Hamels)
- Jorge De La Rosa vs. PHI (Park)
Two-starter(s): Cook and Jimenez. Cook is a risky option at
Arizona and vs. the Phillies, while Jimenez is an intriguing one.
Who
is getting skipped: None. The Rockies could skip their No. 5 starter
but apparently won't.
One-week sleeper: Morales. He had a
great spring, so consider him in deeper leagues, even against the
Phillies.
One-week bust: Cook. For the reasons stated above.
Detroit Tigers
- Justin Verlander at TOR (Halladay), vs. TEX (Harrison)
- Edwin Jackson at TOR (Purcey)
- Zach Miner at TOR (Litsch)
- Rick Porcello at TOR (Romero)
- Armando Galarraga vs. TEX (Benson)
Two-starter(s): Verlander and Jackson. They are solid options at
TOR and vs. TEX.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Porcello. If he slots No. 4 in the rotation, he faces a
back-end starter for the Blue Jays in his debut.
One-week bust:
Miner. He had a bad spring and shouldn't be trusted at this point.
Florida Marlins
- Ricky Nolasco vs. WAS (Lannan), vs. NYM (Hernandez)
- Josh Johnson vs. WAS (Olsen), vs. NYM (Santana)
- Chris Volstad vs. WAS (Cabrera)
- Anibal Sanchez vs. NYM (Maine)
- Andrew Miller skipped
Two-starter(s): Nolasco and Johnson, if they skip Miller one turn
through the rotation (probable). Nolasco and Johnson are must-start
pitchers.
Who is getting skipped: Likely Miller. The Marlins
don't need a No. 5 starter until April 18.
One-week sleeper:
Volstad. He starts at home vs. the Nationals. Heck, that might make him
a must-start option.
One-week bust: Sanchez. He draws the Mets
in Game 4. They have some payback to levy.
Houston Astros
- Roy Oswalt vs. CHC (Zambrano), at STL (Wainwright)
- Wandy Rodriguez vs. CHC (Dempster), at STL (Lohse)
- Brian Moehler vs. CHC (Lilly)
- Mike Hampton vs. STL (Pineiro)
- Russ Ortiz skipped
Two-starter(s): Oswalt and perhaps Rodriguez, if the No. 5 spot
is skipped (likely).
Who is getting skipped: Likely the No. 5
starter, Ortiz or Jose F. Capellan.
One-week
sleeper: Rodriguez gets two starts, albeit tough matchups vs. CHC
and at STL.
One-week bust: Hampton and the No. 4 starter,
perhaps Moehler, are marginal options with tough matchups.
Kansas City Royals
- Gil Meche at CHW (Buehrle), vs. NYY (Sabathia)
- Zack Greinke at CHW (Floyd)
- Kyle Davies at CHW (Contreras)
- Sidney Ponson vs. NYY (Pettitte)
- Horacio Ramirez vs. NYY (Chamberlain)
Two-starter(s): Meche. He is a risky option with tough matchups.
Who
is getting skipped: Ramirez, but he will still slot before the end
of the week, pitching Sunday.
One-week sleeper: Davies. He was
hot late last year and had a solid spring.
One-week bust:
Ponson and Ramirez. Those vets figure to get beat up by the Yankees.
Los Angeles Angels
- Joe Saunders vs. OAK (Braden), vs. BOS (Beckett)
- Dustin Moseley vs. OAK (Cahill), vs. BOS (Penny)
- Shane Loux vs. OAK (Eveland)
- Jered Weaver vs. OAK (Anderson)
- Nick Adenhart vs. BOS (Adenhart)
Two-starter(s): Saunders and Moseley. Saunders is advisable,
while Moseley is risky.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Weaver. He has a favorable matchup against a rookie making
his debut.
One-week bust: Loux. He cannot be trusted until he
proves capable.
Los Angeles Dodgers
- Hiroki Kuroda at SD (Peavy), at ARI (Webb)
- Randy Wolf at SD (Young), at ARI (Haren)
- Chad Billingsley at SD (Silva)
- Clayton Kershaw at SD (Correia)
- James McDonald at ARI (Garland)
Two-starter(s): Kuroda and Wolf. They are nice options at SD and
ARI.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week sleeper: Wolf
and Kershaw. They are available in some mixed leagues and face the lowly
Padres.
One-week bust: McDonald. He makes his first start at
ARI as Garland debuts. We still would take the chance on McDonald in
NL-only formats, though.
Milwaukee Brewers
- Jeff Suppan at SF (Lincecum), vs. CHC (Dempster)
- Yovani Gallardo at SF (Johnson)
- Manny Parra at SF (Cain)
- Braden Looper vs. CHC (Harden)
- Dave Bush vs. CHC (Zambrano)
Two-starter(s): Suppan. Tough matchups, so you likely should
avoid him in most leagues.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Parra. He matches up against weak Giants lineup.
One-week
bust: Looper and Bush. They face the Cubs' standouts.
Minnesota Twins
- Francisco Liriano vs. SEA (Hernandez), at CHW (Colon)
- Nick Blackburn vs. SEA (Bedard), at CHW (Buehrle)
- Kevin Slowey vs. SEA (Silva)
- Glen Perkins vs. SEA (Washburn)
- R.A. Dickey at CHW (Danks)
Two-starter(s): Liriano and Blackburn. You have to start Liriano
in all leagues vs. SEA and at CHW. Blackburn is a riskier option.
Who
is getting skipped: None.
One-week sleeper: Perkins. He
has had a great spring and starts at home vs. the lowly Mariners.
One-week
bust: Dickey. He is the worst rotation member in baseball. Avoid him.
New York Mets
- Johan Santana at CIN (Harang), at FLA (Johnson)
- Mike Pelfrey at CIN (Volquez)
- Oliver Perez at CIN (Arroyo)
- John Maine at FLA (Sanchez)
- Livan Hernandez at FLA (Nolasco)
Two-starter(s): Santana. Must-start in all leagues at CIN and
FLA. Duh!
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Hernandez. He is only useful in NL-only formats right now,
but he was a 13-game winner for far lesser teams last season.
One-week
bust: Perez. He has been brutal most of the spring and starts in a
great hitter's park in Cincy.
New York Yankees
- CC Sabathia at BAL (Guthrie), at KC (Meche)
- Chien-Ming Wang at BAL (Uehara)
- A.J. Burnett at BAL (Eaton)
- Andy Pettitte at KC (Ponson)
- Joba Chamberlain at KC (Ramirez)
Two-starter(s): Sabathia. He is a must-start in all leagues no
matter the matchup at this point. Watch him for his notorious slow
start, though.
Who is getting skipped: Chamberlain. He will
slot before the end of Week 1, though, so he can still be used.
One-week
sleeper: Pettitte. He is available in some mixed leagues and gets a
start against the lowly Royals. Then in Week 2, see below ...
One-week
bust: None. All Yankees starters should be active in all leagues
this week.
Oakland Athletics
- Dallas Braden at LAA (Saunders), vs. SEA (Hernandez)
- Trevor Cahill at LAA (Moseley), vs. SEA (Bedard)
- Dana Eveland at LAA (Loux)
- Brett Anderson at LAA (Weaver)
- Josh Outman vs. SEA (Rowland-Smith)
Two-starter(s): Braden and Cahill. They are not your usual
front-line starters.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Cahill. This is an elite 21-year-old pitching prospect who
will start twice at LAA and vs. SEA.
One-week bust: Braden. He
is starting twice, but his matchups suggest it will be against the aces
of LAA and SEA.
Philadelphia Phillies
- Cole Hamels at COL (Marquis)
- Brett Myers vs. ATL (Lowe), at COL (Cook)
- Jamie Moyer vs. ATL (Jurrjens)
- Joe Blanton vs. ATL (Vazquez)
- Chan Ho Park at COL (De La Rosa)
Two-starter(s): Myers. He is a must-start, two-start pitcher in
all leagues.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Moyer or Blanton. These two are a bit underrated in most
Fantasy leagues.
One-week bust: Park. He starts at Colorado.
We wouldn't trust him.
Pittsburgh Pirates
- Paul Maholm at STL (Wainwright), at CIN (Arroyo)
- Ian Snell at STL (Loshe), at CIN (Harang)
- Zach Duke at STL (Wellemeyer)
- Ross Ohlendorf at STL (Carpenter)
- Jeff Karstens at CIN (Cueto)
Two-starter(s): Maholm and Snell. All of the Pirates starters are
risky options this season, especially when they are starting at STL and
CIN.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week sleeper: Maholm.
He has become an ace on a terrible team, so he could prove useful in
deeper leagues even as a two-game loser.
One-week bust: Karstens.
Trusting any Pirates starters is dicey. Starting their No. 5 starter at
Cincy is just not something advisable.
San Diego Padres
- Jake Peavy vs. LAD (Kuroda), vs. SF (Sanchez)
- Chris R. Young vs. LAD (Wolf), vs. SF (Lincecum)
- Walter Silva vs. LAD (Billingsley)
- Kevin Correia vs. LAD (Kershaw)
- Shawn Hill vs. SF (Zito)
Two-starter(s): Peavy and Young. They are solid starts in all
leagues until their poor supporting cast proves otherwise.
Who is
getting skipped: None.
One-week sleeper: Young. He might
be available in some smaller mixed leagues.
One-week bust:
Starter Nos. 3-5. The Padres stink and these starters wouldn't be all
that intriguing regardless of their supporting cast.
San Francisco Giants
- Tim Lincecum vs. MIL (Suppan), at SD (Young)
- Randy Johnson vs. MIL (Gallardo)
- Matt Cain vs. MIL (Parra)
- Barry Zito at SD (Hill)
- Jonathan O. Sanchez at SD (Peavy)
Two-starter(s): Lincecum. It doesn't matter, but he gets the
Brewers at home and Padres on the road, easy money.
Who is getting
skipped: None.
One-week sleeper: Zito. Yeah, yeah, he
stinks and notoriously starts slowly, but that is a scrubby Padres team.
One-week
bust: Sanchez. He draws Peavy on the road. We wouldn't use him.
Seattle Mariners
- Felix Hernandez at MIN (Liriano), at OAK (Braden)
- Erik Bedard at MIN (Blackburn), at OAK (Cahill)
- Carlos Silva at MIN (Slowey)
- Jarrod Washburn at MIN (Perkins)
- Ryan Rowland-Smith at OAK (Outman)
Two-starter(s): Hernandez and Bedard. They are at MIN and OAK, so
consider them must-starts in all leagues.
Who is getting skipped
None.
One-week sleeper: Bedard. He might be unowned in some
smaller mixed leagues. He is in a walk year and has proven healthy
enough this spring. He is plenty motivated to earn a big contract or
even a midseason trade.
One-week bust: Silva. He is a bust
every week. Washburn is too.
St. Louis Cardinals
- Adam Wainwright vs. PIT (Maholm), vs. HOU (Oswalt)
- Kyle Lohse vs. PIT (Snell), vs. HOU (Rodriguez)
- Todd Wellemeyer vs. PIT (Duke)
- Chris Carpenter vs. PIT (Ohlendorf)
- Joel Pineiro vs. HOU (Hampton)
Two-starter(s): Wainwright and Lohse. Wainwright is a must-start
option, while Lohse is more of a sleeper.
Who is getting skipped
None.
One-week sleeper: Lohse. He gets two home starts vs. PIT
and HOU.
One-week bust: None. All of the Cardinals starters
are solid options this week.
Tampa Bay Rays
- James Shields at BOS (Beckett), at BAL (Guthrie)
- Scott Kazmir at BOS (Lester)
- Matt Garza at BOS (Matsuzaka)
- Andy Sonnanstine at BAL (Hendrickson)
- Jeff Niemann at BAL (Guthrie)
Two-starter(s): Shields. He is a must-start option in all leagues
at BOS and BAL.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Sonnanstine and Niemann. They get one start against the
Orioles. Sign them up.
One-week bust: None. All of the Rays
starters are viable options this week.
Texas Rangers
- Kevin Millwood vs. CLE (Lee), at DET (Jackson)
- Vicente Padilla vs. CLE (Carmona)
- Brandon McCarthy vs. CLE (Pavano)
- Kris Benson at DET (Galarraga)
- Matt Harrison at DET (Verlander)
Two-starter(s): Millwood. He is a risky option vs. CLE and at DET.
Who
is getting skipped: The No. 5 starter, likely Harrison. But he will
start Sunday at the latest and still get a start in the first week.
One-week
sleeper: McCarthy. He was solid at times this spring and could get
some decent run support.
One-week bust: Millwood and Padilla.
Don't rely on these two arms until they prove they deserve your trust in
deeper leagues.
Toronto Blue Jays
- Roy Halladay vs. DET (Verlander), at CLE (Lee)
- David Purcey vs. DET (Jackson), at CLE (Reyes)
- Jesse Litsch vs. DET (Miner)
- Ricky Romero at TOR (Romero)
- Scott Richmond at CLE (Lewis)
Two-starter(s): Halladay and Purcey. Halladay should never sit,
but Purcey is far more risky.
Who is getting skipped: None.
One-week
sleeper: Litsch. He has a solid matchup against Miner.
One-week
bust: Purcey, Romero and Richmond. They need to prove worthy of
their rotation spots before you should trust them outside of the deepest
of AL-only leagues.
Washington Nationals
- John Lannan at FLA (Nolasco), at ATL (Lowe)
- Scott Olsen at FLA (Johnson), at ATL (Jurrjens)
- Daniel Cabrera at FLA (Volstad)
- Shairon Martis at ATL (Kawakami)
- Jordan Zimmermann skipped
Two-starter(s): Lannan and Olsen. They are sleepers for deeper
leagues, mostly NL-only formats, at FLA and ATL.
Who is getting
skipped: Zimmermann. The elite pitching prospect is expected to open
in the minors and be brought back up when the Nationals first need a No.
5 starter April 19.
One-week sleeper: Lannan. He is really
underrated for a hungry upstart and might be able to sneak up for a
couple of road victories.
One-week bust: Cabrera. His command
issues haven't gone away, so there is no reason to expect them to be
solved this early.
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