The Shuffle Up series keeps rolling along, my priced groups of players at each position. Today we get to the Shuffle that really matters, the most difficult position to manage.
Starting pitchers. Oh, sure. This should be a real hoot.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]
If I could have just one singular player answer from a future-telling genie, I’d ask for the SP1 right answer for the fresh season ahead. If you connect on that player, your winning odds instantly push through the roof. Alas, pitchers are forever the sirens of fantasy baseball, tempting you with sweet promises that so often are not realized.
Starting Pitcher Overview
It’s really not their fault, of course. Throwing a baseball at the professional level requires taxing, perhaps unreasonable, demands on your upper body. Shoulders, forearms, elbows; they often can’t handle the strain of the repeated act, especially now that velocity has become such a huge part of the game. As a result of pitcher injuries, MLB clubs do all they can to “save” their pitchers — quicker hooks from start to start, lower IP target for a season, proactive trips to the injured list when even the slightest physical problem arises.
[Shuffle Up Rankings Tiers: Catchers | Corner Infield | Middle Infield | Outfield | Starters | Relievers]
It’s open to debate if the modern pitcher-handling theories are more gift than curse — perhaps in an effort to coddle and protect their prized arms, teams are actually setting them up to fail. That’s a discussion for another day.
Any fantasy strategy can work if you pick the right players, but I am unlikely to use an outlier strategy on pitching. I won’t be the team that loads up early, and I won’t be the team that waits the longest either. In a typical mixed league I’d like to get three arms I feel reasonably good about, then look for plausible upside later (like any other solid manager will). I will also be on the lookout for middle-relief heroes, especially in-season when fresh ones emerge — with fewer wins coming from starting pitchers in recent years, non-closing relief pitchers have risen in value.
When in doubt, try to find good pitchers tied to solid teams and non-threatening ballparks. It’s common sense, but often common sense is the best part of your fantasy toolbox.
Have some disagreements? Good, that’s why we have a game. I welcome your reasoned disagreement over at X (@scott_pianowski) or on Blue Sky (@pianow.bsky.social).