Welcome to the FantasyPros Week 6 starting pitcher fantasy baseball rankings. Every Friday, we’ll take a closer look at the upcoming week and rank every starting pitcher based on their overall skills, recent production, head-to-head matchup and park factor. These rankings are for Monday, April 28th through Sunday, May 4th.
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Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers Guide: Week 6
Be sure to take a look at expert consensus rankings (ECR) as a helpful tool when setting your lineups. You can also take advantage of our Pitcher Planner’s resource for probable pitchers as well as our streaming pitcher rankings.
Top 50 Starting Pitchers (April 28th to May 4th)
| Rank | Pitcher | Matchup(s) |
| 1 | Garrett Crochet | @ TOR, vs. MIN |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | @ LAA |
| 3 | Zack Wheeler | vs. WAS |
| 4 | Logan Webb | @ SD, vs. COL |
| 5 | Shota Imanaga | @ PIT, @ MIL |
| 6 | Jacob deGrom | vs. ATH, vs. SEA |
| 7 | Paul Skenes | vs CHC |
| 8 | Hunter Brown | @ CWS |
| 9 | Michael King | @ PIT |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | vs. LAA |
| 11 | Hunter Greene | vs. STL |
| 12 | Dylan Cease | @ PIT |
| 13 | Logan Gilbert | @ TEX |
| 14 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | @ ATL |
| 15 | Freddy Peralta | @ CWS, vs. CHC |
| 16 | Cole Ragans | @ TB, @ BAL |
| 17 | Jack Flaherty | @ HOU, @ LAA |
| 18 | Tanner Bibee | vs. MIN, @ TOR |
| 19 | Framber Valdez | @ CWS |
| 20 | Max Meyer | vs. ATH |
| 21 | Carlos Rodon | @ BAL |
| 22 | Tyler Glasnow | @ ATL |
| 23 | Max Fried | vs. TB |
| 24 | Bailey Ober | @ CLE, @ BOS |
| 25 | Nick Pivetta | vs. SF |
| 26 | Corbin Burnes | @ NYM |
| 27 | Chris Sale | @ COL |
| 28 | Spencer Schwellenbach | vs. LAD |
| 29 | Kris Bubic | @ BAL |
| 30 | Dustin May | vs. MIA |
| 31 | Joe Ryan | @ BOS |
| 32 | Sonny Gray | vs. NYM |
| 33 | Cristopher Sanchez | vs. WAS |
| 34 | Pablo Lopez | @ CLE |
| 35 | Bryce Miller | @ TEX |
| 36 | Andrew Heaney | vs. CHC, vs SD |
| 37 | Nick Martinez | vs. STL, vs WAS |
| 38 | Reese Olson | @ HOU, @ LAA |
| 39 | Kevin Gausman | vs. BOS |
| 40 | Walker Buehler | vs. MIN |
| 41 | MacKenzie Gore | @ PHI |
| 42 | Nick Lodolo | vs. WAS |
| 43 | Yusei Kikuchi | vs. DET |
| 44 | Jackson Jobe | @ LAA |
| 45 | Aaron Nola | @ ARI |
| 46 | Luis Castillo | @ TEX |
| 47 | Zac Gallen | @ NYM |
| 48 | Matthew Boyd | @ PIT |
| 49 | Hayden Wesneski | vs. DET |
| 50 | Tony Gonsolin | vs. MIA |
Smash Spots
Hunter Brown (SP – HOU) @ CWS
Hunter Brown is off to a phenomenal start, registering a 1.16 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with a 22.7% K-BB% and 2.78 SIERA in 31 innings. The Astros’ righty has picked up right where he left off last season, where he had a dominant second half.
Up next is the worst team in baseball in the Chicago White Sox. Don’t be surprised to see Brown completely mow through this abysmal lineup.
Michael King (SP – SD) @ PIT
Michael King has a high strikeout ceiling, as highlighted by his 27.2% strikeout rate. We’ve seen the Padres righty put up 11 strikeouts in only five innings against the Guardians earlier this year.
King has a terrific matchup on the road against the Pirates this upcoming week. This is a lineup that has put up an 83 wRC+ against righties this season.
Bryan Woo (SP – SEA) vs. LAA
Bryan Woo is off to a strong start this year, posting a 3.12 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with a 3.82 SIERA. This is a pitcher who has been dominant at T-Mobile Park, putting up a 1.38 ERA there so far this year.
This is a smash spot against the Angels, who have registered a 34% strikeout rate in the last seven days, which is by far the highest strikeout rate during that stretch.
Risky Starts
Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) @ ARI
Aaron Nola has gotten off to a rough start to the season, putting up a 6.43 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 28 innings. It’s hard to see a bounce back on the way next week.
This is a tough matchup on the road against the Diamondbacks, who have posted a 126 wRC+ against righties, which ranks third in MLB.
Luis Castillo (SP – SEA) @ TEX
Luis Castillo is another veteran pitcher with a track record who is struggling right now, highlighted by an underwhelming 19% strikeout rate.
The Rangers on the road are a tough matchup, especially with Wyatt Langford back and mashing. It’s hard to see much upside with Castillo in this spot.
Zac Gallen (SP – ARI) @ NYM
Zac Gallen is a third veteran off to a poor start, including a 10.7% walk rate and 5.60 ERA. Now he has to go up against a tough Mets lineup on the road.
New York has a stacked lineup led by Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. It’s hard to trust that Gallen will get back on track here.
Two-Start Pitchers
Andrew Heaney (SP – PIT) vs. CHC, vs. SD
Andrew Heaney has been one of the biggest surprises of the season, highlighted by a 1.72 ERA and 0.77 WHIP in 31.1 innings. The veteran lefty is coming off a dominant outing versus the Angels, where he went six shutout innings with nine strikeouts.
Eventually, we’re going to see regression here, but until Heaney starts to show signs, we need to ride the wave, even against the Cubs and Padres.
Nick Martinez (SP – CIN) vs. STL, vs. WAS
Nick Martinez hasn’t been anything special this season, posting a 5.40 ERA, but he deserves a bit better, as highlighted by his 4.27 SIERA.
You can fire him up for the two-start week with both outings at home versus the Cardinals and Nationals, which are two exploitable matchups.
Reese Olson (SP – DET) @ HOU, vs. LAA
Reese Olson hasn’t allowed an earned run in back-to-back starts, putting up a combined 12.1 shutout innings versus the Royals and Padres.
We’ve got two starts next week — a tough matchup against the Astros first, but an absolute smash spot versus the strikeout-prone Angels is the second turn.
Top Streamers
Matthew Boyd (SP – CHC) @ PIT
Matthew Boyd has been a nice surprise for the Cubs, putting up a 2.54 ERA in 28.1 innings. While he’s ripe for regression — as highlighted by his 4.33 SIERA you can fire him up in a great spot vs the Pirates.
Pittsburgh has posted a 61 wRC+ vs lefties this season, which ranks 25th in MLB.
Hayden Wesneski (SP – HOU) vs. DET
Hayden Wesneski is off to a solid start for the Astros, putting up a 27.8% strikeout rate so far. The 27-year-old righty has shown a high ceiling this year, including 10 strikeouts vs the Angels on April 13.
We’ve got an exploitable matchup on tap versus the Tigers, who have registered a 23.3% strikeout rate against righties, which is the eighth-highest in MLB.
Tony Gonsolin (SP – LAD) vs. MIA
Tony Gonsolin is set to return for the Dodgers just in time for a terrific spot at home against the lowly Marlins. The veteran has a great opportunity to rack up a win here.
Let’s remember that this is a righty who is one year removed from a strong season where he put up a 2.14 ERA in 103 innings. Pick him up if he’s available in your league.
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