STARTERS: 2017 Sixth starters
Mar 31 2017
One of the biggest draft day mistakes that owners make is to overvalue Opening Day roles.
It might seem natural to target Opening Day starting rotations when filling out your pitching staffs. After all, they include the guys who already have starting jobs, and we all want to get out of the gates quickly in our fantasy leagues.
But early-season roles on pitching staffs are fluid, especially when it comes to starting pitchers. Injuries will create openings. So too will poor performance, or strong performance from guys outside of their team's initial starting rotation.
Interestingly, one-quarter of all innings thrown by SP come from those that were not in an Opening Day rotation:
Year SP IP By Opening Day Rotation ==== ...
Almost!
You’re just a few clicks away from accessing this feature and hundreds more throughout the year that have a singular goal in mind: Winning your league. Subscribe to BaseballHQ.com here!
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
More From Starting Pitchers
The strikeout stuff of Didier Fuentes could help the 20-year-old emerge as a rotation arm later in 2026.
May 9 2026 3:05am
May 9 2026 3:05am
At age 24, Jacob Misiorowski has been the NL's most skilled starting pitcher over the first month of the season.
May 2 2026 3:09am
May 2 2026 3:09am
José Soriano's dominating start to the season deserves a tip of the cap, and it has been backed by some significant underlying growth.
Apr 25 2026 3:09am
Apr 25 2026 3:09am
Andrew Abbott's poor start to the season can be traced to an absence of strong skills.
Apr 18 2026 3:09am
Apr 18 2026 3:09am
Jesús Luzardo's ugly early stats are hiding a collection of pristine skills.
Apr 11 2026 3:09am
Apr 11 2026 3:09am
