Readers often ask about my own pitching staffs in the various fantasy leagues in which I compete. So, having just recently completed this year's auction in my primary or "home" league, I thought I might take this opportunity to discuss the pitching staff I will go to war with. I will add that I typically focus very heavily on a few arms, so many of these guys pitch on several of my teams. 

A little background:

With 15 teams, this is a mixed league keeper with deep rosters (33 players per team with no minor league or disabled list slots). Standard scoring categories, five hitting and five pitching, with a lineup consisting of 12 hitters and nine pitchers (with a minimum of five qualified starting pitchers and two qualified relief pitchers).

So, let's look at my pitching staff and discuss thoughts on who and why:

• SP1 Kevin Gausman – I generally think Gausman is being undervalued, so I hopped on board. Hey, what else is new. It's amazing he is now 35-years-old, and I have followed him through thick and thin since he came out of LSU as a highly touted arm in 2012. His auction sell price was more of a tier 3 or tier 4 pitcher, and I see his potential as that of a tier 2. He makes his starts (he made more than 30 starts in each of the last five years. However, his fastball velocity has been all over the place, his strikeout rate plummeted in 2024, and his splitter, the pitch he is known for, was a bit inconsistent. Still, I'm hoping he can provide a lot of solid innings.
• SP2 Sandy Alcantara What can I say about Alcantara? I'll be honest, he is almost assuredly ranked too high here. He should probably be a five or six, but he's my kind of pitcher – huge upside, yet to be fully realized. He's not for the faint of heart, but if he ever puts it all together over a full season, you might be stamping "Cy Young Award Winner" in his passport. Is this the year?
• SP3 Kodai Senga – It's a keeper league, and I am fairly happy with the nucleus of my starting rotation, but I felt I needed to keep one "pricey" top-of-the-rotation starter, and Senga was the guy. He just keeps getting better as he progresses, and by 2025 season's end I felt he was top 10 or at least very close. He did miss most of 2024, so I watched his 2025 starts closely, and he finally broke 100 innings for the first time since 2023. His command was a bit inconsistent, but overall he looked good doing it. Senga's calling card is a virtually unhittable fork ball, and as long as he stays around the plate, that pitch is always in the arsenal.
• SP4 Bryan Woo – Wooo woooooo, jump on this train. Next, I have an SP5 who I hope (believe) could someday be capable of being a SP1 or SP2. So, mark me down as biased. His stuff is just okay, albeit he throws a little bit of everything at opposing hitters. Woo's calling card is mound presence, coupled with solid command of his entire repertoire. This guy wants to win. He experienced some right forearm soreness a couple years ago, but he still managed to post numbers far beyond most 2025 expectations (he was 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA and an impressive 0.93 WHIP). His strikeout rate is rather mediocre, if he has a weakness, but he limits hard contact, doesn't clutter the basepaths with walks, and he keeps the ball in the park.
• SP5 MacKenzie Gore – Here's yet another Kid's List alumni. I mean it stands to reason. I first saw Gore when he was in high school, and I immediately decided he was destined to pitch for me. I have had to be patient. He was selected in the first round in the 2017 draft out of high school, and he was making good progress before the injuries set in. He can still struggle with command of his offspeed offerings at times, but when he's around the zone, with his stuff, that's all he needs, His 2025 was a roller coaster ride, He flashed ace stuff in the first half. His second half was more challenging, but we all know what he's got in the tank.
• SP6 Miles Mikolas – Mikolas was again another of my all-disappointment team in 2024. He bounced back a bit in 2025, but he just never seemed to get into a groove, finishing 8-11 with a 4.84 ERA, and, perhaps most disheartening, a 1.32 WHIP. He is so much fun to watch. With different speeds and movement, he has a bunch of pitches in his arsenal. Typically, he will find a couple of those that are working, but it been quite a search. Last year he allowed more than 10 hits per nine innings. At age 37 that is scary, but he has been a workhorse.
• SP7 Roki Sasaki – I loved this guy when he popped onto the scene, and I still feel that way. He was a beast for a few seasons in Japan, but he struggled a bit in the states, then the injuries set in. The big one is a shoulder that limited him to 36 MLB innings in 2025. He has to both prove he can stay healthy and throw strikes consistently. You know me, the eternal optimist. I'm banking on a return to good health and great form.
• RP1 Jeff Hoffman – Have you ever watched a relief pitcher who kept you on the edge of your chair? That's Hoffman. He saved 33 games in 2025, but it wasn't always pretty. His 4.37 ERA and 1.19 WHIP were mediocre – and that's probably generous. Right now, the Toronto alternatives like Yimi Garcia and Louis Varland are even less exciting. So, unless the Jays go out and acquire a real closer, Hoffman is likely to be the guy again. I'm buying, but roster watching.
• RP2 Aroldis Chapman – I don't usually get worked up over 38-year-old pitchers, but Chapman isn't your typical greybeard. He averaged 99 mph on his fastball last season and regularly topped triple digits. That's especially notable for a southpaw. Now that he's with the Red Sox, I don't expect him to repeat last year's pristine numbers (1.17 ERA and 0.70 WHIP), but until he starts acting his age, I have to leave him near the top of the closer's class.
• RP3 Clayton Beeter – I keep looking at Beeter and wondering what the Nationals expect him to contribute. Everybody lists him as a ho-hum bullpen arm, but I can't find anyone to replace him. His fastball sits around 97 mph, which is good enough, but six walks per nine innings is not the recipe for success. There is really very little in the bullpen for him to beat out, so my playbook looks for someone to teach him how to throw the ball over the plate and he leads the Nats in saves.
• FLEX – this could be a SP7/8 or RP3/4 – Trey Yesavage, Zebby Matthews, Michael Soroka, Garrett Whitlock and Matt Brash – This is the "bench strength" of my mound corps, so keeping the regulars on the mound is obviously a big key to my season. By the end of the draft, pitching was a veritable wasteland, and I filled in with what was available. For the most part these aren't bad pitchers, I just don't know how fantasy relevant they will be. I'm kind of counting on Soroka coming back to form, while Matthews is my super sleeper. And, I like Brash (great arm) and Whitlock as bullpen insurance policies. They could figure into the saves mix for their respective teams if all the pieces fall into place. Time will tell.

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

• Atlanta has an ace youngster in 20-year-old Didier Fuentes who will reportedly pitch in long relief to begin the season. He pitched three innings in each of his spring outings striking out 17 while issuing no walks. He'll eventually report to Triple-A Gwinnett, but it won't be long before he's in the Braves rotation.
• The Jays have already announced that Trey Yesavage will begin the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement, but the right-hander continues to build up after having a delayed start to spring training. The 22-year-old's absence to begin the season will hopefully be brief. My pick for AL Rookie of the Year.
• I've been following Nick Lodolo this spring. He was removed from his last Grapefruit League start against the Guardians due to a blister on his left index finger, but reports are that it should not be a big deal as he enters the regular season. I'm expecting the lefty to enjoy a bit of a breakout this year.
• The Red Sox Opening Day starter, Garrett Crochet ended the spring with an ugly 7.36 ERA over 14-plus innings, but he has downplayed it as some command inconsistency to go with experimental pitch mix selection. I'm not too concerned at this point, but hopefully it will all come together when they play for real.