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Based on season-long potential, I ranked Joe Boyle as the top free agent pitcher this week, followed by Matthew Liberatore, Kumar Rocker, and AJ Smith-Shawver. Kumar Rocker, TEX Over his first four major league starts, Rocker has buried teams in ERA (6.38) and WHIP (1.
47). He showed growth in his last outing (three runs and five hits over seven innings with eight strikeouts) while showing efficiency with his pitches (78). His ceiling is extremely high, and Rocker showed elite command (five walks over 36.
2 innings) in the minors last season. In shallow leagues, I like his buy-and-hold upside. My early plan would be to feature him in double-start weeks until Rocker shows more consistency.
Luis Ortiz, PIT Ortiz was an interesting pitcher to follow this draft season. Despite his success in 2024 (3.32 ERA, 1.
11 WHIP, and 107 strikeouts over 135.2 innings with a 95+ mph fastball), he was totally dismissed as a foundation arm in any format. He struggled in spring training, which carried over to his first two starts (10 runs, 20 baserunners, and two home runs over 10.
2 innings with five strikeouts) in the regular season. Ortiz comes off two wins where he allowed two runs, 10 baserunners, and two home runs over 10.2 innings with 18 strikeouts.
His overall season stats still look poor, but Ortiz is more than viable in shallow leagues due to his overall upside. He must clean up his damage in home runs, an area in which he had more success last season. Matthew Liberatore, STL For the fantasy managers who do not pay attention to details, Liberatore has found his command (two walks over 25.
0 innings) this season. He allowed two runs and 11 baserunners over his last 12.2 innings with 13 strikeouts, putting him in the must-add category in all formats.
His fastball (95.1 mph) is trending higher, and Liberatore is gaining confidence with his cutter (added in 2024). Joe Boyle, TB The Rays called up Boyle last Sunday to make a spot start against Atlanta.
He responded with five no-hit shutout innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Tampa quickly put him out of sight and mind by shipping him back to the minors. In his next start at AAA on Saturday, Boyle pitched another six no-hit shutout innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.
With the A’s, he came through their system with command issues, but Boyle was challenging to hit. The Rays have improved his strike-throwing ability, creating a much more attractive arm. His direction screams buy-and-hold as Tampa must find a way to get him in their starting rotation.
Reid Detmers, LAA I broke up with Detmers in my 15-team leagues last week due to injuries and favorable pitching depth. His arm has been less than impressive over his first six appearances (3.68 ERA, 1.
36 WHIP, and six strikeouts over 7.1 innings) while allowing a run in three consecutive games. The Jack Kochanowicz starting window is about to close after getting beat up in back-to-back starts (10 runs, 19 baserunners, and one home run over 9.
1 innings with only two strikeouts). Detmers has swing-and-miss pitchers, but he must command his pitchers better in the strike zone to lower the damage from home runs. At the very least, Detmers is one of the few free-agent arms that offers double-digit strikeout upside once he finds his rhythm on the mound.
AJ Smith-Shawver, ATL After the Braves shipped Smith-Shawver back to AAA, some short-sighted fantasy managers released him back into the free agent pool, even in deep formats. I thought he had a progression game on April 12th for the Braves (two runs, eight baserunners, and seven strikeouts over five innings), and Smith-Shawver had a similar outing in his next start at AAA (three runs, five hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings).
Bryce Elder is not the answer for Atlanta after getting drilled in three consecutive outings (12 runs, 23 baserunners, and five home runs over 15 innings with 10 strikeouts). Based on this alone, Smith-Shawver should be picked up in all formats this week. He is on the same timeline for scheduled starts as Elder.
Brayan Bello, BOS The Red Sox gave Bello four minor league starts in April after beginning the season on the injured list with a right shoulder issue. He’s allowed 11 runs, 22 baserunners, and one home run over 14.0 innings with 21 strikeouts.
Bello threw 71 pitches in his last outing at AAA while struggling (four runs, seven baserunners, and seven strikeouts over 4.1 innings). His fastball (95.
8 mph) is slightly up from his previous two seasons while continuing to feature a sinker as his top usage pitch, followed by a slider and changeup. Bello looks poised to get called up next week, with a chance at double-starts (SEA and @CLE). Brandon Woodruff, MLW The fantasy market is starting to get data on Woodruff after pitching mostly simulated games this spring.
The Brewers gave him two minor league starts at AAA (five runs, 10 hits, and five walks over 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Woodruff threw 68 pitches in his last outing while averaging about 93.
0 mph with his fastball this spring. Milwaukee should give him two more rehab starts before calling him up. More Fantasy Baseball News: Fantasy Baseball: Jason Foley, Brandon Woodruff Headline Key Pitchers In Week 4 Injury Report Fantasy Baseball Minor League Pitcher Report: Clayton Kershaw, Ranger Suarez, More Fantasy Baseball Prospect Watch: Nick Kurtz, Jordan Lawlar Nearing Big Leagues.
