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Some days are full of aces, and some days are full of question marks. The MLB schedule on Wednesday, May 17 is the latter, with fully half the league falling somewhere in the middle tiers of our daily starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball. Whether it’s a usually reliable name with a tough matchup or a mercurial arm who’s as likely to bust as he is to boom, tough decisions abound for fantasy managers — so we’re here to help.
Starting pitcher rankings for Wednesday, May 17
Pitchers to stream
J.P. France, Houston Astros — The rookie cruised again in his second career MLB start, firing 6.2 innings of one-run ball in a win on the road against the Chicago White Sox. The Chicago Cubs represent a step up in competition for the righty, but it’s a lineup that’s been scuffling a bit lately and should be without Cody Bellinger as he nurses a knee injury. France has a deep, solid repertoire of pitches that should allow him to induce enough weak contact to get through five or six solid innings again.
Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks — Nelson’s had a disappointing season as he searches for something, anything to pair with his four-seam fastball, but let’s go back to this well one more time. The righty gets the dismal Oakland Athletics at the pitcher-friendly Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon, and while the floor is lower than you’d like, there’s a lot of upside here if he can put it all together.
Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia Phillies — Walker has stabilized a bit after a very rough start to the year, with consecutive quality starts at home against the Boston Red Sox and then at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies. He’s leaning more than ever on his splitter and finding a lot of success (his 50.8% ground ball rate would be a career high) and if he has the feel for it again he could produce against a middling San Francisco Giants lineup that’s dealing with injuries at various spots.
And now, without further ado, here are your full starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball on Wednesday, May 17.
Starting pitcher rankings 5/17
Rank | Pitcher | Matchup |
---|---|---|
Rank | Pitcher | Matchup |
Must-start | ||
1 | Spencer Strider | @ Rangers |
2 | Gerrit Cole | @ Blue Jays |
3 | Yu Darvish | vs. Royals |
4 | Eduardo Rodriguez | vs. Pirates |
5 | Corbin Burnes | @ Cardinals |
6 | Dustin May | vs. Twins |
Strong plays | ||
7 | Chris Bassitt | vs. Yankees |
8 | Sonny Gray | @ Dodgers |
9 | Nathan Eovaldi | vs. Braves |
10 | MacKenzie Gore | @ Marlins |
11 | JP France | vs. Cubs |
Questionable | ||
12 | Edward Cabrera | vs. Nationals |
13 | Ryne Nelson | @ Athletics |
14 | Rich Hill | @ Tigers |
15 | Taijuan Walker | @ Giants |
16 | Drew Smyly | @ Astros |
17 | Brayan Bello | vs. Mariners |
18 | Kyle Bradish | vs. Angels |
19 | Peyton Battenfield | @ White Sox |
20 | Griffin Canning | @ Orioles |
21 | Marco Gonzales | @ Red Sox |
Don't do it | ||
22 | Mike Clevinger | vs. Guardians |
23 | Adam Wainwright | vs. Brewers |
24 | Graham Ashcraft | @ Rockies |
25 | Luis Medina | vs. Diamondbacks |
26 | Taj Bradley | @ Mets |
27 | Kodai Senga | vs. Rays |
28 | Sean Manaea | vs. Phillies |
29 | Austin Gomber | vs. Reds |
30 | Jonathan Heasley | @ Padres |