PPP 763 – Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers To Add And Drop – 4-1-26

Nick Pollack delivers a high-octane, data-driven breakdown of fantasy baseball starting pitchers for April 1st, 2026, spotlighting breakout performances and red flags with surgical precision. The episode opens with a viral-worthy moment: Bubba Chandler’s dazzling debut—6 strikeouts, 6 walks, 0 hits in 4.1 innings—where Pollack declares him a 'fan 4 plus machine' due to elite fastball metrics like 17 inches of vertical break and 99 mph velocity, despite command issues. Pollack dives deep into pitch mechanics, using proprietary metrics like 'height-adjusted VAA' and 'swing strike rate' to separate signal from noise. He praises Kodai Senga’s 97-98 mph fastball and 19% whiff rate, calls Jansen Junk’s outing 'absurdly impressive' with an A+ stuff grade, and warns against overvaluing pitchers like Brandon Flock and Logan Gilbert despite flashy whiff numbers. The episode culminates in a bold contrarian take: despite a 6-run outing, Pollack advocates for Brandon Williamson as a 'Toby at best' due to elite cutter and changeup command, urging fantasy managers to ignore the line and trust the underlying pitch quality. This isn’t just a roster guide—it’s a masterclass in decoding pitch data to beat the market. Key takeaways include the importance of vertical break and command over raw velocity, the danger of overvaluing whiff counts without context, and the power of 'stuff grades' like PitcherList’s A+ to identify hidden gems.