PPP 769 – Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers To Add And Drop – 4-13-26
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Nick Pollack delivers a sharp, data-driven analysis of April's fantasy baseball pitching landscape, calling out overvalued performances and highlighting hidden gems. The episode centers on a critical pivot: Jose Soriano's hot start is likely unsustainable, with Pollack urging owners to 'sell high' despite the 10-strikeout, shutout outing, citing extreme luck, poor command consistency, and a historically low correlation between April and season-long performance. He also drops Max Scherzer after a disastrous 2.1-inning, 8-run outing, emphasizing that even elite arms can regress quickly. Meanwhile, Pollack identifies Bubba Chandler as a rising sleeper, praising his improved command and secondary pitches, and positions him as a must-add in deeper leagues. The episode is a masterclass in separating short-term variance from long-term skill, with Pollack warning against overreacting to early-season outliers while aggressively targeting under-the-radar arms with tangible improvements. His core message: trust process over performance, and let the data, not the hype, drive your roster decisions.
Sell Jose Soriano immediately despite a 10-strikeout, shutout start—his 35% putaway rate and 43% splitter strike rate are unsustainable outliers.
Max Scherzer is a drop after a 2.1-inning, 8-run disaster; even elite arms regress, and his 93 mph velocity doesn't guarantee success.
Bubba Chandler is a must-add in 15-team leagues—his improved command, effective changeup, and sweeper make him a legitimate breakout candidate.
Avoid pitchers with poor command patterns like Taj Bradley (43% splitter strike rate) and Andrew Abbott (8 hits, 7 ER in 3 innings).
Do not start MLB debutants like Noah Schultz—MLB debuts are historically bad, even for high-ceiling arms.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
April 13th Pitching Outlook & Key Trends
Nick Pollack opens the episode with a birthday shoutout and sets the tone for a data-driven, contrarian analysis of early-season pitching performances, emphasizing the danger of overvaluing April hot streaks.
Selling High on Jose Soriano: Luck vs. Skill
“I go, yeah, yep, that makes me look really stupid. So why? Why is this happening? Well, okay, as it is with every single 4-start stretch that is exceptional, there's going to be some luck involved in some extreme fashion.”
Max Scherzer Drop & the Illusion of Consistency
“Don't hold on to Max Scherzer tightly. I thought it would work out. Max Scherzer is just generally good enough and it wasn't here.”
Bubba Chandler: The Hidden Sleeper
“Far better. Far much more like, okay, you're finding yourself, Bubba Chandler. And now... He gets three great parks to pitch in.”
Avoiding the Pitfalls: Command & Consistency
Pollack warns against pitchers with poor command, citing Taj Bradley’s 43% splitter strike rate and Andrew Abbott’s disastrous 3-inning outing as red flags.
“Far better. Far much more like, okay, you're finding yourself, Bubba Chandler. And now... He gets three great parks to pitch in.”
“MLB debuts are just generally bad. Paul Skeens was bad. Right? So spec ad Noah Schultz, he's a big lefty. He's been talked about for a while. Like, he should be a high strikeout arm. Pick him up.”
“You don't go Miles Michaelis. All right, that is it for today.”
Host
Nick Pollack
person
Jose Soriano
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Bubba Chandler
person
Max Scherzer
person
Taj Bradley
person
Mick Abel
person
Andrew Abbott
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Noah Schultz
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Sandy Alcantara
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Michael Lorenzen
person
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