Hyun-Jin Ryu- 6/20 @ BAL: Sit; Following start: 6/26 vs BAL
On average, Ryu was drafted among the top-20 starting pitchers, but he's currently outside the top-50 in points leagues. The Blue Jays left-hander has a respectable 3.43 ERA, but his main problem is that he's not striking out as many batters as expected, for his 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings is his lowest since 2016. He's also average-to-below average in most advanced statistics, including that strikeout percentage and getting swing-and-misses. In addition, his expected ERA and expected wOBA are both higher than his actual numbers, signifying that he's actually been fortunate this season. Furthermore, he's given up 12 earned runs with 8 walks and 7 strikeouts in his past 17.2 innings (3 starts). Due to this, he should be on the bench for his next outing in Baltimore. The Orioles are terrible, but Ryu hasn't proven that he can pitch effectively since May. Therefore, it's a good idea to have him on the bench so he doesn't hurt your team. This is also an important start for Ryu. If he pitches well (i.e. he gets a quality start) on Sunday, he should definitely be in lineups against the same Orioles team for the following start. On the other hand, if he doesn't, he should continue to sit until he puts together 1-2 strong starts in a row. Hopefully he can turn it around this weekend for fantasy purposes.
Luis Castillo- 6/20 @ SD: Start; Following start: 6/26 vs ATL
Castillo has easily been the most disappointing fantasy pitcher of 2021. He was drafted as the SP13, right above aces like Corbin Burnes and Lance Lynn, but he has not played anywhere near that level. Right now, he has scored a total of 46 fantasy points (in default ESPN leagues), and he even had a negative total just two weeks ago. He's also ranked 210th on the ESPN player rater among starting pitchers in rotisserie formats. The Reds pitcher has a 5.83 ERA, and he leads the league in earned runs allowed, which is definitely not something to be proud of. However, unlike Ryu, Castillo is trending upwards. Over his last three starts, he's pitched 18.2 innings and allowed 7 hits, 7 walks, 4 runs, and 19 strikeouts. This means that for those fantasy managers who have benched him since the first few weeks of the season (myself included), it's time to put him back in the starting lineup. He's earned it! Of course, if he's terrible against San Diego, the bench is always an option after that, but he's been really effective so far in the month of June and it seems like he's slowly becoming more like the Castillo who was drafted in the top-15 starting pitchers. Keep a close eye on him over the next few starts, but start him until he proves that he doesn't deserve it.
Blake Snell- 6/16 (today) @ COL: Sit; Following start: 6/21 vs LAD
Another disappointing starting pitcher, Snell is currently outside the top 100 starters in both points league and roto formats even though he was drafted in the top 20. I wrote about him two weeks ago, so you can read more about him here. Since then, he's been up-and-down. He flirted with a no-hitter against the Mets on June 4 (34 fantasy points), but then only went four innings the next week at Citi Field (-3 fantasy points). Even though I praised him in the article linked above and he showed his amazing potential in that June 4 start, he should still be on the bench for at least the next two starts. Colorado isn't a great offense, but Coors Field is a terrible park for pitchers, so due to that and his poor performance in his most recent start, keep him on the bench today. Furthermore, the Dodgers are a bad matchup no matter where the game is, so it's unwise to put the struggling Snell in a starting lineup against what is arguably the most talented offense in baseball. But, after these two starts, the Padres schedule gets a little bit lighter on the hitting side, so if Snell holds his own over the next week, don't hesitate to start him going forward.
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