In this post I will tell you the starting pitchers to look forward to in week 3 who are under 75% owned in ESPN fantasy leagues. I chose not to add anyone above the 75% owned mark to this list since they will probably be in your fantasy rotation every game they pitch. There will be a grade by each match-up to tell you how confident I am in the pitcher's ability to come out of that certain game with a quality start.

April 17, 2025

• Jaime Garcia vs. San Diego Padres (Grade: B)

Garcia is facing a Padres lineup in which batters have hit a minuscule .100/.095/.100 against Garcia over a combined 20 at bats. This is a very small sample size as many of the Padres have yet to face the veteran left-hander. Garcia has held batters to a 0.81 HR/9 over his career due to the 2.22 GB/FB hitters have against him. One worrisome factor with Garcia is the fact that this year he has thrown 15% of his pitches right down the heart of the plate. Garcia should come out of the game Monday with a quality start, but if his poor pitch location continues this season it may be the Padres walking away with the W.

• Jharel Cotton vs. Texas Rangers (Grade: B-)

In Cotton's short career he has posted some impressive stats. He holds a career 0.89 HR/9, 1.99 BB/9 and all while holding batters to a .200 AVG. With those numbers Cotton also holds a poor 0.85 GB/FB which will be worrisome if hitters start hitting the ball harder against the young left-hander, but as of right now he has held batters to an impressive 22.2% soft contact on batted balls. He should have a solid outing on the 21st as Rangers' hitters have only hit .136/.136/.273 against Cotton over the 22 AB's they faced him. Cotton also has held hitters to .181/.218/.325 when he pitches at home, but his HR/9 does rise to 1.1 so do not be surprised if he gives up a home run or two on Monday.

April 18, 2025

• Zack Wheeler vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Grade: C-)

A lot of people really like Wheeler for this matchup on Tuesday, but do not forget Wheeler has not pitched in the majors for the past two seasons and is coming back from Tommy John surgery. The Phillies also have some surprise power potential in their lineup with guys like Maikel Franco, Michael Saunders, and Cameron Rupp. The Phillies' batters have also been pretty successful against Wheeler hitting .261/.320/.304 against him over 23 at bats. Wheeler will also be pitching at home where hitters have hit .256/.341/.412 against him. Wheeler is an interesting pick going into the week as he has the potential to rack up a lot of strikeouts against the Phillies lineup, but the Phillies' power could come back to hurt him.

• Joe Musgrove vs. Los Angeles Angels (Grade: C)

Musgrove will be pitching at home Tuesday at Minute Maid Park where hitters have hit a measly .195/.268/.315 over his short career. This is way better than the .328/.372/.611 hitters posted against him when he has been on the road. In 24 at bats the Angels hitters combined to hit .250/.250/.417 against this young Astros pitcher . He has a very good 2.49 BB/9 over his career which will help against some of the more disciplined hitters in the Angels' lineup. The one stat that worries about Musgrove however is the fact that over his career 10% of the pitches he has thrown have been down the heart of the plate, which could prove to be quite a problem if he continues this trend through Tuesday.

• Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Colorado Rockies (Grade: C)

Ryu has been on and off the DL the past two seasons, but his career 0.68 HR/9 and 2.09 BB/9 make him one of my favorites for comeback player of the year. However, hitters have only missed 8.5% of the strikes he throws when they have decided to swing over his career. He will also be facing the hard hitting Rockies who have hit .284/.333/.418 against him. Ryu will be not be pitching at the hitter friendly Coors Field however and instead will be pitching at Dodger Stadium where hitters have hit .267/.305/.394 against him. Now as a lot of the Rockies' hitters are terrible at hitting against left handed pitching like Cargo and Mark Reynolds, they do have some hitters who can hit left-handers quite well like Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. As long as Ryu can locate his pitches and keep the Rockies' power hitters from swinging for the fences, the Dodgers should edge out on top of the Rockies.

• Jarred Cosart vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Grade: C+)

Cosart's career 0.63 HR/9 is just one of the many reasons I feel so comfortable putting him in my fantasy baseball starting rotation on Tuesday. Another reason is the fact that Diamondback hitters have only hit .227/.280/.318 over the 22 at bats they have faced Cosart. Now this is not a large sample size, but the fact that Cosart has had so much success against these hitters before gives me the faith he can do it again on Tuesday. Now with that being said, do not expect Cosart to come away with a lot of strikeouts as he is mostly a pitch to contact pitcher. Only 6.6% of the strikes hitters have swung at over Cosart's career are missed. Cosart should have a solid outing Tuesday as long as he has command for his pitches and keeps the amount of walks to a minimum.

April 19,2025

• Robert Gsellman vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Grade: C-)

Gsellman held hitters to 0.20 HR/9 last season, mostly because of his 2.32 GB/FB he held hitters to over his first 44.2 innings as a big leaguer. Over his career hitters have hit .257/.329/.364 against him. The Phillies however, have hit an impressive .277/.327/.364 over the 47 at bats they have faced him. Over his whole career of 55.1 innings hitters have hit .257/.329/.364 against him. Gsellman may give up some hits Tuesday, but his ability to limit the long ball will ultimately have him walking away with another quality start.

April 20, 2025

• Aaron Nola vs. New York Mets (Grade: B)

Nola's 2016 campaign was quiet impressive as he had a 2.35 BB/9, 9.81 K/9 and all why having a 0.81 HR/9 which was mostly to do in part with his 2.23 GB/FB. His 2017 campaign has started off strong with a 10.64 K/9, 1.64 BB/9 and a very impressive 0.00 HR/9. The Mets however have a lot of power hitting left-handed hitters like Granderson, Duda, Conforto, and Bruce. Mets hitters have also had a lot of success against Nola over the 20 at bats they have faced him. Combined they have hit .400/.400/.600 against Nola, including a home run off the bat of Conforto. Tuesday could be the first time a batter hits a homer off Nola in 2017, but Nola could also walk away with a good amount of strikeouts to go with a Philies' win.

April 21, 2025

• Sean Manaea vs. Seattle Mariners (Grade: C)

Manaea has a very good 2.37 BB/9 over is career, but with that low walk rate comes a 1.21 HR/9. His 1.34 GB/FB is actually not that bad, but the 33.7% of batted balls with hard contact is what led to a HR/9 just above league average. Manaea will be pitching at home, where over 89.1 innings hitters have hit .223/.289/.376 against him. He also has a 0.9 HR/9 at home which is way better than his career 1.21 HR/9. He will also be facing the Mariners who have hit .243/.317/.514 and struck out 11 times in 37 at bats against him. It is also worth noting that both Kyle Seager and Nelson Cruz have hit home runs against Manaea in the past, so do not be surprised if the hard hitting Mariners go yard on Friday.

• Jeremy Hellickson vs. Atlanta Braves (Grade: A)

Hellickson will be facing the Braves Friday, who he has absolutely dominated in the past. The Braves hitters have hit .237/.287/.360 against him, but Kemp is one Brave who has hit Hellickson well. Kemp has hit .368/.381/.684 with a home run over 19 AB's against Hellickson. Hellickson will however be pitching at home, where he has held hitters to a pitiful .223/.275/.397. Hellickson has great command as we can see from his 2.14 BB/9 from last year, so we should see a solid outing from the former AL ROY.

April 22. 2017

• Matt Boyd vs. Minnesota Twins (Grade: C-)

Boyd will be facing the Twins on Saturday, who have struggled against him in the past. The Twins have only hit .202/.273/.414 against Boyd over 99 at bats, but over those 99 AB's they have hit 5 home runs against him including 2 from Robbie Grossman. Boyd's career 1.93 HR/9 is something to watch out for when he makes his start against the Twins, especially with power hitters like Sano and Dozier in the lineup. Boyd's knack for giving up homers can be attributed to his career 0.74 GB/FB and the 41.7% hard hit balls on contact in 2017. He has only produced soft contact from hitters 17.9% of the time which is something going forward that should concern fantasy owners. It looks like Boyd could have a really solid outing Saturday, but the long ball could haunt him and any fantasy team that owns him.

• Jerad Eickhoff vs. Atlanta Braves (Grade: C)

Eickhoff will be facing the rebuilding Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Eickhoff has had a lot of success against the Braves as tey have only hit .217/.276/.362 against him. With that being said, Freeman has hit .375 and 2 long balls against the young right-hander in only 16 AB's. Home runs are the thing to watch out for when Eickhoff is on the mound as owns a 1.37 HR/9 in 2016 and a 1.32 HR/9 in 2017. Another concerning factor is the 31.6% hard contact on batted balls hitters have against him over his career, which is even more concerning when you look at his 0.60 GB/FB in 2017. Eickhoff will not rack up a lot of strikeouts mostly due to his 9.1% strikes that are swung at and missed. Eickhoff may give up a couple runs, but he should be able to give fantasy owners some quality innings against the Braves.

April 23, 2025

• Josh Tomlin vs. Chicago White Sox (Grade: C-)