Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers include Cristopher Sanchez, Edward Cabrera

For all the angst surrounding Cristopher Sanchez early on, three of his four starts have been good, with the most recent living up to our greatest hopes for him. You could ask for better matchups than the Reds and Padres, but he’s basically a must with two starts.

Michael Wacha is the sort of high-floor pitcher who’s pretty much always worth recommending when he’s in line for two starts, but particularly when the matchups are as good as the Blue Jays and Tigers.

Though the results for Gavin Stone have been iffy so far, the swinging-strike rate is through the roof. A bottom-feeder matchup like the Nationals should bring out his best.

The ERA has come in a little high for Jack Flaherty so far, but the underlying numbers look the best they have in years. There’s nothing special about his matchup against the Rays, so consider Flaherty’s placement here as sort of a baseline for how applicable the remaining recommendations are for your league..

The ultimate Charizard due to his fleeting command, Edward Cabrera is either going to scorch your opponent, like in his 10-strikeout effort against the Giants last time out, or scorch you. I’m betting on the former with the Nationals on tap this week, but his weekend start against the Cubs may be the ultimate decider.

Though the results for Brandon Pfaadt have been (and likely will remain) hit or miss, he generally works deep into games, which should work out well enough for points leagues in a two-start week. It just so happens that the matchups (Cardinals and Mariners) are pretty favorable, too.

Jon Gray’s slider has played up in his past two starts, leading to 16 strikeouts compared to just six hits over 11 innings. Granted, his opponents were the Athletics and Tigers, but his matchup against the Mariners this week is nearly as favorable.

Keaton Winn’s heavy splitter use gives him a high ground-ball rate and a decent enough floor even though he’s unlikely to be a game-changer. He’s a solid play in points leagues with two starts against middle-of-the-road lineups (Mets and Pirates).

Lance Lynn was so combustible last year that you may be gun-shy about using him again (I know I am). But he’s been pretty stable so far and lines up for two starts, which makes him worth considering if you’re looking to maximize volume in a points league.

Trevor Rogers hasn’t delivered an A-minus start yet, but his last two were a solid B. He’s missing bats a decent clip and should turn in a nice outing against the Nationals to end the week. It’s just the first matchup against the Braves that might steer you away.