Fantasy Baseball Week 15 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers include Kyle Gibson, Simeon Woods Richardson (2024)

Not a good sign when Kyle Gibson is kicking things off, but he consistently works deep into games and has two favorable matchups at Pittsburgh and Washington.

Another week, another chance to recommend Reese Olson, who seems to have gotten back on track after those two ugly starts earlier this month. It helps that the Reds don't match up well with righties, having the third-highest strikeout rate and fifth-lowest OPS against them.

Michael Wacha's start Thursday was just the latest in what's been a nice turnaround for the right-hander, even with an IL stint in the middle. He has a 2.43 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 8.0 K/9 in his past seven starts and has a favorable matchup this week against the Rays.

No. 4 on this list is really the last that I have any enthusiasm for, and enthusiasm may not even be the right word for Zack Littell, who has been merely fine in his past couple turns. He does at least line up for two starts against teams that rank in the 11-20 range for runs scored.

I'm not really to the point of recommending Sean Manaea, am I? OK, well he has pitched to a 3.89 ERA so far, albeit with a high walk rate and some early hooks. Really, his matchups against the Nationals and Pirates are the selling point here.

Everything I just said about Sean Manaea also applies to David Peterson, except it's a 3.67 ERA instead of 3.89. What you're hoping is that the favorable matchups lead to two decent starts, which add up to a respectable weekly total.

A high-ish fly-ball rate and low-ish walk rate have allowed Simeon Woods Richardson to limit baserunners and overall damage, but his overall skill set isn't so impressive. Still, in a week like this one, with such limited choices, it's enough to recommend him with one good matchup (Tigers) and one not so good (Astros).

Ben Lively bounced back from a couple bumpy outings with a quality start at the Royals on Thursday and still has strong numbers overall. He can probably keep it going against a White Sox lineup that's still well behind every other in runs scored.

Jose Quintana has begun to stabilize after a rocky first couple months with four quality starts in his past six. He's still a risky play, but it helps that he's facing a Nationals team with the fifth-lowest OPS against lefties.

I'm ready to move on from Albert Suarez, whose past couple turns have reintroduced him to reality, but as you've no doubt already gleaned, this week is particularly bad for sleeper pitchers. Starting a right-hander against the Mariners, who have a league-high 28 percent strikeout rate vs. righties, generally pays off.