Let’s not mince words here – starting pitching really sucks this year. Yes, some of the elite are still pitching well and we’ve seen some interesting resurgences and breakouts, but with the rash of injuries and steady flow of poor performances, many fantasy owners who thought they were investing sensibly are now left with a pile of rubble and wondering just how to salvage this mess. Trades are the obvious route, but let’s face it, the prices for even a decent starter this year are astronomical. You can stream off the waiver wire, but have you seen how ugly that list of names looks? If you’re sitting at the bottom of your standings in the pitching categories, you’ve got your work cut out for you. It’s not an impossible task by any means, but it’s certainly going to be an uphill climb.

What’s even worse is that for so many, you’re in the same boat as me. What happens when you look at your pitching staff and still see a world of promise and hope? I’m at the bottom of the SiriusXM Host League in the pitching categories and my current crop of starters includes Masahiro Tanaka, Lance McCullers, Jose Quintana, Aaron Nola, Aaron Sanchez, Ivan Nova, Dan Straily, Matt Moore and Sonny Gray. Obviously those last few names were more speculative upside plays, but that top six should have been competing with the best of them this season. Or so I thought.

So with that, I’m going to bring the Circle of Trust from the SiriusXM airwaves to here and look at some starting pitchers you may want to consider, moving forward. Some are performing well and have a strong outlook to sustain their production while others are some of the struggling hurlers who should hopefully turn things around sooner than later. Perhaps somewhere amongst this group we can find a few names we can trust together.

Jeff Samardzija, SF – There’s no denying the fact that Shark is pitching extremely well this season and while the 4.31 ERA is a tad cumbersome, there’s plenty to love about what’s ahead. Along with the fact that he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his last six outings, Samardzija has seen a significant uptick in both his overall K-rate and swinging-strike rate thanks to increased velocity of his slider and usage of his curve. His groundball rate may have dipped a little, but he’s pitching to less contact and there are a few peripherals which indicate, not just sustainability, but improvement as well. His current 67.3-percent strand rate should regress to his career 71-percent mark while he is also one of the leaders in ERA-FIP differential. That 3.16 FIP and 2.92 xFIP show you that he’s definitely pitching better than his ERA indicates. If those metrics are on-point, we’re looking at a potentially brilliant second half.

Jose Quintana, CHW – Crazy head-scratcher here as Quintana has been crazy disappointing this season. His strikeout rates are just fine, but he’s having trouble with both the long ball and the walks right now. Ballpark factors are not in his favor and the obvious trade rumors/expectations could be wearing on him mentally. While the emotional aspect isn’t exactly measurable, we can see by the ERA-FIP differential that he’s actually pitching better than the numbers indicate. That and the fact that his strand rate should regress as it’s sitting almost eight points lower than his career norm. Hitters aren’t biting on the outside-the-zone pitches and he’s falling behind in counts, despite a 69.2-percent of first-strikes, which obviously is forcing him to throw it over the plate more, giving hitters the advantage. The hope is that the numbers will start to balance out and he ends up being dealt to a National League team with a favorable ballpark for pitchers. Yes, he’s been disappointing, but he’s got too good of an arm to keep floundering like this.

Marco Estrada, TOR – Trusting in Estrada this season has been a ridiculous rollercoaster ride as he’s looked absolutely brilliant at times and like a pile of crap at others. His 4.60 K/BB has been fantastic, but his 1.44 HR/9 and 12.7-percent HR/FB rate has been causing him to bleed runs in a number of starts. But a look at his ERA-FIP differential and ridiculously high .336 BABIP tell me that there is more than just hope on the horizon. His velocity has been fine, so perhaps fewer changeups and more fastballs and cutters are in order. Calling the Rogers Centre home hasn’t exactly been kind to him this season (4.97 home ERA), he’s been way off against same-handed hitting thus far and batters are being more aggressive at the plate with him, but once regression helps bring down that BABIP, he should prove to be a much more worthwhile option.

Jimmy Nelson, MIL – There’s a lot to love about what Nelson is doing right now and while he still may have a few bumps in the road, there’s really not much in his peripherals to indicate a drop-off is coming. The difference-maker seems to be the new split-finger grip on his changeup which has given him an increased velocity on the pitch. With that and the slight increase in use of his slider, Nelson is not only pitching to less contact, but he’s seen an uptick in his swinging-strike rate. His past reputation has few fantasy baseball owners believing in the sustainability, but the deeper look into changes he’s made in the offseason offers up a whole lot of promise.

Jacob deGrom, NYM – It was a mechanical issue according to deGrom and judging by his last start against the Cubs, he seems to have worked it all out. He’ll likely focus more on consistency with regard to his delivery and release point so we may not see the return of his insane April strikeout rate, but he should start piling the strikeouts up more once he feels back to his old self. If the deGrom owner in your league remains down on him, you might be able to steal him in a trade. Of course, another outing like his last and the price tag is going to skyrocket.

Aaron Sanchez, TOR – Tough to do any hardcore analysis here because Sanchez’ issues have all been related to blisters and his finger injury. We already know the talent level is high, so really, all he needs to do is get healthy and do whatever it takes to prevent the blisters from recurring. He needs to toughen up that skin because he’s not going to be able to avoid the seams when he grips for a curve, so hopefully, the trainers are helping him along with that while his finger heals. We all know what he needs to do, right? If he won’t pee on his hands, I am more than willing to do it for him. Together, we can make it a fantastic second half.

Alex Cobb, TB – The velocity is there, the K:BB is solid and there’s nothing outlandish in his peripherals that indicates bad luck. My conversation with Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey shed some light on what’s going on and while I am always skeptical of the lip service some coaches offer, Hickey’s assessment seems pretty darn plausible. It all comes down to the fact that Cobb is basically a two-pitch pitcher right now. His fastball is solid and he’s throwing his curve well (maybe a little too often, but well). The problem is with his changeup. He used to throw it almost a third of the time, but according to Hickey, he’s having trouble with it right now and only using it about 16-percent of the time. As the season progresses, Cobb will continue to work on the pitch and improve its location and effectiveness. Remember, guys returning from Tommy John always get the velocity back before the command. He’s still a work in progress, but if he improves the change over the next several weeks, we could be looking at a major improvement in the second half.

Chase Anderson, MIL – We can wrap up this list with one of the unlikeliest of early-season heroes as Anderson has been nothing short of outstanding based on where you drafted him or if he was just an early waiver grab. I can break him down here for you, but a few sentences probably don’t do his performance or changes he’s made justice. For a full analysis, check out my article on Chase 2.0 in the New York Post and then run to pick him up if you’re a believer.