We're once again faced with a scenario much like Week 1 where reasonable minds might disagree over what the upcoming scoring period should be.
The second half begins on a Friday, not a Monday, which raises the question of what to do with that extra weekend of games. The CBS default is to treat it as its own three-day scoring period, so the bulk of this article is directed toward that, but I do offer some bonus sleeper recommendations if your league happens to combine that first weekend after the All-Star break with the first full week for a massive 10-day scoring period.
Either way, I should note that the matchups depicted here are highly speculative. Few teams have announced their rotation plans coming out of the break, forcing me to make some presumptions that I'll try to amend as they're refuted (which hopefully won't happen much). As always, I've limited the selection to those rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
Sleeper pitchers for short Week 17 (July 19-21)
It's amazing that we're still at a point where Reese Olson is eligible for this list given his overall numbers and 2.40 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 9.3 K/9 over his past five starts. He should be in line for another good one against a Blue Jays offense that ranks 24th in runs scored.
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There's no matchup more favorable than the White Sox, of course, who remain a distant last in runs scored, and Michael Wacha seems like a safe bet to take advantage. After all, he's allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his past nine starts for a 2.61 ERA.
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With his superlative control and six-pitch arsenal, Spencer Schwellenbach is a rarity among rookies and ended the first half with back-to-back one-run gems. The Cardinals offer an inviting matchup to begin the second half.
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Brandon Pfaadt is another pitcher who seemed to be hitting his stride just as the All-Star break came around, putting together a 1.10 ERA over his final three starts in the first half. His matchup against the Cubs this weekend isn't a total breeze, but I think he'll continue to bring his 3.97 ERA in line with his 3.38 xERA.
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The Guardians lineup is pretty stout, but Matt Waldron's knuckleball presents such an oddity for opposing batters that usual matchup considerations aren't so much in play. His last three starts before the break were on the shakier side, but that's the only reason he's available enough to mention here.
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Jose Quintana doesn't have much hope of shedding the streamer label, but he does have a 2.00 ERA in his past six starts. As favorable matchups go, the Marlins deserve special distinction alongside the White Sox.
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One of the unlikeliest success stories from the first half, Tyler Anderson still seems like a poor bet long-term, but in the short term, he's facing an Athletics lineup that ranks just 24th in runs scored.
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For all of the Athletics' offensive shortcomings, they have hit a surplus of home runs, but that's less of a concern for an extreme ground-ball pitcher like Jose Soriano. He may fare better than usual in the bat-missing department, too, given that the Athletics have the second-highest strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers.
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Frankie Montas has been trending the right way overall, and while his last start was a misfire, he piled up a bunch of whiffs with his splitter in it. He seems like a reasonable bet to build off that with this Nationals matchup.
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After finding some success initially with a new identity as a ground-ball pitcher, Luis Severino has seemed a bit lost lately, but he generally works deep into a game as long as he's keeping runs off the board, which seems like a pretty good bet against the Marlins lineup this week.
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Sleeper pitchers for long Week 17 (July 19-28)
If Brandon Pfaadt is worth using with a middling matchup against the Cubs, then a second matchup against a weaker Pirates lineup makes him a no-brainer.
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Andrew Heaney has upped the velocity on his slider recently and is racking up whiffs as a result. The timing couldn't be much better, then, for matchups as favorable as the White Sox and Blue Jays.
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Reese Olson's second matchup isn't as favorable as his first -- i.e., the one that makes him the top sleeper pitcher for the shorter Week 17 -- but as I implied before, he shouldn't really qualify as a sleeper pitcher anymore. No need to stress about matchups with him.
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If facing the Athletics once is nice, then twice is even better, right? To rely on Tyler Anderson is to play with fire, but it's worked out well enough so far.
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Again, two starts with the same favorable matchup wouldn't seem to be a bad thing. Jose Soriano might be an even better fit against the Athletics than Tyler Anderson is, but he can be his own worst enemy with walks sometimes.
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