Fantasy Baseball:

PITCHERS (SP) IN NEW PLACES VOL. II

 

By Muntradamus

 

BEAST DOME NATION.

 

Pitchers in New Places Vol. II focuses on Starting Pitcher movement around the Major League.  Fantasy Baseball is a deep game, the movement of a pitcher is much more different than a movie of a hitter.  A new offense and a new defense and a new crowd base, as well as new opponents.  To some it could be overwhelming.

Still much more Fantasy Baseball information to come to get ready for the 2013 Fantasy Baseball Season.

HITTERS IN NEW PLACES VOL. I

HITTERS IN NEW PLACES VOL. II

PITCHERS IN NEW PLACES VOL. I

GET READY FOR V.I.P. FIND THE PACKAGE RIGHT FOR YOU

 

 

PITCHERS IN NEW PLACES VOL. II

 

 

RYAN DEMPSTER – SP – BOS

Ryan Dempster was one of the big fantasy surprises last season with the Cubs.  7 INN/1 ER/6 Ks seemed nearly automatic every start.  But playing on a bad Cubs team meant no guarantee of the Win.

The Cubs ended up dealing Dempster to the Texas Rangers around the Trade Deadline.  Dempster only had 5 Wins with the Cubs the first 2/3 of the season, and 7 with the Rangers for the remaining 1/3.  Needless to say, Dempster can be a great sleeper for Wins this season in Fantasy Baseball on a new hungry Red Sox squad.  His K Rate fell off the map last year, it could come back.

DAN HAREN – SP – WAS

While people may remember 2012 as a season where Dan Haren officially hit the Decline in his career.  Dan finished the season very strong not having more than 3 ER in any of his last 9 starts.  Haren moving to the NL could do wonders for him as pitchers who go from the American League to the National League usually revitalize their career.  Brad Penny is a perfect example when he went to the Cardinals late in his career to get a big contract and put up decent numbers.

Danny is going to be with a competitive Nationals Team that at times last season was the best offense in baseball.  Do not let him slip too late.

 

FRANCISCO LIRIANO – SP – PIT

Liriano is a pitcher that will probably not get drafted in a lot of leagues.  But he will be added in nearly every league at one point in time.  Liriano is as streaky as they come is the understatement of the year.

Liriano is so bad that he can ruin your WHIP the entire season with three terrible starts.  His Strikeout Rate is what makes him intriguing, but the Risk is there where he cannot be trusted.  Even if it is a good start.  Still a good late round steal with high potential, better in H-2-H leagues.

 

 

JOHN LANNAN – SP – PHI

John is not a bad pitcher.  He is capable of the sleeper QS and that is just about it. Lannan will kill you with his terrible K/Rate, which would be lucky to be more than 5 in a game.  His WHIP is nothing to brag home about either.

More likely than not, John will be on your waiver wire throughout the Fantasy Baseball season.

 

 

SHAUN MARCUM – SP – NYM

The Mets are once again a garbage team, so they decided to make life bad for a Fantasy Pitcher that everyone knows has so much more potential.

Shaun Marcum last season had arm trouble all season, leading to a terrible disappointing season.  When Shaun was with the Blue Jays he was an interesting high upside K pitcher that everyone wanted a piece of.

While Shaun may pitch well with the Mets, he will go through the Ryan Dempster syndrome of not getting enough run support.  Shaun will have some good spot-starts, but is no way an everyday pitcher to count on.

 

 

HENDERSON ALVAREZ – SP – MIA

Henderson last season was able to be a manageable starter thanks to a few things.

1) The Blue Jays gave him a lot of run support.

2) Alvarez was fortunate enough to have a very low Balls In Play batting average against him.

Now with Alvarez going to the National League, playing for a Marlins team that is looking to make money more than win.  There is no doubt Henderson Alvarez will be on every waiver wire during the Fantasy Baseball season.

 

 

HYUN-JIN RYU – SP – LAD

International Pitchers are always tough to judge in Fantasy Baseball.  Yu Darvish was a BEAST. Hideki Irabu is an afterthought.

The Dodgers spent a lot of money on Ryu who will throw as many Hadouken’s as possible (Street Fighter reference).  Keep a close eye on Hyun this Spring Training to see how unhittbale he looks.  Playing for the Dodgers should lead to plenty of run support.

 

 

ZACK GREINKE – SP – LAD

Greinke was a Fantasy mess last season.  The Brewers had enough of his inconsistency, so they sent him to the Angels.  As an Angel, he got knocked around like a fat guy in a mosh pit.

Zack never found the rhythm for a long consistent stretch of the season, so the Dodgers decided to overpay to see if the former CY Young self is still locked up.

The Dodgers will score a lot of runs, but Greinke has to reach his 2010 form to be a Must-Start Fantasy pitcher again.  Even though he will be drafted like one come draft day.

 

EDWIN JACKSON – SP – CHC

Where Starters go to die.  The Chicago Cubs are a terrible offensive team which only means Edwin Jackson losses a lot of value going to Chicago.  Edwin seems to find a new team every season, and lately he is starting to become a better pitcher.

Still, his value can only go so high with a win total near 10.  Especially when his K Total and ERA will not be in the ELITE category.

 

SCOTT FELDMAN – SP – CHC

Last season Scott had some deep league value for a couple of reasons.  He pitched for a Texas Rangers team that gave him plenty of run support.  He also qualified at RP which gave him some great deep league value.

Still his ERA for the season was 5.09, and his record was 6-11.  Going from Texas to Chicago will not help that win total.  Besides that, he is far away from a reliable starter in Fantasy Baseball.

 

SCOTT BAKER – SP – CHC

Like all the Cubs listed above, you have to remember the run support will not be there.

Scott Baker used to be the Fantasy Ace of the Minnesota Twins, but after reconstruction arm surgery Baker comes into 2013 with a huge Red Target on his back.  Scott is extremely risky and will not be worth starting in any fantasy league unless it is daily and you have unlimited starts.

Go ahead and pass on the Tommy John pitcher who has a lot to prove before being worth a roster spot.

 

BRANDON MCCARTHY – SP – ARI

The Diamondbacks made some good moves this off-season.  Maybe the most important one was grabbing Brandon McCarthy who in some people’s mind was a sleeper candidate for the AL CY Young coming into the 2012 season.

Injuries completely ruined any chance of that happening as Brandon was only able to go 8-6 with a 3.24 ERA.  His K Rate is nothing to brag about either, but pitching in the NL should boost his stats and make one of the great Fantasy Sleepers.

 

 

R.A. DICKEY – SP – TOR

Dickey could easily win the CY Young this season.  His knuckle ball is nearly unhittable.

When he pitched against Baltimore and Tampa Bay last season, he gave up a total of two hits in 18 INN with 25 Ks.  R.A. will be unhittable to a majority of the batters he faces the first few times around.

When the Blue Jays having one of the most loaded offenses in baseball, the sky is really the limit for R.A.  Easy choice for CY Young in the AL.

 

JOSH JOHNSON – SP – TOR

Everyone was very shaky on Josh Johnson last season.  Coming off Tommy John Surgery a lot of people did not know what to expect. Going into 2013, Josh Johnson could not be more of a low risk/high reward player.

The Tommy John injury is a thing of the pass.  He proved he could last a whole season in 2012.  His ELITE potential did appear at times, and most importantly the Blue Jays Offense is going to give him plenty of run support.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Josh Johnson in 2013.

 

 

MARK BUEHRLE – SP – TOR

Mark was able to manage 13 wins with a very bad Miami Marlins team.  Now Mark goes to one of the best offensive powerhouses in baseball and has a sleeper chance to reach his old 20 win potential we all know he has.

The ERA has to stay under 4.00 which is not a lock, and that K potential is something that will hurt you more than help.  Regardless Mark is a good late sleeper as a cheap source of some easy wins.

 

VANCE WORLEY – SP – MIN

Vance was one of my favorite pitchers heading into 2012.  His ERA at times has the  potential to be in the BEAST category.  Worley at times can also throw some nice K games to leave fantasy owners smiling.

Going to Minnesota could help as it could put an emphasis on his importance of the rotation.  He will likely be the teams best starter, which could motivate him to throw a season we all know he is capable of.

Definitely a sleeper option I would not let slip, Vance has the 7 INN/1 ER/8 K potential locked up in him daily.

 

 

KEVIN CORREIA – SP – MIN

Correia was a non-reliable pitcher in Pittsburgh.  This will be the case again going to Minnesota.  Correia can safely be on waiver wires around Fantasy Baseball.

 

MIKE PELFREY – SP – MIN

Nothing to see here.  A mediocre pitcher, pitching for an average offense does not bode well.  Pelfrey will not help you in the K department, and everything else is far from a lock of being a good starter.  Mike will find his way on Waiver wires across the Fantasy Baseball platform.

Coming off of Tommy John Surgery.  I would pass.

 

JAMES SHIELDS – SP – KC

Big Game James will succeed no matter the team he pitches for.

Do not get distracted by the fact he moves to a bad Royals team compared to Tampa, but remember he does not have to face the Yankees/Red Sox/Blue Jays/Orioles nearly as much as he would have had to.

 

ERVIN SANTANA – SP – KC

If a pitcher really lost it last season.  Ervin Santana is no doubt that guy.

Ervin threw Batting Practice to every batter that stood in the batters box in 2012, and going to Kansas City where he will get less run support is a situation to avoid.  Ervin will be on a lot of waiver wires this season.

 

WADE DAVIS – SP – KC

Wade has never been a pitcher that scream Fantasy Must-Start.  But he does have that potential built up in him if he can ever get it together.  With that said, I would still not draft him this season.

Being a pitcher on Kansas City never is something you target in your draft.

 

JOE SAUNDERS – SP – SEA

Saunders had some nice moments with the Orioles last season, and those nice moments will likely carry over to Seattle.

The ERA will never be ELITE, and his K rate will disappoint.  Pitching in Seattle will help give him some nice spot starts and is worth a bench spot in deep leagues.

 

TOMMY HANSON – SP – LAA

Hanson was not a good pitcher last season in the Fantasy Baseball world.  Injuries and inconsistency made him frustfrating to own, in some leagues he was even dropped.

Let us not forget that Hanson was a Top 25 Pitcher two seasons ago, and now goes to an Angels team that has so much fire power that even Joe Blaton carries a little bit of Fantasy value.  Do yourself a favor and target Hanson who does have 200 K potential if he is on Fire all season.  Wins will come without trying.

 

JOE BLANTON – SP – LAA

Blanton is not a good pitcher.  Sure he will get his random hot streaks where he picks up a few wins in a row with a low ERA.  For the most part he is a hittable MEAT BALL pitcher that will kill your ERA.  If I had to guess one Angel would lose their starting rotation spot, I would put it down on MEAT BALL Joe.

JASON VARGAS – SP – LAA

Here’s the interesting note on Vargas in 2012.

HOME ERA: 2.74

ROAD ERA: 4.74

While those are just numbers, it was evident that Vargas was a risky pitcher outside of Safeco.  Still he has plenty of potential and going to an Angels team that could lead the MLB in runs makes Jason Vargas a very intriguing Fantasy Baseball Pitcher.  Definitely somone you want to snag late in your draft just in case he breaks out.  The K Potential for 6-7 a game is there.

 

BRETT MYERS – SP – CLE

Myers went from bad starter, to solid closer, to okay middle reliever.

Now he is back in the drivers seat as a starter for the revamped Cleveland Indians.  Sure there is some sleeper potential as Brett does have huge K potential.  But he also has the potential to be a Francisco Liriano pitcher quick.  If that happens, Brett will be nothing in the Fantasy World.

He is worth a late draft pick just because of his RP/SP eligibility.  He will likely be on Waiver Wires everywhere at some point this season.

 

ERIK BEDARD – SP – HOU

Bedard continues to get chances to be a major league pitcher after being labeled as very inconsistent for the past few seasons.

Erik is now three seasons removed from Tommy John, and his arm has never been the same since before the injury.  Erik going to Houston is not a good situation as the Astros are giving up wins today for wins for the future.

That does not bode well for an inconsistent Fantasy Pitcher.

 

PHILIP HUMBER – SP – HOU

Humber threw a perfect game in his second start of the 2012 season.

After that he was not a Fantasy Pitcher you wanted in your lineup ever.  Now going to a Houston Astros team that is easily the weakest in the American League.  There is no reason to reach for Humber in Fantasy Baseball.

 

Muntradamus is a Fantasy Sports Expert who specializes in Fantasy Football/Baseball/Basketball. He is currently in his first season as a Pro on FantasyPros where he is the only expert to have Adam Dunn, Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, Ian Desmond, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Wilin Rosario in his top 20 at each position. Muntradamus not only leads many to championships with his great advice, and outlooks into the future. He is also consistently on the top of leaderboards in DraftStreet. He was also the #1 Fantasy Football Expert of IDP & Overall Rankings, first time in Fantasy Sports History.  To check his Preseason Fantasy Football Rankings Click Here. He also won a 1,000 person tournament in Fantasy Football to qualify for a trip to Vegas to play for $500,000 in Prizes.