Fantasy Baseball: Daily Pitcher Analysis (May 17th)
Fantasy Baseball:
Daily Pitcher Analysis (May 17th)
By Muntradamus
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DAILY DRAFTSTREET TEAM:
Yesterday I scored 56 Points. That will win you all “Double-Up” Leagues.
C: J.P. Arencibia
1B: Carlos Lee
2B: Rickie Weeks
SS: Yunel Escobar
3B: Aramis Ramirez
OF: Corey Hart
OF: Ryan Braun
OF: Jose Bautista
UTI: Rick Ankiel
UTI: Pedro Alvarez
SP: Felix Doubront
SP: Edinson Volquez
RP: Dale Thayer
SP: Jordan Zimmerman
DAILY PITCHER RANKINGS (May 17th)
ELITE STARTERS:
1. JORDAN ZIMMERMAN VS. PIT
The Pirates offense is not very hot right now outside of Andrew McCutchen, and I do not think he can do enough damage to throw off Zimmerman and his 2.14 ERA this season. He has never faced the Pirates, but Clint Barmes is 4-4 lifetime with a HR. Deep sleeper pick right there.
2. ROY HALLADAY @ CHC
Halladay in his last start against the Cubs gave up 3 ER in 7 INN. The Cubs offense does have some MOJO, but they struggled against Kyle Kendrick. Halladay is a lot tougher than Kendrick, and with Halladay pitching well. I see him pitching well again in this one. Alfonso Soriano and Bryan LaHair are hot right now, they are the threats for damage. Soriano has 2 HRs in 62 ABs against Roy.
3. SHAUN MARCUM @ HOU
Marcum in his last three starts owns a 1.80 ERA. Carlos Lee is starting to get hot, and he has already hit a HR in his career off of Shaun. I still expect Marcum to put up elite numbers against a Houston team that is really not that good. Shaun in a start earlier against the Astros, he gave up 3 ER in 5 INN. He did have 7 Ks however, and that is a good target range again.
4. EDINSON VOLQUEZ VS. LAD
Volquez has only lasted 5 INN in both starts against the Dodgers this season. Matt Kemp has really been the “Volquez Killer,” and without him the Dodgers offense is very weak. Edinson has been elite against every team besides the Dodgers, but I expect that to change in this one.
GOOD STARTERS:
5. BRANDON BEACHY VS. MIA
Last week was Beachy’s showcase game, as he shut down a very hot Cardinals team in STL. The Marlins come into this game very hot as well, but Beachy has shown time and time again that he cannot be hit with a WHIP of 0.96. I expect him to continue his very impressive season even though more than half the Marlin roster is hot.
6. JAMES MCDONALD @ WAS
McDonald has been one of the best fantasy surprises with a 2.42 ERA thanks to his new slider. The Nationals come into this game with a bit of offensive power, but that could all be slowed down with a dominant McD. Anthony Bass was able to shut down the Nationals earlier this week, and McDonald should do the same. Bryce Harper is a bit hot and he could make an impact.
7. DOUG FISTER VS. MIN
Fister has been amazing this season allowing 1 ER in 16.2 INN. The Twins have some momentum going as Dozier, and Willingham have hot bats. The injury to Ryan Doumit improves Fister’s chances, and I expect a QS in this one despite the career 3.24 ERA. Josh Willingham has hit a HR off of Fister in his career.
8. ZACH MCCALLISTER VS. SEA
Any pitcher against Seattle automatically gets bumped up in the rankings. The fact that McCallister in his last start only gave up 4 ER in 7 INN @BOS, makes this seem like a money in the bag QS. The Indians offense will carry him to the W, and those 8 Ks in his last start should translate to 8 more in this one. Mike Carp is a sleeper pick who has HR’d off of Zach before.
9. C.J. WILSON VS. CWS
Since Wilson was able to slowdown a very hot Rangers team in Texas, and Jerome Williams was able to slowdown the White Sox Wednesday night. I expect Wilson to shut-down the White Sox in this one. With Wilson being a lefty, he takes Adam Dunn, their best hitter out of the game. Wilson has a career 2.92 ERA against the White Sox in 2 starts, and I expect him to leave with his ERA in the same range. Paul Konerko will have to be the damage maker if there is one.
10. FELIX DOUBRONT @ TB
With Jennings and Scott injured, the D-Rays are actually a team that struggles to hit lefty pitching. Doubront is a very good sneaky play as the Rays offense was not able to do damage against Clay Buchholz out of all pitchers. No player on that team is particularly hot, but Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce make for good sleepers.
11. BRANDON MCCARTHY @ TEX
Can you imagine if McCarthy was still a Ranger? He would be a top 10 fantasy option at the position. Anyways he has been pitching light outs with a 1.62 ERA in his last 4 starts. All in elite matchups as well. The Rangers come into this game with some offensive momentum, but definitely less than what it has been in the past. I expect Brandon to throw a QS, with Josh Hamilton possibly adding to his HR total. Adrian Beltre, and Michael Young have had good careers off McCarthy.
12. MATT CAIN VS. STL
Cain has a 1.09 ERA at home, and this will be his biggest test this season by far. The Cardinals come into this game with a top 3 offense, but they showed they can be shut down by Madison Bumgarner. I expect Cain to look good in this one, but that career 4.29 ERA against the Cardinals could make this tricky. Matt Holliday has 2 HRs in 36 ABs vs. Cain, but the real threat could be the hottest NL hitter in Allen Craig.
13. AARON HARANG @ SD
Somehow, Someway, Harang had 13 Ks in his last start on April 4th against the Padres. Harang is actually starting to pitch very well with a 1.98 ERA in his last two starts. The Padres have gotten to Strasburg and Capuano in the two games leading up to this. I expect Harang to remain solid, but the Padres are a sneaky offense right now.
RISKY STARTERS:
14. ADAM WAINWRIGHT @ SF
The Giants offense does have some hot hitters, but that is no excuse as Adam Wainwright needs to dominate in this one. So far he has looked semi-okay against bad teams, and he will need to remind us of that 3.38 ERA against the Giants in his career, instead of his current 6.16 ERA. Melky Cabrera, Buster Posey, and Brandon Crawford are threats to do some damage. Start at your own-risk.
15. R.A. DICKEY VS. CIN
The Reds offense may have had enough of a spark at the end of Wednesday night to see that they are ready to explode. A 2.33 ERA in his last 4 starts will help defend his case in why the Reds offense will not be a success, and the career 2.70 ERA against the Reds should be the nail on the coffin. Yet I would not be surprised to see Jay Bruce launch a HR.
16. MAT LATOS @ NYM
Latos has only allowed 1 ER in his last 11 INN. The Mets offense is a bit hot right now, and David Wright has hit a HR off of Mat in his career. He also is hitting .143 against him. I expect Latos to be solid, but it is not going to be easy.
17. JUAN NICASO VS. AZ
Nicaso allowed 6 ER in 2.1 INN when he faced the Diamondbacks earlier this season. I do not expect the same poor results as Nicaso looked like an elite pitcher in his last start against the Dodgers, while Kemp was still around. The Diamondbacks offense is very weak right now, and I expect it to stay that way as nobody on that team is truly hot/have anything going.
18. MATT HARRISON VS. OAK
Harrison has allowed 21 ER in his last 4 starts. The Athletics offense is beginning to cool down, and this will be the big test to see if there is any life in them. Harrison owns a career 4.10 ERA against the A’s, and has allowed Brandon Inge to hit 2 HRs off of him. If Inge plays, he would be the sleeper to watch.
19. BRIAN MATUSZ @ KC
The Royals offense does not have a lot going on right now. Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer will have trouble hitting a lefty, and it will be up to Billy Butler to really carry the offense in this one. I expect Brian to throw a QS, as his last road start he gave up 1 ER in 6 INN to a Yankee offense that had some momentum. Jeff Francouer is also a sleeper.
20. CHRIS SALE @ LAA
The Angels offense is starting to catch fire. If they can get to Sale in this one, then all Angel players will get a big boost in value. Chris is coming into his second start since being promoted back as a starter, his last start was not very good against an ICE COLD Royals team (5 INN, 3 ER). I expect a worst start in this one as Albert Pujols, and Vernon Wells are starting to get very hot.
21. MATT MOORE VS. BOS
Moore has not had a QS since May 1st against the Mariners. Which has proved this week that any pitcher can pitch well against them. The Red Sox offense does not have a lot of MOJO right now, but they should be able to sprinkle some hitting dust in their bats. Moore gave up 6 ER in 6.1 INN when they met earlier, with Cody Ross and Mike Aviles doing the damage. We will see if Moore can pull a QS, I would bet no.
22. DREW HUTCHINSON VS. NYY
The Yankees offense does not have a lot going on right now. Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson have so momentum, but not enough to guarantee a good game. Drew is getting better in every start, and this is a big one to prove he is ready to be fantasy relevant. The Yankees offense is due for a big game, but Hutchinson may surprise.
23. RICKY NOLASCO @ ATL
Nolasco owns a 4.80 ERA against the Braves in 19 starts. The Braves know how to hit him as 6 different Braves have hit HRs off of him. Brian McCann comes into this game very hot, he has 6 HRs with a .340 average off of Ricky. Chippers Jones has 4 HRs with a .357 average. Since Ricky struggled in his last start against the Mets, I do not see how he pitch well against one of the top 3 hitting teams in baseball.
BAD STARTERS:
24. LUKE HOCHEVAR VS. BAL
The Orioles offense does have some hot hitters, but they cannot get consistent at the same time which leads to low scoring games. Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and J.J. Hardy are all on the fantasy radars with their good performances. Matt Wieters will be a big key for this team to be a top 10 offense again. I would bench Luke in this start despite his 0 ER in 7 INN against the White Sox on May 12th. He has not been consistent in his career, no reason to think it starts now. Chris Davis is a sleeper who has hit a HR off of Luke, and beginning to heat up.
25. J.A. HAPP VS. MIL
The Brewers offense was chilled down by Bud Norris on Wednesday night. That is good news for Happ who could use all the breaks he can get as his last QS was April 15th. Happ faced the Brewers earlier this season and gave up 4 ER in 5 INN. Travis Ishikawa, Corey Hart, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks have all HR’d off of Happ in his career, and Corey Hart is starting to get hot. I would bench J.A. in this one.
26. TREVOR CAHILL @ COL
The Rockies offense has a bunch of key components heating up, and Cahill is coming off of a terrible start against a weak Giants offense without Sandoval. I expect Cahill to get rocked in this one, despite his 1 ER in 7.1 INN earlier this season @ Col. Carlos Gonzalez is a good bet to have one of those big games.
27. P.J. WALTERS @ DET
The Tigers offense is starting to get very hot, and Walters does not have the history to think he will have a QS in this one. The Tigers have scored an average of over 7 runs in the last three games; they could push it to 4. Avoid P.J. and all Tigers are great starts. Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera are getting very hot.
28. CHRIS VOLSTAD VS. PHI
Volstad has given up HRs to 8 different Phillies. Most of the team is hitting over .300 against them, including the red-hot Carlos Ruiz who is hitting .455. Volstad does not stand a chance in this one for a QS, and all Philly hitters are great players to start. In Volstad’s last start against the Phillies, he gave up 4 ER in 6 INN.
29. PHIL HUGHES @ TOR
Take away an easy home start against the Mariners last weekend, and Hughes has struggled pretty much all season. The Blue Jays offense comes into this game HOT as they scored 8 runs in a game Hiroki Kuroda pitched. J.P. Arencibia could get going after his 3 Hit, HR game, while Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are already hot coming into this one. The only Blue Jay to HR off of Hughes is Adam Lind, and I expect a few others to be added to that list after this one.
30. HECTOR NOESI @ CLE
The Indians offense is very hot right now evident of Felix Hernandez not even lasting 4 INN. Noesi has no chance to slow down this squad, as every player is a threat for a big game. Travis Hafner is looking hot, and that could be a long-term thing right now.