FANTASY BASEBALL: Daily Pitcher Rankings (May 13th)
FANTASY BASEBALL: DAILY PITCHER RANKINGS (May 13th)
By Muntradamus
As mentioned in the previous Daily Pitcher Rankings, BEAST DOME has teamed up with DRAFTSTREET to bring you playing fantasy baseball on a daily basis for cash.
If you sign up now they will give you 20% on whatever you deposit, you can play for free before jumping into cash games as well. This is the FUTURE & PRESENT OF FANTASY SPORTS. On Friday there will be a Free-Roll tournament where you can win real cash while playing for free! More on that in Monday’s Daily Pitcher Rankings.
*Sign-Up and deposit with the link above and you will get my all-access daily salary cap team lineup that I set 20 minutes before the first pitch for free in an e-mail newsletter. It is also a different team than I post in all articles.
Look out for the Waiver Wire Update Sunday Night. Have a great Mother’s Day BEAST DOME NATION.
Day #2 of my winning streak. I am only taking locks, no Ks, ERA, or WHIP.
Day #1. Phil Hughes vs. Sea (W)
Day #2. Ricky Romero @ Min
(You can read more about Romero and all the pitchers below.)
DAILY DRAFTSTREET SALARY CAP TEAM (5/13):
C: BUSTER POSEY
1B: MARK TEIXEIRA
2B: ROBINSON CANO
SS: SEAN RODRIGUEZ
3B: MIKE MOUSTAKAS
OF: ANDRE ETHIER
OF: MELKY CABRERA
OF: NELSON CRUZ
UTI: ADAM LIND
UTI: GABY SANCHEZ
P: COLE HAMELS
P: RICKY ROMERO
RP: JONATHAN PAPELBON
RP: HEATH BELL
DAILY PITCHER RANKINGS (5/13):
RAINED OUT STARTERS:
A.J. BURNETT VS. HOU
Burnett would have dominated this start if it happened. Since it will likely be rained out, you can let the best kept secret in fantasy baseball pitch twice next week.
BRONSON ARROYO @ WAS
Game is probably going to get rained out. Avoid using him if you have safer options.
WANDY RODRIGUEZ @ PITT
Wandy has had it going all season until he gave up 3 HRs in his Monday start against the Marlins. I would expect Wandy to settle back down as the Pirates offense does not have a lot of threats. Andrew McCutchen can go off in any game, but he is a career .167 hitter against Wandy. Pedro Alvarez has been completely shut down going 1 for his last 21. I expect Wandy to be solid, though rain is supposed to postpone it as of now.
EDWIN JACKSON @ CIN
Game is probably going to get rained out. Avoid using him if you have safer options.
ELITE STARTERS:
1. COLE HAMELS VS. SD
Maybe one of the most hated pitchers in baseball after his intentional plunk of Harper could give Hamels the juice to have his best start of the season against the Padres. San Diego is not scoring runs frequently, but they did just beat Roy Halladay. They also struck out 10 times against him. Hamels is on fire this season and already pitched a great game of 1 ER in 6 INN against them earlier this season, in SD. Avoid Padre hitters.
2. RICKY ROMERO @ MIN
Romero in 5 career starts against the Twins is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.91. I do not look for history to change at all as even Daniel Hutchinson was able to blank this team. Romero is coming off of a solid game against a very hot A’s team at home. Romero should be a lock to win today. Avoid Twin hitters if possible.
3. JAMES SHIELDS @ BAL
Shields has owned Baltimore in his career with a 3.45 ERA in 21 starts. The Orioles offense is beginning to cool down again after playing so hot last week. They came in as the #1 offense and now have Mark Reynolds out, along with Wieters and Hardy cooling down. Shields has been pitching elite with an ERA of 2.35 if you do not count opening day. Shields should be able to cruise in this one. Nick Markakis is my sleeper hitter of the matchup.
4. JUSTIN VERLANDER @ OAK
Verlander has owned Oakland in his 11 career home starts with an ERA of 2.68. That is not far from his ERA this season of 2.63, but keep in mind that the A’s hitters are very hot. Josh Reddick and Brandon Inge are smashing the ball right now. Doug Fister did prove good pitching can slow this team down, I expect Verlander to be able to accomplish the same.
GOOD STARTERS:
5. TED LILLY VS. COL
Lilly is on fire and has yet to have a bad start. First time he faced the Rockies he gave up 2 ER in 6 INN. He gave up a HR to Carlos Gonzalez in that game which was his 5th off of Lilly all-time. This could easily be a big game for Gonzalez, while 4 other Rockies have HR’d off of Lilly in their careers. But this is a new Ted Lilly, and he should prevail.
6. JOE SAUNDERS VS. SF
Saunders has to bounce back in this one as he was finally rocked after 6 amazing starts. He still stands with an ERA of 2.50, and the Giants still cannot hit. I expect Saunders to be solid, and if he is not. I would not trust him for the foreseeable future. Melky Cabrera is starting to swing a hot bat, and he could be trouble. Buster Posey is the only Giant to already hit a HR off of Joe.
7. JERED WEAVER @ TEX
Weaver was not so impressive against the Twins only getting 2 Ks in 6 INN. The Rangers offense is red hot right now, but C.J. Wilson proved good pitching can prevail. I still do not expect Weaver to leave this one unmarked. 8 different Rangers have already hit HRs off of him in his career.
8. LANCE LYNN VS. ATL
Lynn is maybe the best pitcher in the NL at this very moment. The Braves offense does have some momentum going, and this is Lynn’s moment to show how good he really is. He has yet to give up more than 2 ER in a start, and I believe that streak will continue. But then again, this is by far the toughest matchup he has had all season. Pittsburgh x2, Cubs x2, D-Backs, and Brewers.
9. NEFTALI FELIZ VS. LAA
The Angels bats are ready to wake up, but I do not think Feliz is their answer to their problems. He has been solid all year against very good teams, and in his lone home start he has 0 ER in 7 INN. The Angels bats could make some noise but I expect Feliz to limit the damage. Look for Kendry Morales to make a statement if he starts in this one.
10. JEFF SAMARDZJIA @ MIL
The Brewers offense is officially hot. They are scoring runs frequently, and they did it again off of Volstad. Back-to-Back 8 Run games, and Jonathan LuCroy is on fire with 6 RBIs in the last 4 games. Ryan Braun has hit a HR off of Jeff in his career, though keep in mind Samardzjia has an ERA of 0.85 ERA in his last three starts. ATL, CIN, @ STL, he also has 23 Ks in those starts. Jeff is ready for the Brew-Crew.
RISKY STARTERS:
11. ANDY PETTITTE VS. SEA
Andy has been terrible in the minors with an ERA over 10 in two starts. The Mariners could get to Andy in this one, but he should be hyped to throw an amazing game in his first start back in Yankee stadium. Another good advantage Andy has is most of the key Mariner batters are lefties. Carp, Seager, Ichiro, Ackley, and the list goes on.
12. CARLOS ZAMBRANO VS. NYM
Since giving up a HR to Aaron Hiil, Zambrano has not allowed an ER in his last 16 INN of work. The Mets come into this game hot as their offense has been surprisingly putting up numbers all week. If Zambrano keeps pitching the way he is, he should get the QS and the W. But this is a matchup where fire meets fire. Only Jason Bay has had success off of Zambrano in his career, and he is not playing. David Wright is leading the NL in batting average at .402. Wright has 12 Hits, with 1 HR and 7 RBI’s in his last 4 games.
13. JUSTIN MASTERSON @ BOS
Masterson has been pretty good against Boston as David Ortiz is the only active batter with moderate success hitting .273 with a HR in 11 ABs. The Red Sox offense usually does well at home, but Masterson is starting to calm down with an ERA of 3.11 in his last three starts. I would not say this is a safe start for Masterson, but it is one I would roll the dice with.
14. TOMMY HANSON @ STL
Hanson is not pitching well enough against bad teams to be able to do win this one. Brandon Beachy may have cooled down the Cards a bit, but that batting lineup 1-5 is maybe the hottest in baseball right now. This is a big statement game for Hanson owners to see how good he really is. Carlos Beltran is the next hottest OF option after Josh Hamilton.
15. JARROD PAKER VS. DET
If Parker can shut down the Tigers, after giving up 2 ER against the Jays. As well as 1 ER to Boston in Boston, where the Red Sox score over 5 runs per game, and 1 ER to the White Sox. Then I am a believer that he should be owned in all leagues. Parker is pitching lights-out, and is making an easy case for ROY if he keeps it up.
16. JONATHAN NIESE @ MIA
Niese had a QS against the Marlins earlier this season going 7 INN with 2 ER and 6 Ks. Gaby Sanchez hit his 1st and only HR in that start, and Niese comes into the game against a semi-cold Miami lineup. Nobody has a lot going, but Sanchez is coming off of a 2 hit game. Jose Reyes is also hitting .500 in his last three games.
17. BARRY ZTIO @ AZ
Laugh all you want about Barry Zito, he has yet to give up more than 3 ER in a start. Who would have guessed that to start the season? He better keep that streak alive against a pretty cold Diamondbacks offense. Justin Upton, and Willie Boomquist have HR’d off of Zito before, but I expect Paul Goldschmidt to possibly blast one out as he seems overdue to get hot.
18. ALEX WHITE @ LAD
White is coming off a great debut with 2 ER in 6 INN @ SD. Of course that was @ SD, but the Dodgers do not carry a lot of hot bats right now. If I had to pinpoint one player to do damage, it would most likely be Andre Ethier who is proving he can do more than just perform in April.
19. DANNY DUFFY @ CWS
Duffy shutdown the White Sox in his only start against them last season giving up 2 ER in 7 INN with 6 Ks. He comes into this game having seen better days, but Luke Hocheaver was able to throw a 7 INN shutout coming off of two terrible starts. Look for Duffy to be a good risky pick with nice upside. Duffy is a lefty which should slow down Adam Dunn completely.
20. JEFF SUPPAN @ PHI
Suppan comes into this game with an ERA of 0.90 and a 2-0 record in two starts. That is just crazy talk, but it is real. The Phillies offense is not so great right now, and with the way Suppan has been pitching he could keep his hot streak going. His career 6.62 ERA against the Phillies has lasted over many seasons, but Hunter Pence, Jimmy Rollins, and Jim Thome have all hit multi-HRs off of Jeff.
21. JAKE ARRIETA VS. TB
Arrieta comes into this game being hammered by the Rangers for 6 ER in 6.1 INN. Luckily for Jake the Rays are injured and playing without their best lineup. Longoria and Jennings remain out, while most of the other hitters are just cold. Luke Scott will look to make some noise before he leaves his former ball park in this one.
22. MARCO ESTRADA VS. CHC
Estrada is starting to let the wheels fall off with an ERA of 7.36 in his last two starts. The Cubs offense is definitely starting to cool down, which should allow Estrada to have the chance to pitch a good game. He does have a good K rate of 23 in 24 INN, but most of those came in one start where he had 9 Ks in 5 INN. I expect Bryan LaHair to get it going again as he finally has a favorable matchup once again.
23. SCOTT DIAMOND VS. TOR
Diamond was very impressive in his debut start throwing 7 shutout INN against the Angels, while K’ing 6 of them. He surprisingly beat Dan Haren in the process. Toronto has a very hot Jose Bautista which could create problems, outside of him nobody is doing much to impress me. Brett Lawrie always seems like he is ready to breakout, but is now heading in the wrong direction. I think it is important for Lawrie owners to see him do well in this one
.
BAD STARTERS:
24. DANIEL BARD VS. CLE
Bard is heading in the wrong direction with 9 ER and 2 Ks total in his last two starts (@KC, vs. Oak). The Indians offense is starting to cool down, but Bard is the type of pitcher than can get them all going again. In 8.1 career INN against Cleveland, he has given up 8 ER. Asdrubal Cabrera and Johnny Damon have both HR’d off of Bard in their careers.
25. PHILIP HUMBER VS. KC
Humber is coming off of one of his worst starts of the season giving up 8 ER in 2.1 INN @ Cle. He has been terrible against KC in his career with 7 ER in 10 INN, and both Moustakas and Hosmer are hitting .667 off of Philip. Mike Moustakas hit a HR before off of Humber, and I look for him to have a good game.
26. KEVIN MILLWOOD @ NYY
First thing I have to say about this matchup, Millwood has given up HR’s to 9 different Yankees. Second thing is, out of his last 5 starts only one of them has been quality. I expect that number to stay there with how hot the team is. All players are safe.