Fantasy Baseball: Daily Pitcher Rankings (May 23rd)
Fantasy Baseball: Daily Pitcher Rankings (May 23rd)
By Muntradamus
DAILY DRAFTSTREET TEAM (May 22nd):
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MONEY LEFTOVER: $7
C: Russell Martin $5,225
1B: Paul Goldschmidt $4,621
2B: Gordon Beckham $4,883
3B: Ryan Roberts $5,455
SS: Zack Cozart $4,843
OF: Andruw Jones $4,233
OF: Delmon Young $5,384
OF: Eric Hinske $4,622
UTI: Giancarlo Stanton $8,525
UTI: Hanley Ramirez $8,380
SP: Wandy Rodriguez $12,885
SP: Lance Lynn $15,507
RP: Rafael Dolis $1,500
SP: Carlos Zambrano $13,880
GOOD DRAFTSTREET VALUES:
(Players that are Hot coming into this Week)
C:
Miguel Montero – $4,119
Kurt Suzuki – $4,190
John Buck – $4,643
1B:
Daric Barton – $4,025
Justin Smoak – $3,830
Paul Goldschmidt – $4,621
2B:
Ryan Raburn – $3,734
Robert Andino – $4,211
Rickie Weeks – $4,108
3B:
Brett Lawrie – $5,246
Wilson Betemit – $5,384
Ryan Roberts – $5,455
SS:
Brandon Crawford – $3,606
Alexei Ramirez – $4,052
Yunel Escobar – $5,624
OF:
Marlon Byrd – $4,294
Andruw Jones – $4,233
Mike Carp – $5,141
DH:
Travis Hafner – $6,217
Daily Starting Pitcher Rankings (May 23rd):
ELITE STARTERS:
1. LANCE LYNN ($15,507) VS. SD
Lynn needs an easy start, and the Padres is the perfect remedy. His last two starts he has faced hot offenses in Atlanta and the Dodgers. Both starts were not good, but now he faces SD who has only scored 1 ER off of Garcia and Wainwright combined this series. Lynn should dominate.
2. CARLOS ZAMBRANO ($13,880) VS. COL
Zambrano has been one of the best pitchers in the NL this season. The Rockies did gain some momentum off of Nolasco Tuesday, but Zambrano should bring all of that to screeching halt. No active player besides Giambi has any success against Carlos. CarGO and Tulo are a combined 0-7 against Zambrano. The offense should cruise Z to an easy W.
3. WANDY RODRIGUEZ ($12,885) VS. CHC
Rodriguez dominates easy teams. The Cubs right now are an ICE-COLD offense. Wandy owns a career 3.99 ERA against the Cubs in 19 starts, but this time he comes in with momentum on his side. He owns a 2.52 ERA @ Home, and I expect him to continue to dominate. If you want a sleeper hitter, Geovany Soto has 3 HRs against Wandy in his career, along with a .429 average.
4. JERED WEAVER ($15,238) @ OAK
Weaver is coming off of a solid start where he only gave up 3 Hits in 7 INN to SD. The A’s offense has cooled down considerably as they had trouble doing much against Jerome Williams, and then C.J. Wilson threw a 1 hitter. There is no reason to believe Weaver will not continue to dominate. Kurt Suzuki and Jemile Weeks have had past success against Jered. But he should still prevail, especially with the career 2.71 ERA against Oakland.
5. EDWIN JACKSON ($13,816) @ PHI
The Phillies offense does not have a lot of momentum right now, and Edwin is coming off of a great start against the Orioles (8 INN, 1 ER, 8 Ks). I expect Edwin to continue to succeed as no Philly player has any success against Jackson outside of Thome. His road ERA is a stellar 3.04 this season, and now is looking like a great sleeper this season.
GOOD STARTERS:
6. RICKY ROMERO ($12,104) @ TB
The Rays offense is really starting to heat up. Especially B.J. Upton who has HRs in back-to-back games. However, the Rays have trouble hitting lefties. This match up is a lot easier than it actually looks, and I expect Romero to cruise. Earlier this season Romero gave up 3 ER in 6 INN to TB, but that was when Longoria and Jennings were healthy. Ricky has not looked elite yet this year, but he continues to get the job done with 5 W’s in 9 starts. Ben Zobrist and B.J. Upton have had good history against Romero, so watch out for them.
7. JAMES SHIELDS ($14,175) VS. TOR
Shields has not had a QS since May 2nd vs. Seattle. The Blue Jays have some hot hitters with; J.P. Arencibia, Yunel Escobar, and Jose Bautista. Shields owns a career 3.60 ERA against Toronto, and his owners have to hope he stays below that. This is not the safest start, but you have to keep rolling with the ace. Arencibia, Bautista, Lawrie, and Encarnacion have all gone deep off of Shields in their career.
8. ANDY PETTITTE ($12,846) VS. KC
The Royals offense is not very hot, but Jeff Francouer is. I expect Jeff to have a huge game as he is one of the hottest hitters in the game. Pettitte should be able to cruise past KC, but nothing is guaranteed at this point. Even with 8 Ks, 0 ER, in 8 INN, you never know when he will have a start like he did against Seattle. Odds are in Pettite’s favor.
RISKY STARTERS:
9. COLE HAMELS ($18,277) VS. WAS
Just like Halladay had problems with the Nationals, so could Hamels. The last time Cole faced Washington, he intentionally plunked Harper. He also gave up 1 ER in 8 INN with 8 Ks. This time around, the Nationals offense is one of the hottest in the NL, and 4 active players in their lineup has HR’d off of Cole. I do not expect this to be an easy one, as Ian Desmond is a dangerous lead-off hitter, combined with Adam LaRoche and Ryan Zimmerman who both have multi-HR games against Cole. Zimmerman may sit this one out.
10. CHRIS SALE ($11,265) VS. MIN
The Twins offense is doing very well right now. Justin Morneau is one of the hottest hitters in baseball, but luckily Sale is a lefty. Ryan Doumit and the semi-hot Brian Dozier are a threat, along with Josh Willingham. Sale could be one of the good sleepers of the day.
11. TED LILLY ($14,020) @ AZ
Lilly is not pitching the best baseball he has all season, but he is pitching very well. He is still 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA coming into this start, and the D-Backs are starting to gain the tools to be an effective offense. With Chris Young healthy and Justin Upton hitting the ball well, this is not as safe of a start as you would hope for. Ryan Roberts also has 3 HRs against Lilly and he is starting to heat up.
12. SCOTT DIAMOND ($8,248) @ CWS
Diamond has been great on the road, not so great at home. Now he faces a White Sox team that should have done more damage against P.J. Walters. Since Diamond is a lefty, that eliminates Adam Dunn who is the best hitter the team has. However Paul Konerko gets a bit more excited in this one. Gordon Beckham is RED-HOT.
13. JEFF SAMARDZIJA ($13,463) @ HOU
Jeff has been really great all season. The fact his ERA is at 3.00 on the dot, just tells you how good he is. The Astros offense is not very good right now, and Jeff should dominate. However his road ERA of 5.06 does worry me. He also has a career ERA of 4.76 against the Astros which includes a HR by Carlos Lee. What should be a safe start, really is not.
14. DOUG FISTER ($10,725) @ CLE
The Indians offense is scoring runs pretty frequently right now. However Fister has dominated the Indians in his career with a 2.31 ERA in 8 Starts. Fister did run into some trouble in his last start against the Twins at home, allowing 9 hits in 6 INN. Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Hafner have both had previous success against Doug.
15. TOMMY HANSON ($13,342) @ CIN
Lately Hanson has proved he is match up proof. This start against the Reds is not an easy one, but it is not as tough coming in as it should be. But then again they hit 3 HRs off of Brandon Beachy who has been nothing but perfect all season long. I would start Hanson if I had him, but just be aware a bad start is possible. Zack Cozart has HRs in back-to-back games, Brandon Phillips just hit 2 HRs off of Beachy, and Joey Votto has hit a HR off of Hanson in his career. Hanson also owns a 5.03 ERA against the Reds in his career.
16. CHARLIE MORTON ($7,418) VS. NYM
Morton is home, which means his 2.63 ERA should come out and play. The Mets offense does not have a lot of hot bats, but David Wright has been doing some damage lately. Ruben Tejada is batting .800 against Morton in 5 ABs, he is a nice pick for at least a base hit. Morton should be able to pull off the QS as the Mets offense is cold.
17. JARROD PARKER ($8,155) VS. LAA
Parker needs to rebound in this start badly. After allowing 6 ER in 2 INN to a soft Giants offense, he now faces an Angels offense with momentum. The match up does not look great on paper, but I would not be surprised to see Parker stifle the Angels. Kendry Morales and Albert Pujols seem to have the middle of that lineup ready to score runs at will.
18. ALEX WHITE ($8,175) @ MIA
White has really struggled on the road with a 6.75 ERA. His last start against Seattle was impressive, but this was the game before their offense started to get going. Right now, Miami has a lot of offense going. I see all the stars of this team coming out to play, including the Red-Hot Austin Kearns.
19. JONATHAN NIESE ($10,514) @ PIT
Niese has been horrible on the road with a 5.70 ERA. This will mark fifth consecutive road start, in which he has 0 wins so far during this span. His career ERA against the Pirates is 2.45, but Andrew McCutchen is a trouble maker with how hot he has been. Rest of the team is pretty cold. Niese may not be the safest start, but he should do much better than his 8 ER in 3 INN which happening in his last start against the Blue Jays.
20. SCOTT FELDMAN ($7,222) @ SEA
Feldman has yet to last more than 5 INN in each of his two starts this season. The Mariners offense does not pose a huge scoring threat, but you may not get enough out of Feldman to get the W. Scott does own a career 3.25 ERA against the Mariners in 9 starts, I still would not trust him. Justin Smoak has hit Feldman very well in his career, and he could be a sleeper pick to do some damage.
21. MARCO ESTRADA ($10,584) VS. SF
Estrada is not a dominant pitcher whatsoever. The Giants bats have a chance to create some momentum for themselves in this one. Estrada has surrendered 26 Hits in the last 24 INN pitched. He owns a 5.62 ERA over that span. The Giants offense is not a huge threat, but I do not expect Estrada to escape this one without giving up some damage.
22. BARRY ZITO ($9,353) @ MIL
Zito is staring to let the wheels fall off as he has allowed 10 ER in the last 17.1 INN. The Brewers have a lot of hitters that are ready to bust out for some huge games. Aramis Ramirez is overdue for a multi HR game. Along with Aramis, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart have also hit HR’s off of Zito. This is not a good start for Barry.
23. ZACH MCCALLISTER ($11,372) VS. DET
McCallister is not a bad pitcher at all. He has yet to throw a dominant start, but he has also yet to have an easy match up. In his one start against the Tigers in his career, he went 5 INN not allowing any damage. The Tigers offense does not come into this game particularly hot, but Alex Avila will look to build off of his 3 run HR Tuesday.
24. KEVIN MILLWOOD ($9,328) VS. TEX
Millwood has been unstoppable as his last two road starts have combined to 16 INN with 1 ER. Now he returns home where he owns a 10.05 ERA. Compared to his road 1.78 ERA. On the ROAD, earlier this season he held Texas to 1 ER in 6 INN with 7 Ks. By no means am I calling this one a good start at all, but Millwood could continue his dream season. Adrian Beltre does have 3 HRs in 76 ABs against Millwood, and you know he is ready for #4.
BAD STARTERS:
25. JEFF SUPPAN ($4,826) @ STL
Suppan is starting to get worse and worse, and the Cardinals offense is ready for a breakout game. Suppan gave up 4 ER in 5 INN vs. the Angels in his last start. Now he travels to STL where he faces Matt Holliday who is hitting .571 with 3 HRs against Suppan in his career. Rafael Furcal should create problems at the lead-off spot, and it will all spiral down from there.
26. BRONSON ARROYO ($9,989) VS. ATL
Arroyo has allowed an average of 10 Hits, and 4 ER in his last two starts. The Braves are overdue for a huge offensive game, and Arroyo with a 5.68 ERA against Atlanta could be the recipe for success. Freddie Freeman has had great success against Bronson, as well as Brian McCann who has 3 HRs off of him. Martin Prado and Dan Uggla have also both gone yard, but Jason Heyward is the guy who really needs to get his bat going.
27. DANIEL BARD ($9,526) @ BAL
Bard has been horrible on the road this season as he only has 1 QS out 4 road starts. The ERA is also up to 6.20 on the road after he was whacked by the semi-hot Phillies. Baltimore has a lot of fire power, and Chris Davis is overdue for a HR. Bard should have trouble finding the QS, hopefully the run support can get him the W. Adam Jones is the only current Orioles to HR off of Bard.
28. JAKE ARRIETA ($7,733) VS. BOS
Jake has an awful home ERA at 6.44. His career ERA against the Red Sox is 5.51. And he usually gets clobbered by good offenses. Adrian Gonzalez has a career .625 average against Jake, with a HR. Look for him and the rest of that Red Sox offense to really get going in this one.
29. JOE SAUNDERS ($6,370) VS. LAD
11.86. That is the ERA of Joe Saunders in his last two home starts. What was once a spectacular season, is now coming full circle to show how bad he really is. The Dodgers offense is very hot, and 5 different active Dodgers have hit HRs off of Joe. That does not count Matt Kemp who would have made it six. With the Dodgers offense trending up, and Saunders trending down. I would avoid him in this start.
30. WILL SMITH (Unlisted) @ NYY
How many pitchers is it going to take before the Yankees offense explodes? Smith will make his first ever start at Yankee stadium. Yankee hitters have to feel like sharks smelling blood, I expect fireworks to come. Andruw Jones is my dark-horse HR pick.