The Week Ahead: Week Ahead: Options Abound
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The upcoming week will be the first of this MLB season in which no team has a day off. That’s right, seven games for every club, meaning that we’ll be looking ahead to a bevy of two-start pitchers.
Selecting the right ones is critical for fantasy success. Read on and we’ll list them all for you, categorized from best to worst. But first, a bunch of notes on the names that stand out to me…
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* Brett Anderson continues to pitch extremely well, yet he inexplicably remains unowned in almost 90 percent of Yahoo! leagues. His latest effort (5 IP, 4 ER) against an outstanding Arizona lineup ended a stretch of four straight quality starts and marked the first time he’s allowed more than three runs in an outing since mid-April. I’d certainly give him a go this week against the Rangers and Giants.
* I haven’t seen quite enough from Chad Bettis to label him a Strong Play, but he’s definitely among the most appealing mid-tier options this week. His combination of sharp control, decent strikeout stuff and a solid grounder rate are playing well both at home and away.
* His success this year is a little hard to buy into given that it comes attached to a 29-to-25 K/BB ratio, but Reds rookie Michael Lorenzen has gotten the job done, with a 3.67 ERA in seven starts. He opens the week with a tough match-up in Detroit but gets the Marlins at home after that.
* Jeremy Hellickson was on a heck of a run before getting touched up by the division-leading Dodgers in LA on Wednesday. His schedule softens up with tilts against the Angels (third-worst OPS in the AL) and Padres (fourth-worst in the NL), so look for him to get back on track.
* Aaron Sanchez had his last start skipped due to what his manager described as “body soreness,” but he’s slated to start on Tuesday and Sunday next week. He’s been extremely effective lately, most notably in his latest outing where he shut down the first-place Astros over eight innings.
* Chi Chi Gonzalez has allowed one run in 23 2/3 innings over his first three big-league starts. He’s not going to keep up at that rate, but he still makes for an intriguing option this week with one of his starts coming against the White Sox.
* If you’ve been patiently waiting for the right time to pick up Taijuan Walker, this might be it. He has been fantastic over his last three starts (22 IP, 4 ER, 21/3 K/BB) and he’ll go twice next week.
* Even though his MRI came back clean, it was unsettling to see Scott Kazmir miss a start due to shoulder soreness given his history, and concerns grew when he failed to get through five innings in his return last week. However, he dominated the Rangers with eight innings of one-hit ball on Thursday so he’s a bona fide Strong Play with match-ups against the Padres and Angels on tap.
* Trevor May has a 3.03 ERA and a 31-to-4 K/BB ratio in 32 2/3 innings over his last five starts. He’s available in more than 90 percent of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.
* Astros rookie Vincent Velasquez has electric stuff and tossed five scoreless frames in his MLB debut on Wednesday. He gets the Rockies at home and the Mariners on the road, and is a free agent in 98 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Giddy-up.
Going Twice…
American League
Strong Plays
Yovani Gallardo: LAD, @CWS
Jesse Hahn: @SD, LAA
Masahiro Tanaka: @MIA, DET
Edinson Volquez: @MIL, BOS
Dallas Keuchel: COL, @SEA
Jose Quintana: @PIT, TEX
Carlos Rodon: @PIT, TEX
Trevor Bauer: @CHC, TB
Wei-Yin Chen: PHI, @TOR
Scott Kazmir: @SD, LAA
Decent Plays
Aaron Sanchez: @NYM, BAL
Mark Buehrle: @NYM, BAL
Chi Chi Gonzalez: LAD, @CWS
J.A. Happ: @SF, HOU
Taijuan Walker: @SF, HOU
Nathan Eovaldi: @MIA, DET
Trevor May: @STL, CHC
Kyle Gibson: @STL, CHC
Garrett Richards: ARI, @OAK
Jered Weaver: ARI, @OAK
Chris Young: @MIL, BOS
Vincent Velasquez: COL, @SEA
Anibal Sanchez: CIN, @NYY
Shaun Marcum: @CHC, TB
Wade Miley: ATL, @KC
Alex Colome: @WAS, @CLE
At Your Own Risk
Erasmo Ramirez: @WAS, @CLE
Shane Greene: CIN, @NYY
Rick Porcello: ATL, @KC
Chris Tillman: PHI, @TOR
National League
Strong Plays
Michael Wacha: MIN, @PHI
Carlos Martinez: MIN, @PHI
Tyson Ross: OAK, @ARI
Francisco Liriano: CWS, @WAS
Matt Harvey: TOR, @ATL
Brett Anderson: @TEX, SF
Jake Arrieta: CLE, MIN
Decent Plays
Gio Gonzalez: @TB, PIT
Tim Lincecum: SEA, @LAD
Tim Hudson: SEA, @LAD
Andrew Cashner: OAK, @ARI
Charlie Morton: CWS, @WAS
Aaron Harang: @BAL, STL
Matt Garza: KC, @COL
David Phelps: NYY, @CIN
Tom Koehler: NYY, @CIN
Carlos Frias: @TEX, SF
Chad Bettis: @HOU, MIL
Michael Lorenzen: @DET, MIA
Tsuyoshi Wada: CLE, @MIN
Julio Teheran: @BOS, NYM
Williams Perez: @BOS, NYM
Jeremy Hellickson: @LAA, SD
Robbie Ray: @LAA, SD
At Your Own Risk
Jerome Williams: @BAL, STL
Jon Niese: TOR, @ATL
Kyle Lohse: KC, @COL
Chris Rusin: @HOU, MIL
Jon Moscot: @DET, MIA
Tanner Roark: @TB, PIT
Streamer City
The following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:
American League
Wednesday, June 17: Drew Hutchison vs. NYM
Hutchison has been money at home, where he’s 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA. The Mets’ offense is one of the worst in baseball.
Thursday. June 18: Adam Warren vs. MIA
Warren has been doing a heck of a job for the Yankees and is working on a string of five straight quality starts. He’s been particularly effective at home, with a 2.20 ERA in five outings.
Thursday, June 18: Kendall Graveman vs. SD
He was demoted to Triple-A with an 8.27 ERA at the end of April, but Graveman has looked much better since returning in late May, with a 2-0 record and 2.55 ERA in four starts.
National League
Wednesday, June 17: Chase Anderson vs. LAA
Since the beginning of May, Anderson has a 2.51 ERA with one homer allowed in 43 innings. The Angels are a bottom-five offense in the AL.
Wednesday, June 17: Jaime Garcia @ MIN
Garcia is 4-for-4 on quality starts since rejoining the Cards rotation and has 15 strikeouts with zero walks in his last three. The Twins offense has fallen into a horrible funk recently.
Thursday, June 18: Kyle Hendricks @ CLE
Hendricks has been quite effective, with an impressive 52-to-13 K/BB ratio over 63 innings, and he’ll be facing a Cleveland team that has never seen him before.
Total Games
American League
7: BAL, BOS, CLE, CWS, DET, HOU, KC, LAA, MIN, NYY, OAK, SEA, TB, TOR, TEX
National League
7: ARI, ATL, CHC, CIN, COL, LAD, MIA, MIL, NYM, PIT, PHI, SD, SF, STL, WAS
The Infirmary
You can get a full listing of injured players at Rotoworld’s Injury Page but here’s the latest on a few prominent players who have been out of action:
Miguel Gonzalez: Out until late June (groin)
Zack Cozart: Out for the season (knee)
Raisel Iglesias: Out indefinitely (ribs)
Daniel Murphy: Out until late June (quad)
Andrew Miller: Out indefinitely (forearm)
Matt Holliday: Out until July (quad)
Jake Orodizzi: Out indefinitely (ribs)
Ryan Zimmerman: Out until late June (foot)
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