Pitch or Ditch for Saturday-Monday, June 2-4
ZACH’S PICKS
SATURDAY
Doubront @ Drabek – Doubront 3 ER or less in each of his last five starts.
McCarthy @ Hochevar – Hochevar not a bad gamble in deeper leagues.
Matusz @ Hellickson
Noesi @ Floyd – SEA lineup could be the cure for Floyd’s recent struggles.
Walters @ Tomlin
Kuroda @ Porcello – One great outing @OAK not enough for me to trust Kuroda vs. high-end offense.
Darvish @ Wilson
Beachy @ Gonzalez
Nolasco @ Hamels – Nolasco nothing more than mediocre so far and his miniscule K rate is concerning.
Harang @ Nicasio
Lynn @ Dickey
Bedard @ Marcum
D. Hudson @ Volquez – Gotta like Volquez at home.
Garza @ Cain
Latos @ Wandy – Latos is a little risky though.
SUNDAY
Hughes @ Verlander – Hughes still a matchups guy, and I don’t like this matchup.
Bard @ Hutchison
Hunter @ Moore
Milone @ Adcock – Milone 2 ER or less in three of his last four starts. Even though it’s on the road, I’m pitching.
Millwood @ Sale
Diamond @ Masterson
Harrison @ Haren – Harrison not a terrible play in deeper formats though.
Hanson @ Zimmermann
Zambrano @ Blanton – Blanton is turning back into a pumpkin.
Arroyo @ Lyles – Bronson got roughed up by Pirates, so how can we trust him here?
McDonald @ Fiers
Eovaldi @ White
Wood @ Zito
Cahill @ Suppan
Westbrook @ Niese – Westbrook is another one turning back into a pumpkin. Niese still hanging onto his grad status.
MONDAY
DeVries @ Smith
Vargas @ Big Erv – Three straight quality starts for Vargas. I’m taking the risk.
Feldman @ Parker – Parker has earned this one, and at least it’s at home.
Lohse @ Hefner
Samardzija @ Vogelsong
Kershaw @ Lee
Friedrich @ Saunders – Rockies struggle to score on the road and Tulo is out. I’m rolling the dice on Saundo.
mlbtstufantasy411
Would you trade Middlebrooks and Tommy Hanson for Matt Cain?
Todd,
Yup. I’m concerned about Hanson’s ability to stay healthy for the whole season and Middlebrooks is a fair price to pay for the SP upgrade.
Zach
Got offered Lincecum for Halladay, with Halladay getting ready to miss 1-2 months, don’t think it’s a bad trade. What do you think?
I’m thinking of counter offering with Halladay and Howie Kendrick for Lincecum and Trumbo, I have A-Rod at third and he’s killing me this season… I know Kendrick is ranked way higher than Trumbo but he’s not producing to his rank.
Manny,
I’m lukewarm on this one. I do think Lincecum will bounce back but it’s no sure thing that he’ll return to being that ace pitcher of years past. Halladay is a clear-cut top-5 SP and although he’ll be out 6-8 weeks, I’d almost rather you fill his spot by pitching and ditching and then get him back for at least the season’s final two months. Not a bad trade but I’m not overly enthusiastic about it.
Zach
Vance Worley!?! pitch on monday or should we see what he has first against the doggers?
Luke,
I’d pitch him but if you want to sit this one out, particularly in a daily league where you don’t have the added benefit of the two-start week, I’m OK with that too.
Zach
Hi guys, have to ask you: is Latos dropable? He looks like a p.o.d. at best. Cheers from Germany, Danny
I have a dearth of outfielders and need to improve my pitching stats. I am thinking about this trade – SEND Bryce Harper. GET Brandon Morrow. I personally think both players are overrated, so is this a good deal? Or does someone win this trade?
My OF is Harper, Willingham, Viciedo, Prado, Jackson (DL), Markakis (dropped for Fowler), Carlos Lee. Not exactly an All Star Outfield I know.
MY SP is: Latos, Lester, Josh Johnson, Scherzer, Peavy, Colby Lewis. Its a nice staff now, but some of my pitching was different in April when it stunk and left me in last place.
gareth,
Pass. Whenever it’s close, I’ll always favor the hitter. Both players have tremendous upside but Morrow is far from a sure thing. I just don’t think that your staff needs an upgrade and would rather have the OF depth going forward.
Zach
I got Gavin Floyd right his last couple starts have not been very promising and I’m in a league where I don’t have much margin for error do u think tommy milone would be a better opinion thanks
John,
Nope. I view Milone as a guy you’ll probably want to pitch only at home whereas Floyd, despite his occassional blowups, always seems to finish seasons with quality numbers. Milone is far less proven too.
Zach
I have 2 great Catchers and 2 great Shortstops.
C. SANTANA / McCANN, REYES / A. CABRERA.
I would like to parlay my depth in this area into an Ace pitcher and a top 10 outfielder. What in your opinion can I get for Brian McCann or Asdrubal Cabrera for an owner starved of production at catcher and SS? Who would be a comparable talent to look for in fair trades?
gareth,
Well, with Santana on the shelf now, I’d ditch that idea for the time being. Not a bad idea though. See what kind of offers you can get for Asdrubal and let me know.
Zach
Looking to open up a roster spot for Panda. 12 team dynasty league. Could make one, both or neither trade. Give Hardy, Duda and Smoak for Desmond and Hart (all $5) or give Zobrist ($22) and BJ Upton ($24) for Tulo ($46) and D. Brown (minors). No one else to drop. Thanks
Rob,
I’m OK with the first deal. Not so high on the second one.
Zach
Billingsley or Smyly if you had to choose one for the 2 start week?
HMAN,
Billingsley. I really like the matchups and at least he’s been consistent in the K department.
Zach
Roy Halladay was just dropped in my kind of shallow 10 team league. I have the #1 waiver but I already have several players on the DL. I’ve got to claim him though right?
Just a bruised hand for E5! This is the year, nothings gonna stop him now!
My question though Zach is, if I was gonna trade E5 in a keeper league what kind of return should I be getting back. I drafted him for a mere buck so have been getting interest in him from a team already out of the hunt who’s looking for keepers – he can be kept for 1 yr ($4), 2yrs ($7) or 3 yrs ($9).
If I was gonna trade him in this format, would you be wanting a quality replacement 3B along with another quality bat/arm elsewhere? As good as he’s doing now, I might be able to shop him for a nice return to help me win this year (going well in 1st right now), especially with his lack of a track record of this level of performance.
BB,
Sure! If you can get a quality return (the same kind of return you’d be able to get for a guy like Beltre in a non-keeper, for example) I’m all for it.
Zach
Hey Zach,
It looks like Gee is going today for the Mets. He is available for the start and the mets have been cruzing and his last 3 starts were all QS. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Vande
Vande,
In a mixed league, I think I’d pass on him as he’s going up against a high-end offense in the Cards.
Zach
Hey Zach looking at some buy-low CI options I could send an arm for, would these guys come under that bracket: A-Ram, A-Gonz, Hosmer (don’t wanna touch Zimm as I have him in my other league). If so what pitcher would be worth offering outta: Yu, Ricky-Ro, Parker, Gallardo, Niese, Moore, Bailey, Miley. Might take 2 arms to get A-Gone but the other two should be available right, who would you offer.
Dan,
Yeah, I like all those guys as buy-low possibilities. I might try for A-Gon as I think that he’s head and shoulders above the rest and would totally be willing to package two of those pitchers. I’d make any pair available except if it’s two of Yu, Ricky Ro, Gallardo. So it would be Yu/Ricky Ro/Gallardo plus any one of the other pitchers. Another option would be to buy low on Hosmer and offer a guy like Niese.
Zach
Do I roll the dice on Anthony Bass today (June 5)? I’ve hung tough with him because his K rate is stellar and you guys keep saying pitch him. I feel like I want to give him a start or two to get back on track before I start him again. What do you think?