CORY’S PICKS

CORY’S PICKS

Marquis @ F. Garcia

Axelrod @ Pelfrey

Gallardo @ Wandy – going on the working assumption that Gallardo actually pitches better at some point

Lester @ Price

Marcum @ S. Miller

Kluber @ Hamels

Ogando @ Straily – Straily hasn’t earned the trust to face tough offenses

Iwakuma @ Hughes

Leake @ Sanabia – Leake on the road, vs. the Marlins? Have to go for it

W. Davis @ Enright – the Angels are struggling so bad right now, take a shot on Davis

Keuchel @ Scherzer – over/under on Scherzer K’s? 14?

T. Hudson @ Kennedy

Vogelsong @ R. Ortiz – Morrow pushed back to Saturday

Garland @ Samardzija

Detwiler @ Greinke – Detwiler regressing a little but Dodgers are soooo bad

CORY’S PICKS

Kazmir @ Pettibone – time to start taking Kazmir seriously…

King Felix @ Sabathia

Lackey @ Moore – Lackey looking very good so far…

Peavy @ Correia

Guthrie @ Vargas – Vargas worth a look in deeper leagues, for the home start

Lohse @ Locke – tough matchup for Locke and K/BB says play it safe

Zito @ Dickey – don’t trust Zito on the road but like Dickey vs. Giants

Bailey @ Nolasco

Gee @ Gast

Holland @ Colon – Colon still worth a look at home though.

Cashner @ Tillman  - could be a lot of K’s here

Harrell @ Fister

Francis @ Villanueva – Villanueva fading as Garza nears return

Teheran @ Corbin

Haren @ Kershaw

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Buehrle @ Buchholz

Smith @ Hellickson

Jimenez @ Verlander – keep an eye on Ubaldo… velocity is back up and pitching well lately

J. Williams @ Quintana

Pettitte @ Shields

S. Johnson @ Worley

Darvish @ Bedard

Parker @ Maurer – last chance for Parker to save his rotation spot?

Liriano @ Niese

J. Chacin @ Wainwright

Jackson @ Strasburg

Maholm @ Bumgarner

Burgos @ Latos – Burgos will start in place of Estrada, who is pushed to Monday

Lee @ Cahill

Slowey @ Ryu – ride the Slowey train!

                                                                                                                                               SUNDAY

McAllister @ Porcello – tough matchup for McAllister but I’m a fan

Morrow @ Dempster – bench but don’t cut Morrow, especially coming off stiff neck

Stults @ R. Hernandez

Kuroda @ Big Erv – have to roll Big Erv, right?

W. Chen @ Diamond

Tepesch @ Lyles – favorable matchup for Tepesch

Milone @ Saunders – check the home/away splits on both of these guys… seriously

Wilson @ Sale

W. Peralta @ Arroyo – bench but don’t cut talented but inconsistent Peralta

Gomez @ Harvey

Feldman @ G. Gonzalez – Feldman is rolling, have to go with it

De La Rosa @ J. Garcia

Medlen @ Lincecum

LeBlanc @ Capuano

Kendrick @ McCarthy – tough matchup for McCarthy but he’s this close to getting it together

                                                                                                                                             MONDAY

Phelps @ Masterson  (Gm 1 of doubleheader) – still don’t trust Masterson vs. any team with good lefties

Nuno @ Bauer  (Gm 2 of doubleheader)

Norris @ An. Sanchez – Anibal might strike out 20 vs. whiff-tastic Astros

Santiago @ P. Hernandez

Mendoza @ Blanton

Grimm @ Griffin

Hefner @ Lynn

Estrada @ Burnett – Estrada pushed back from Friday; hang with ‘em

Nicasio @ Wood

Minor @ Miley

Zimmermann @ Beckett – what reason is there to start Beckett, really?

                                                                                                                                               ***ZACH SAYS “Cory’s loyalty to McCarthy is truly admirable but I need to see more before I can trust him. He’s coming off just his first quality start of the season and the Phillies’ lineup isn’t exactly one to pick on.”

Hey all,

Here’s this week’s installment of my two-start pitcher notes. Not a whole lot of appealing options for next week so don’t bench a clearly superior pitcher who will be making only one start in favor of one of these guys. There will be plenty of time to chase strikeouts and wins later. But as for this group, Hector Santiago is the one pitcher who I would make sure to grab.

And of course, be sure to listen to today’s podcast as we’ll have the usual two-start pitcher segment.

-Zach

Barry Zito  (@TOR, @COL)

Zito has been a pleasant surprise this season, both for the Giants and for his fantasy owners. Yeah, he’s had a couple of blowup starts, but in five of his seven outings, he’s allowed either one or zero runs and has pitched at least seven innings in four of those games. Still, I just have a bad feeling about next week. One would think that a stat correction is inevitable, and in five career starts at Rogers Centre, Zito is 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. His career numbers at Coors Field are actually very good (3-1, 3.25 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) but pitching any low-strikeout guy in Colorado is playing with fire. On last Friday’s podcast, Ron Shandler explained that he takes a conservative approach with two-start pitchers as one poor performance can ruin the entire week, and I think that the chances of Zito struggling in at least one of these starts are pretty high. Ditch.

Josh Beckett  (vs. WAS, @ATL)

Like Zito, Beckett faces two tough matchups, and despite some strong performances, he’s been far from consistent thus far, allowing the opposition to bat .294 against him while allowing eight homers in seven starts. In a deep mixed league, maybe it will pay off to throw him out there for the strikeout upside. But in a 12-teamer, I’m passing.

Jake Westbrook  (vs. NYM, vs. MIL)

Westbrook is the type of pitcher who can throw a gem in one start and then get pounded in the next. If his sinker isn’t working right, it can get very ugly very fast. Despite the sparkling 1.62 ERA, I’m not liking the 1.46 WHIP, and Jake has always been a pitch to contact guy, so he doesn’t really have the ability to work himself out of jams via the strikeout. And of course, one of the main reasons to pick up two-start pitchers is to gain ground in strikeouts. To me, the downside here outweighs the upside. Ditch.

Justin Grimm  (@OAK, vs. DET)

The stat correction finally came for Grimm in his latest start and while the strikeouts are nice, the vs. DET matchup isn’t so nice. Oh yeah, and the A’s actually rank 3^rd in the AL in runs scored at home. The bottom line is that Grimm is too unproven to trust in a two-start week unless both matchups are favorable. If you’re chasing strikeouts and aren’t concerned about ERA and WHIP, maybe he’s worth a try, but I’m holding off in a 12-team mixed until I see a little more. Keep an eye on Grimm going forward though.

Bud Norris  (@DET, @PIT)

Norris’ strikeout ability and solid 3.40 ERA surely makes him a must-start for next week, right? Not really. The key here is that Bud will be on the road for both of these starts, and the road has not been too kind to him. Last season, Norris pitched to a 6.94 ERA away from Minute Maid Park. This season, his road ERA is 5.93 through three starts. Plus, there it is, that dreaded @DET matchup. Sorry for being such a downer, but I’m ditching on Norris as well.

Jeff Locke  (vs. MIL, vs. HOU)

That’s now four straight starts with 3 ER or less for Locke, whose spot in the Pirates’ rotation appears secure for the foreseeable future. This is a little risky, but I’ll say pitch, albeit with some trepidation. Despite their surprisingly decent start to the season, the Astros’ lineup is still worth picking on and the Brewers’ offense has struggled to score on the road. Let’s just hope that Locke can ride this hot streak for a little while longer!

Hector Santiago  (@MIN, @LAA)

Here’s a guy who I’m pitching with confidence next week. This year, Santiago has maintained his high strikeout rate while displaying much improved control. Thanks to Gavin Floyd’s injury, he now gets the opportunity to prove that his stellar pitching out of the bullpen can translate to the starting rotation. And I think he’s up for the task. Fresh off a dominant performance vs. the Mets and a decent outing on the road against the Rangers, Santiago gets two matchups that aren’t too scary. Both the Twins and Angels rank in the bottom half in the AL in runs scored at home and the Angels’ lineup has had a tough time vs. left-handed pitching. I like Santiago a lot for next week.

Chris Tillman  (vs. SD, vs. TB)

Although we’re still seeing some inconsistency from Tillman and you would like the strikeout rate to be a little higher, the young righty has now posted four straight quality starts. These matchups aren’t great and Tillman has pitched a lot better on the road than at home this season, but I’ve been very impressed by him of late and there’s a point where recent performance trumps split stats. With Tillman, I think we’re at that point. I’ll roll the dice and pitch.

CORY’S PICKS

Kluber @ Scherzer

R. Ortiz @ Lester – Morrow scratched from this start

Volquez @ Cobb

Hanson @ Axelrod – White Sox are 28th in MLB in OPS vs. righties, go for it

Hughes @ W. Davis

Hammel @ Pelfrey

Ogando @ Keuchel

Straily @ Iwakuma – not trusting Straily right now, gaudy minor league numbers or not

Samardzija @ Detwiler – Detwiler cooling, but home start vs. weak Cubs beckons

Gallardo @ Cingrani

Wandy @ Marcum – not much conviction on either recommendation though

Garland @ S. Miller

Cloyd @ Kennedy

J. Fernandez @ Magill – Dodgers are 28th in MLB in OPS vs. righties!

T. Hudson @ Cain

CORY’S PICKS

CORY’S PICKS

Minor @ Leake

King Felix @ Burnett

Westbrook @ Villanueva – Westbrook still hot but Villanueva cooling

Nolasco @ Marquis

Pettibone @ Zito – risk/reward on Zito, but he’s at home sooo…

Fister @ Haren

Mendoza @ Tillman

Griffin @ Masterson – not trusting Masterson vs. A’s lefty power

Peavy @ Hefner

P. Hernandez @ TBD (BOS) – Doubront demoted to bullpen

Romero @ Moore

Blanton @ Norris – Norris at home vs. scuffling Angels…

Holland @ Lohse

Phelps @ Nicasio

Miley @ Kershaw

CORY’S PICKS

An. Sanchez @ Zimmermann

Big Erv @ W. Chen – BIG ERV!!

Milone @ McAllister – tough matchup but I’m a fan

Harang @ McDonald – McDonald MUCH tougher at home

Medlen @ Bailey

Sale @ Harvey

Diamond @ Dempster

Happ @ R. Hernandez – Happ a blue plate special for deeper leagues

Lynn @ Wood – Wood’s been getting it done, but scary matchup

Wilson @ Lyles

Grimm @ W. Peralta – bench but don’t cut scuffling Peralta

Kuroda @ De La Rosa

McCarthy @ Beckett – McCarthy’s indicators suggest improvement is coming

Sanabia @ Stults – at home vs. Marlins? YEP!

Kendrick @ Lincecum

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Correia @ Kazmir – Correia’s getting it done, but regression is a cruel mistress

Colon @ Hughes – do you trust Hughes at home vs. the #1 scoring offense in MLB?

Iwakuma @ Dickey

F. Garcia @ Hanson – tough call on Hanson but I’ll play it safe vs. O’s

Quintana @ W. Davis

Scherzer @ Harrell

Lackey @ Ogando

Cingrani @ Samardzija

Wainwright @ Gallardo

Strasburg @ Locke – have to go for it w/ Locke vs. struggling Nats

J. Fernandez @ Hamels

Niese @ Teheran – risky start for Niese on the road, but I’ll take the shot

Price @ Garland

Corbin @ Richard – sticking with Richard at home

Lilly @ Vogelsong – assuming Lilly starts, I’m going for it

SUNDAY

Pelfrey @ Kluber

Straily @ Pettitte

Saunders @ Morrow – hang with ‘em on Morrow

Peavy @ Shields

Lester @ Darvish

Hammel @ Richards

Verlander @ Humber

Harvey @ Hudson

G. Gonzalez @ Wandy

J. Garcia @ Estrada – Garcia better at home, but he’s rolling

Latos @ Jackson – Jackson is DTM

Slowey @ Halladay – Slowey worth a gamble in deeper leagues

Kennedy @ Volquez

Cobb @ Chatwood

Ryu @ Cain

MONDAY

Parker @ Jimenez – I like Parker better at home but appears to be turning the corner

Worley @ Buchholz

Buehrle @ Hellickson

Maholm @ Arroyo – not risking Maholm in GABP

Tepesch @ Feldman – blue plate special!

Cahill @ Capuano

LeBlanc @ Cashner

Lee @ Bumgarner