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

Alright everyone,

Here’s the latest installment of my two-start pitcher notes for all you weekly leaguers. Remember that these are mostly geared towards 12-team mixed leagues. Be sure to check out today’s podcast as we’re joined by the one and only Ron Shandler! Cory and Ron will go over many of these two-start options in addition to answering a bunch of listener questions.

-Zach

                                                                                                                                                 Andrew Cashner  (vs. MIA, @TB)

Since making the move from the bullpen to the starting rotation a couple weeks ago, Cashner has been maddeningly inconsistent. At times, he has looked like a dominant strikeout machine, but he has also battled some control issues. His most recent outing, on the road vs. the Cubs (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 K), was by far his worst one, so it’s hard to fully trust him heading into next week. But the strikeout upside is real and the vs. MIA matchup is extremely appealing. And it’s not like the Rays (10^th in AL in runs scored and 12^th in AVG) are offensive juggernauts. Pitch.

Jarrod Parker  (@CLE, @SEA)

There’s no denying that Parker has been a colossal disappointment so far, but his latest performance (6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) was somewhat encouraging. Still, you can’t possibly like the 2.01 WHIP and 18-to-16 K/BB ratio. In mixed leagues of 12 teams or more, I’d take a chance on him next week as these matchups are far from scary. But if he fails to get the job done here, it might be time to consider cutting him in standard mixed leagues.

Bronson Arroyo  (vs. ATL, vs. MIL)

Arroyo is a guy who on any given day could either toss a gem or turn in a disaster outing, and there’s simply no way to predict which Bronson will show up. For the most part, the good Arroyo has shown up this season, as he’s posted four quality starts in six tries. These matchups aren’t particularly unfavorable but they aren’t great either and Arroyo pitched significantly better on the road than at home last season. I guess the bottom line is that he makes me too nervous and I’d rather have someone else deal with the headache. Ditch.

James McDonald  (vs. SEA, @NYM)

Another guy who frustrates his owners to no end, McDonald is sometimes nearly unhittable but sometimes has no idea where the ball is going. In 12-team mixed leagues, I’ll take the conservative route and ditch, and there’s a decent chance that he won’t even be making the @NYM start as the returns of Francisco Liriano and Charlie Morton might bump him out of the rotation. The Pirates will need to choose between McDonald and Jeff Locke for their fifth starter spot and Locke has been the far more effective pitcher so far.

Jorge De La Rosa  (vs. NYY, @STL)

I’m bullish on De La Rosa going forward and he is 4-for-6 in quality starts, but the Dodgers roughed him up pretty good on Tuesday and the reality is that he missed nearly the entire 2012 season. Let him work out the kinks first before pitching him in mixed leagues. Oh yeah, and I don’t like these matchups at all. But keep an eye on him as he could resurface on the mixed league radar fairly soon.

Nick Tepesch  (@CHC, @HOU)

Tepesch did a fine job in the Minors last year and has gotten off to an equally impressive start in his first big league season, registering a 3.54 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 18-to-5 K/BB ratio over his first five outings. And on paper, these matchups are very favorable. In a 12-team mixed, I’d understand if you’re a bit hesitant to pitch him due to the limited track record, unless you’re the gambling type, but in a 15-teamer and of course an AL-only, I think I’d give it a shot.

Brandon McCarthy  (@LAD, vs. PHI)

On today’s podcast, Cory and Ron said to pitch McCarthy, and while I understand their reasoning, I need to preach what I practice (I think that makes sense?) and say that if I owned McCarthy in any league (and I don’t), I would not feel at ease starting him. Zero quality starts in six tries so far and an OK but not great strikeout rate. Both the Dodgers and Phillies have been erratic offensively but both lineups have the ability to put plenty of runs on the board. I just don’t have a good feeling about this.

Zach McAllister  (vs. OAK, @DET)

I’m a fan of McAllister and he’s certainly gotten off to an exceptional start this year, but it’s been too exceptional. I think a stat correction is in order, and I think it’ll happen next week. The Tigers boast one of the more dangerous lineups in baseball and these aren’t your older brother’s Oakland A’s. They can actually hit now. I’ll follow the same approach with McAllister as with De La Rosa. Ditch but monitor closely.

CORY’S PICKS

Leake @ Villanueva

Nolasco @ Pettibone – Nolasco pitching reasonably well but hard to trust in CBP

P. Hernandez @ Masterson – hard to trust Masterson vs. any lineup with decent lefty power

Griffin @ Sabathia – hang with ‘em on Griffin

Detwiler @ Burnett

King Felix @ Romero

Marcum @ Minor – tough matchup for Marcum if he’s not at 100%

Doubront @ Holland – risk/reward to both, but Holland pitching better

Santiago @ Guthrie – blue plate special!

Fister @ Norris

S. Miller @ Lohse

Moore @ Francis

M. Gonzalez @ Vargas

Miley @ Marquis

Kershaw @ Zito

CORY’S PICKS

CORY’S PICKS

Gee @ LeBlanc – have to “Pitch” pretty much everyone vs. Stanton-less Marlins

Diamond @ An. Sanchez

J. Gomez @ Burgos

Bailey @ Lynn

Wilson @ Milone – Wilson shares MLB lead in walks allowed

Bedard @ Phelps – Phelps has sneaky-good K upside

Lee @ Bauer – don’t trust Bauer’s command issues

Buchholz @ Buehrle

Zimmermann @ Maholm

Sale @ Tepesch – Tepesch worth a gamble in deeper leagues

Cashner @ Feldman

Hellickson @ Mendoza

Lincecum @ McCarthy – hang with ‘em on McCarthy, stuff is there

W. Chen @ Harang

Nicasio @ Beckett – Dodgers can’t hit, can’t hit at home, can’t hit righties

CORY’S PICKS

Humber @ Kuroda – OTOH I am picking **against** Humber in Beat the Streak

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

Lester @ Morrow

Worley @ Verlander

Hefner @ Slowey – you read that right

G. Gonzalez @ T. Hudson

Quintana @ Darvish

Volquez @ Jackson – indecisive on Jackson, but might as well

McDonald @ Estrada – indecisive on McDonald, but passing this time

Cobb @ Shields

Arroyo @ J. Garcia

Bumgarner @ Cahill

Richards @ Parker – bench but don’t cut Parker, he’s pitching for his job

Hammel @ Maurer

De La Rosa @ Ryu

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Medlen @ Porcello – never mind Porcello, stash Drew Smyly while you can

Happ @ Sabathia – Happ has been throwing well but it’s too risky

Tillman @ Griffin

Holland @ P. Hernandez

Peacock @ Doubront – good K potential, and blow-up potential, on both sides

Moore @ Floyd

Jimenez @ Guthrie

Blanton @ King Felix

Leake @ Haren – Leake much better on the road, and Nats struggling to score

Pettibone @ Marcum – tough matchup for his season debut, but take a shot

Burnett @ Westbrook – Westbrook due for some painful regression

Wood @ Sanabia

Francis @ Miley

Zito @ Stults – might as well!

W. Peralta @ Fife

SUNDAY

Dickey @ Hughes – I don’t trust Hughes in Yankee Stadium

Norris @ Lackey

Price @ Axelrod

Masterson @ Mendoza – Masterson is a mirror from which we see reflected our own wants, hopes and dreams, but sometimes our worst fears as well

Ogando @ Correia

M. Gonzalez @ Colon

Vargas @ Iwakuma

Minor @ Fister

Hamels @ Niese – Niese has to start throwing more strikes, though…

Villanueva @ Nolasco

Cingrani @ Detwiler – expect to see lots and lots of fastballs and not much else

Locke @ S. Miller

Lohse @ Kershaw

Vogelsong @ Marquis

Garland @ Corbin

MONDAY

Harrell @ Pettitte

Pelfrey @ Scherzer

Kluber @ Davis – good gamble at home vs so-so Tribe offense

Hanson @ Anderson – not trusting Hanson vs. good offenses

TBD (BAL) @ Saunders

Strasburg @ Teheran

Harvey @ J. Fernandez

Richard @ Samardzija – Cubs can’t hit lefties so Richard is a reasonable deep-league gamble

Wandy @ Gallardo – good chance for Gallardo to get straightened out

Latos @ Wainwright

Cain @ Kennedy

Chatwood @ Lilly – Lilly looked very sharp vs. the Mets