I started writing this week and kept getting distracted by the notion of a “tease” starting pitcher. These are guys we all see available every week at the top of our waiver wire. For some reason they hop on and off rosters, faster than the Easter Bunny. They all for some reason have an attractive quality, whether it be a great matchup, a previous decent start or just a general boyish quality that we find irresistible. We see the numbers they produce and sometimes numbers tell a different story than what really is going on for fantasy purposes. In the end, it comes down to picking a starting pitcher in a must win week is the same place that $30 steak goes to digest. So with the eve of playoffs upon us, here are the lower end 2 start options for the week. Good luck and happy fantasying. (Please keep in mind that pitchers and matchups change, especially with Irene running havoc.)
ONE START OPTIONS:
8/31
Brandon Beachy vs. Was – Lannan
Chris Capuano vs. Fla – Hensley
Ted Lilly vs. SD – LeBlanc
James McDonald @ Hou – Happ
Josh Collmenter vs. Col – Rogers
9/1
Fausto Carmona vs. Oak – Gonzalez
Luis Perez @ Bal – Matusz
9/2
Bruce Chen vs. Cle – Masterson
Guillermo Moscoso vs. Sea – pineda
Jeff Karstens @CHC – Dempster
Charlie Morton (@Hou vs. Sosa, @CHC vs. Wells) Was pitching well up until Thursday. 3 ER in previous 29 innings. Jersey guys always get a little extra juice from me, hey, I’m a homer. Go root for your own state.
Brett Cecil (@Bal vs. Reyes, @NYY vs. Sabathia) We all root for the glasses, whether we admit it or not we do. Is a typical tease fantasy pitcher, shows the goods, does bad gets dropped, rinse and repeat for next scheduled start.
Wade Davis (@Tor vs. Romero, Bal vs. Simon) ERA right at 3 in last 4 starts, and showing better K rate. Pitches better at the Trop and I gamble more at the Trop, so the Baltimore start looks like a winner to me. This lesson in transitive theory is brought to you by Gamblers Anonymous.
Javier Vazquez (NYM vs. Pelfrey, Phi vs. Hamels) If consistency were pants, he would be wearing cargo jorts. Recently moved into the top 30 all-time in K’s, congrats. We come for the K’s and cry when we get everything else.
Livan Hernandez (@Atl vs. Lowe, NYM vs. Pelfrey) I don’t know if anyone watches his starts, but he is fun to watch. Throws slower than his jersey number. Is the Latino Houdini of pitchers, better known to those in the know as El Mago.
Doug Fister (KC vs. Francis, CHW vs. Buehrle) Since trade he is 3-1, with an ERA in the mid 3’s. Toss that record out the window, make sure the window is open first, genius. It’s not next year but a full year in Detriot with that offense and he is a 15 game winner.
Brandon McCarthy (@Cle vs. Tomlin, Sea vs. Vargas) Loved his work in Mannequin. Is in the growing trend this week of tease pitchers, cusp rosterable guys that matchup-wise are more attractive.
Homer Bailey (Phi vs. Worley, STL vs. Garcia) The Iliad, a funny catchphrase and a civil rights activist. See Homers have actually done something good in history. What you see is what you get, he isn’t the former top pitching spec we all want him to be. Sorry, I hear hearts breaking all over the Midwest.
Derek Lowe (Was vs. Livan, LA vs. Kuroda) Team is 20 games over .500 and he has 23% of the losses. Yeah, that sounds awesome from a fantasy perspective. So grab your sneakers and chase those wins.
Blake Beavan (Ana vs. Pineiro, @Oak vs. Cahill) On here for 1 reason, he has beat both these teams previously. Tends to get beat up by good hitting teams, which for the less in the know means his secondary pitches aren’t inspiring. Doesn’t K enough for full fantasy usefulness.
Linguist, academic and all-around good guy with a lot of free time on his hands, David Crystal says there’s been no definitive research on how many people are actually laughing out loud when they type out el oh el (Thanks, Wikipedia!). I’m guessing the number is less than 50% and the number of people actually rolling on the floor laughing when they type that dopey acronym is far less. I bring this up to impress on you the amount of things read on the internet that turn out to be false. With all that said (and it was a lot, wasn’t it?), the internet tells me the Yankees are going to promote Jesus Montero in the next couple of weeks. If you read that and no streamers or balloons fell from the ceiling, then pull the rip cord harder. In keeper leagues, he should be owned already. If he’s not, I’m assuming you’re in an NL-Only league or a mixed league filled with atheists. Back in February, the two thousand and eleventh year of Jesus Montero’s call up, I gave him the projections of 20/5/30/.290 in 100 at-bats. Still sounds about right. I’m a God, mortal! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Hanley Ramirez – Day-to-day with a sprained shoulder. That sounds like nothing for a guy who plays through injuries and just lives and breathes the game like he’s Luke Appling or some other old timey player. Unfortunately, that’s not Hanley Ramirez. My guess is he’ll miss at least five to seven games.
Omar Infante – 3-for-5, 2 homers. Hmm… I feel like I heard about him somewhere recently…Something about how you should pick him up…Oh, I know. I wrote it yesterday. I’m a genius, even if I need the spellchecker to spell genius.
Jason Isringhausen – Screwed the turkey, or whatever that cliche is, yesterday for the second day in a row. Give Bobby Parnell, who sounds like a character Don Cheadle would play, the closer job. Sure, Parnell hasn’t been great, but at least he has a potential future. What do you have to lose? More games? You can only lose one game at a time, which sounds like something Casey Stengel once said. BTW, he really got the short end of the “That guy has the greatest quotes” stick compared to Yogi.
Johan Santana – Felt discomfort and is having his shoulder examined. Maybe the Mets can trade Johan’s shoulder for Chipper Jones’s lower back. Assuming they both pass through waivers.
Ricky Romero – 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks. He only gave up one hit… A homer to Desmond Jennings! Don’t you love when I work Desmond Jennings into other players’ blurbs?
Jose Bautista – 1-for-3 with his first homer since, like, when the U.S. gave Canada its independence. Though I’m no history buff. “Take hockey, ‘eh’ and weird police outfits. Leave the Mckenzie brothers.” That’s me at the Treaty of Vancouver.
Yunel Escobar – 1-for-3 with his tenth homer, and his first since June 30th. Tends to hit a few after he gets one, so look for him to tack on. Not tacky though, like that bald guy on Design Star. What, I’m the only one that watches HGTV? C’mon, three lady readers, where are you?
David Price – 6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks and wasted a Desmond Jennings’ homer. See?
Ian Desmond – 2-for-3 with his 4th home run. Has been so nonexistent for so long, I kinda thought he retired from baseball and opened an emu farm selling giant eggs. Hopefully, if there is a God besides Jesus Montero and Jesus Guzman, Ian Desmond will get hot.
Michael Morse – 2-for-5 with his 18th homer. Dash-dash-dot.
Jose Constanza – 2-for-4 as he started in place of Heyward. A’la George Costanza, “FREDI!” Would’ve been awesome if Constanza would’ve went into the dugout between innings, then when his name was announced to bat, if he would’ve ran out with no shirt on. This Heyward/Constanza shituation is worth monitoring. In NL-Only leagues, I’d grab Constanza for steals. He did steal 49 bags in Double-A and 23 this year in Triple-A in only 86 games.
Chris Davis – 2-for-5 with his first home run for the Orioles, or the Orange Birds as no one calls them. If you need to catch lightning in a bottle with power, Davis could provide it. The preceding was brought to you by Bill James’ beard. No, not that definition of beard.
Mark Reynolds – 3-for-5, 5 RBIs and his 24th homer. Earl Weaver could’ve managed the shizz out of this team.
Brennan Boesch – 3-for-4, and his 16th homer and 5th steal for the nourishing slam & legs. Tellin’ ya right now (as if that’s not obvious), it’s gonna be hard to figure out where to draft Boesch next year.
Alex Avila – 2-for-3, 3 RBIs and his 11th homer. His July (.197, no homers) kinda smelled like an old man’s fart, but every other month he’s been usable.
Edgar Renteria – 1-for-4 with a home run. I’m not proud to tell you this, but I picked him up in one league where I was hurting for a middle infidel. Sometimes trades give players a boost in the arm. And sometimes you need a booster shot in the arm if you have the Renterias.
Homer Bailey – 8 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks. Don’t care, I wouldn’t pick him up.
Garrett Jones – 2-for-4, 4 RBIs and two homers. How dare you steal the thunder from the arrival of Ryan Ludwick! Assuming you can make sure Jones never sees a lefty on your fantasy team, he might be worth a look.
Alfonso Soriano – 2-for-5 and two homers as the Pirates pitching staff decided to suddenly regress to what they should’ve been all year.
Kyle Kendrick – 8 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks. Somewhere, Joe Blanton, “That could’ve been me! I swear!”
Troy Tulowitzki – Left the game after hurting his pinkiewitzki. Should be fine to go tomorrow. Hopefully, since his fantasy owners paid top dollar for his final two months of production.
Ervin Santana – 9 IP, 1 ER, 10 baserunners, 7 Ks. Extremely solid start following his no-hitter. Also, Johnny Vander Meer’s family can stop following him around now.
Mark Trumbo – Hit his 20th home run yesterday. I get the feeling he’s going to take a big step forward next year. Assuming the Sciosciapath doesn’t bench him for an Izturis, an Aybar or a Mathis.
Jason Kipnis – Now has three straight games with a homer. “Why didn’t I pick him up?” That’s you after you see someone else in your league grab him.
Phil Hughes – A complete game shutout! (Okay, the game was rain shortened to six innings, but whatever. Final thirds are overrated. I would’ve loved Inglourious Basterds without the final third.)
Matt Holliday – Hit his 16th homer and got his first steal. See, just needed a little razzing. BTW, do something, Pedro Alvarez!
Paul Goldschmidt – 1-for-3 with his first major league homer. Or as you say his name in German, Au Shit!
Hiroki Kuroda – 7 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 8 Ks vs Latos (7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks) as the two offensive powerhouses, Dodgers and Padres, met in Petco. Luckily, someone scored and this game didn’t need to be decided with a game of duck, duck, goose.
Mike Adams – 1 IP, 1 ER. If there’s no Padre fans, is there still derisive laughing when Adams gives up runs? Ponder that after three bong hits.
Already thin 3rd base position just got a lot thinner with Pablo Sandoval breaking his hamate bone. When Sandoval first heard the bad news, he pulled a half-eaten ham bone out of his pocket and asked if the doctor could insert it in the injured bone’s place. He couldn’t. Sandoval now knows how Rikki Lake feels when she lost all that weight then lost her job. Sometimes fatty boombalatties are best to stay fatty boombalatties. Hey, I don’t make the world, I just live in it. So, Sandoval will miss up to 2 months with surgery and rehab. His blimpotence was already an issue and hamate bone breaks tend to zap power further. It’s not a good day to own Sandoval. Yesterday wasn’t very good either. Tomorrow probably won’t be much better. Then on Wednesday…Well, you get the point. When Mark DeRosa returns, he stands to see an increase in ABs, for those in NL-Only leagues who just need counting stats. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Ryan Zimmerman – Will miss 6 weeks with a tear of the rectus muscle in his abdomen. Why does he have an anus in his stomach?
Ian Desmond – Here’s one that made me do a double take. Ian Desmond has 10 steals. Zoinks!
Jordan Zimmermann – 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks. Only has a 4.29 ERA with plenty of time to have a 3.50-3.75 ERA on the year. Cust kayin’.
Daniel Hudson – 7 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners, 5 Ks. Now has back-to-back solid starts. Really see no reason why he can’t be as good as billed in the preseason.
Kendrys Morales – According to reports, Kendrys is not returning anytime soon. Might want to think about adding an -ucks onto the end of his first name. This is a boost for Trumbo. Could be in line for steady playing time until the All-Star break.
Jon Rauch – Blue Jays manager, who is supposedly named John Farrell, said Rauch is his closer if push came to shove. Should get a neck tattoo that says, “SAGNOF!”
Jose Bautista – Left with neck stiffness after he got a Viagra stuck in his throat.
Rajai Davis – 5 steals this weekend. Sonavabench! Couldn’t you have returned on Monday after I changed my weekly lineup?
Adam Lind – 2-for-4 with his 5th homer, and his 4th homer this week, batting .282 on the year. And that’s how quickly a bust can turn around his season this early in the year.
Jered Weaver – Missed his start because of a virus. That’s what happens when you try to download porn from malware-infested sites.
Kevin Youkilis – Out with an aggravated hip, which sounds like an album title from a 90′s group like Big Head Todd & the Monsters. “Off our Aggravated Hip album, we’d like to play our song, “My Soul Starts With So.”
Jed Lowrie – 1-for-4 with 3 Ks as he hit .176 this week with no homers or RBIs. Member two weeks ago when the Sons of Sam Horn came out of the woodwork to post in the comments how I was selling Lowrie short and he was the best thing since the gay porn reveal episode of The Real World? Yeah, where are all those people now praising Jed?
Alex Cobb – 4 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 8 baserunners, 3 Ks and will be sent right back down. Too bad, so sad.
Jake McGee – Was optioned to Triple-A. His over/under for saves this year just got a lot more under.
James Shields – Struck out 12 on Saturday. [Grey's stupid] I’m glad I liked him for a bounce back this year yet didn’t draft him anywhere. [/Grey's stupid]
Matt Joyce – Hitting in the 4 hole, which is the left nostril if you’re on a porn set, and batting .412 over the last week with 2 homers. You have to bench him vs. lefties but he’s destroying righties, and there’s, uh, more righties, so there’s that.
Jose Tabata – Out with hamstring tightness. I have “You better come back soon and hit better than you have been” tightness.
Alex White – 6 IP, 2 ER, 10 baserunners, 4 Ks. Didn’t look terrible. Yeah, not a huge compliment. Honestly, it’s hard to get crazy excited about an Indians rookie pitcher in mixed leagues. In AL-Only leagues, you’re obviously on board. In mixed leagues, baby, I’m bored.
Justin Masterson – 7 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 7 Ks. As mentioned last week, we picked Masterson up for a spot start, but because he pitched so well we held onto him. He now has an ERA of 2.25 and a 1.15 WHIP. Yeah, who needs Liriano and Gallardo? You POS’s.
Craig Kimbrel – Had back-to-back rough outings this weekend, but his stuff is still lights out and his manager gave him a vote of confidence. I’m not worried. Venters is worth owning but just because he’s a top middle man.
Derek Lowe – 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 baserunners, 5 Ks and a 2.45 BAC.
Bud Norris - 7 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 11 Ks. Here’s what I said in the preseason rankings, “You want a guy that could be this year’s Jonathan Sanchez? Here ya go. I mean that in the best of ways and the worst of ways. He could strikeout 200 while having a walk rate north of 4, a WHIP north of 1.45 and an ERA north of 4.50.” And that’s me quoting me! So far the walks have been kept in control — literally! — and because of that his ERA and WHIP ain’t too shabby.
Carlos Lee – He was hurt in a collision with Angel Sanchez. El Caballo was taken off the field as the Astros put the cart before the horse.
Jason Bourgeois – Now has 8 steals in only 36 at-bats and could see more time with Lee out. Since he’s making the best of his opportunities, guess you could say Bourgeois is a capitalist.
Chris Narveson – 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 baserunners (no walks), 7 Ks. His ERA is up to 4.64 but his xFIP doesn’t look that bad. Too bad I’m not in any fantasy leagues that use xFIP.
Justin Morneau – Hit his first homer of the year. Now only one off Melky Cabrera’s 2 homers.
Marlon Byrd – 2-for-4, hitting .295 on the year in the heart of the Cubs order and has 5 RBIs on the year. How is that possible? Not rhetorical. Seriously, what the eff?
Mike Aviles – 3-for-5, 4 RBIs. At Sunday brunch, he had a mimosa, grapefruit wedges and a slam & legs. Now has 5 homers (or Morneau +4) and 6 steals. Pretty nice start for a guy I wasn’t a fan of. A lot better than that other schmohawk I wanted no part of Martin Prado (2 HRs, 1 SB, .252 average). Somehow Aviles is only owned in 35% of ESPN leagues. Yeah, I have no idea either.
Zach Britton – 6 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners (3 walks), 1 K. Now has 15 walks to 20 Ks in 37 1/3 innings. So, yes, I would own him, but it’s not all peaches and cream.
Luke Scott – 2-for-4 with his 3rd homer in the last 4 days. Luke Scott should be picked up immediately after he hits one home run because it’s guaranteed he’ll hit at least 5 more within the next week.
Ubaldo Jimenez – 4 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 6 Ks. Now has a 7.20 ERA as things have gotten hairy for Ubaldo.
Fernando Salas – Tony La Russa obviously gets a ten percent commission on all FAAB dollars spent speculating on Cardinal closers. There’s no Cardinals closer, unless you count the hybrid, Fernchell Frankchez.
David Freese – Suffered a broken bone in his hand and now Freese is on ice. Pun Master P, “Brilliant!” Freese will be out for a while, which will give La Russa ample opportunity to play a ton of schmohawks at third base. If anyone can get Nick Punto 400 at-bats, it’s TLR.
Robinson Cano – Left the game after he hurt his hand. X-rays came back negative which is actually positive. Weird!
Dustin Moseley – 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks. Now has an 1.63 ERA on the year. Still wouldn’t trust him in away games in most leagues, but I would definitely own him and run him out there in Petco. They’re Hodgepadres, ya’ll, just don’t feed them after midnight.
Hanley Ramirez – Hit his first home run of the year. Another guy that’s breathing down Melky’s neck.
Chris Coghlan – Shoulder woes forced him out of action for a few days and it’ll bother him all year or until he has surgery. Always sad when a marginal player gets marginally worse. Well, not really.
Gavin Floyd – 6 IP, 6 ER. Seems like this is always the case with Gavin Floyd. Good start, good start, good start, terrible start. It’s like a form of Duck, Duck, Goose. Only it’s goose eggs, goose eggs, goose eggs, duck!
You know it’s September when I’m highlighting a guy that could possibly give you maybe one week of just slightly better-than-average stats. Enter stage left, Mark Ellis. Yesterday, he went 3-for-3 with his 4th homer on the season. Is there a meh emoticon? That’s Mark Ellis. He’s a big bottle of “Um, what the hey, I’ll grab Mark Ellis.” He is the guy on waivers that, even when hot, you don’t feel like the three clicks of the mouse to pick him up are worth it. I hear ya. I’m not exactly dropping superlatives on him like I’m Donald Trump describing anything. He’s now batting near .400 in September. Don’t make me tell you to grab him every day this week. Just get him now. He’s hot. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Jason LaRue – Due to multiple kicks to the face by Johnny Lawrence Cueto, LaRue’s retiring. Cueto obviously misunderstood when so many pitchers said they’d love to face LaRue.
Travis Wood – 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 5 Ks. Had some unfounded concerns for this start. He goes to Petco next. I’d get Wood. I mean… No, that’s what I mean.
Chris Johnson – 2-for-3 with his third homer in the last ten games. Compared to, say, Kung Fu Panda, Johnson looks like Mike Schmidt.
Michael Bourn – Out with an oblique strain. Sounds like he might be sidelined until late in the week, at least. It’s The Bourn Calamity.
Joe Blanton – 6 IP, 4 ER, 8 baserunners, 8 Ks. Really deserved the win in this one. Not Blanton. Me! I deserved it. I can’t believe I’m going to lose leagues because I can’t buy a win.
Jayson Werth – 3-for-5 with the South Philly special slam & legs. BTW, Jayson Werth seems way more likely to know and/or talk to Turtle instead of Ryan Howard. You know, Turtle from that show you watch that you have no idea why you watch.
Mark Teixeira – Who has one sore thumb? This guy!
Andy Pettitte – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 2 Ks. Nice start for a guy who hasn’t toed the major league rubber in two months. The problem, he gets the Red Sox next. I wouldn’t go near that start in most leagues.
Luke Scott – 2-for-3 with his 27th homer. If he hits one homer, he always hits another homer within the week. The preceding was off of memory and no actual facts.
Joe Mauer – Has a jammed knee and is day-to-day, which is day-o to day-o in Jamaica.
Francisco Liriano – 5 IP, 5 ER, 8 baserunners, 2 Ks vs. the A’s. This should’ve been an easy start for Liriano. An easy start! Grrr…
Shin-Soo Choo – 2-for-4 with his 4th homer in three games. He reminds me of a slightly younger, much more Korean Bobby Abreu.
Bobby Abreu – Speaking of the 20/20 machine, Abreu hit two homers yesterday to bring his line to 83/20/75/.255/21 for one of those joyless 20/20 campaigns.
Fernando Rodney – Blew the save on Saturday and the Sciosciapath said, “”I have a lot of confidence in Fernando. One got away tonight, unfortunately. But we’re comfortable with the guys out there to hold leads. It’s not going to happen all the time.” So, of course, Jordan Walden got the save on Sunday. In fairness to Scioscia, Rodney had pitched two days in a row.
Mike Napoli – Out with a forearm strain that occurred from his constant pulling for playing time.
Chris Narveson – 4 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 8 baserunners, 1 K. If it’s any consolation, it’s obviously not the best of luck when you give up six earned and only 8 baserunners.
Barry Enright – Uncle Barry is shutdown for the season. Should free him up to tell bawdy jokes and complain about his wife’s cooking.
Daniel Hudson – 6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks. On the Diamondbacks, his WHIP is under 1 and his ERA is 1.65 in 71 innings with 65 Ks. Yeah, that’s better than that other pitcher you’re thinking of. And that one.
Adrian Beltre – Out with a sore wrist, but I’m guessing he’ll be playing Monday. Wild horses on speed (like in the underrated Ted Danson/Howie Mandel-starrer, A Fine Mess) couldn’t keep Beltre out for an extended period of time during a contract year.
J.D. Drew – Hit his 19th homer yesterday. He’s actually pulled off the rare feat of hitting 19 homers and not once getting hot enough for an extended period of time to be usable in fantasy.
Jon Lester – 7 IP, 0 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks. Now has a 3.06 ERA on the year and more Ks than IP. I’ll admit it, I kinda love Lester.
Phil Coke – 1/3 IP, 4 ER. Before getting rocked, Leyland said, until Valverde is ready to go, he’ll be going with Coke. Ron Washington said that’s a good move. After getting rocked, I don’t think it’ll be that clear cut. Perry could see some saves.
Tommy Hunter – 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 1 K. I’m not a huge Hunter fan, but he gets the A’s and M’s as his final two starts. That ain’t bad.
Jose Guillen – 2-for-4, 6 RBIs. He was almost the lead for this post and I think you should grab him as the hot outfielder off of waivers. He’s hitting near .400 over the last week with two homers. Trust me, pick him up.
Derek Lowe – 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 2 Ks. Lowe’s been pitching well of late and he gets the Nats next. I’d grab him.
Jeff Samardzija – 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 4 Ks vs. the Marlins and pitched well against the Cards his last time out, the same Cards he gets again in his next start. It’s still not an advisable start with his 7 BBs to 5 Ks in his last two starts.
Welington Castillo – 2-for-4 with his first career homer. Showed some power in Iowa, but he’s a hacker that could be a .220 hitter. He’ll probably split time with Koyie Hill and isn’t worth picking up unless he gets crazy hot or you’re just crazy crazy.
Tyler Colvin – Will miss the rest of the season after being impaled by a broken bat. He should be fine, confirming he is not a vampire.
Geovany Soto – Out for the season with shoulder surgery. The Koyie Hill Fan Club, that affectionately refers to itself as The Koy Pond, celebrated his potential increase in playing time at Coyote Ugly but in the Evite they cheekily called it Koyie Ugly.
Last week’s ERA was 2.44. That’s 22 earned runs in 81 innings. The WHIP was 1.28. That’s 104 baserunners. Had 5 Wins and 58 Ks. (That’s minus Thursday’s Westbrook start because, well, it’s Thursday.) Not too shabby on the ERA considering the schmohawks I recommended last week. Obviously, I’m just as unlucky with Wins with these borderline starters as I am in my real leagues. This offseason September Grey is going to Hawaii to see if he can find the Tiki idol that is cursing his win karma and seeing if he can’t fix this problem. To recap, these aren’t guys I’d drop anyone worthwhile to get, these starters are meant for streaming purposes and all of their ownership in ESPN is under 50%. These streamers are in no particular order. Also, in the final month of the season, managers juggle their lineups more, so there’s no guarantee all of these guys are listed on the right day. Anyway, here’s some borderline starters for this week in fantasy baseball:
Friday, September 17th
Nick Blackburn – As I keep recommending him, I’m probably pushing my luck — or my Bluckburn — but he gets the A’s and has an under 2.00 ERA in his last 31+ IP.
Carlos Carrasco – Be impressive if I get out of this day without one blow up, but I continue to impress myself every day.
Wade Davis – All of these guys are risky so far, but that’s the nature of borderline starters, I suppose. Here’s hoping when Davis goes against the Angels, Scioscia decides to bench all his best hitters. Start Mathis at DH, get his bat in the lineup!
Ian Kennedy – If these were in any sorta order, Kennedy would be number one for this day.
Randy Wolf – Has had some success vs. the Giants (really, what pitcher hasn’t?) and coincidentally that’s who he faces on Friday.
Saturday, September 18th
Jhoulys Chacin – Didn’t look terrific in his last start vs. the Diamondbacks, but he gets Ks. Some teams need those sorts of things.
Tommy Hunter – Facing the M’s in the aptly named stadium, Safeco.
James McDonald – A capable strikeout pitcher going against the Diamondhacks.
Kevin Slowey – I was thinking it’s kinda sad that he’s not owned in 50% of ESPN leagues, then I thought about how he’s pitched this year and that made me sadder.
Sunday, September 19th
Joe Blanton – Besides a game in Coors, where you wouldn’t have started him anyway, he hasn’t been hit in over a month.
Derek Lowe – Not a huge fan of Lowe, but goes to Metco. That’s a decent gamble, no relation to Rudy.
Chris Narveson – Was solid in last year’s 2nd half, goes against the Aints and has been racking up Ks.
Monday, September 20th
Brian Duensing – Has been lucky and doesn’t get many Ks, but does go against the Indians in this start.
Bud Norris – Risky but the reward could be huge with Ks.
Tuesday, September 21st
Mark Buehrle – Pretty much the polar opposite of Bud Norris. I can guess Buehrle’s line: 7 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 4 Ks.
Jake Westbrook – Hasn’t had one bad start since he was traded to the Cards. Forget Annie Sullivan, Dave Duncan’s the miracle worker.
Wednesday, September 22nd
Nick Blackburn – Yes, I recommended Blackburn twice in this post. So shoot me.
Anibal Sanchez – Has alternated good start with bad start for a while now. This start vs. the Mets falls in the good.
