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.
