Wouldn’t say this is crunch time as much as this is “Your nuts are in a cracker and the season’s closing in and squeezing tight so you better just throw any pitchers that are available because you need stats — stat!” time. The line for last week was 3.52 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 74 Ks and 9 wins in 110 IP. 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 24th
Joe Blanton – Goes against the Mets, who I’m sure would like to be spoilers though I’m not sure if they’re up to the task. More accurately, the Mets are probably hoping they don’t have any injuries in the final week-plus that ruins their next season too.
Jhoulys Chacin – He’s only given up 4 earned runs in his last 38 IP. Um, that’s good. Why is he not owned? Is it because no one can pronounce his name? It’s Yo-lease. Easy enough. Now own him.
James McDonald – Has a 0.90 ERA in his last three starts and goes against the Astros. That’s a yes and please. With a side order of crispy bacon.
Chris Young – Not without it’s caveats but, if you have caveats, brush your teeth more, Young’s in Petco.
Saturday, September 25th
Jeremy Bonderman – Starting him here has a lot to do with how much the Twins are rolling over in the last week. So far, it doesn’t look like they are.
Derek Holland – If the Rangers have clinched by this point, I’d skip this start.
Bud Norris – I’ve been recommending him in every borderline starter post and he hasn’t failed me yet with three straight wins. He gets the Pirates here.
Travis Wood – All bets are off for this start if the Reds have clinched, which they probably will. As Communism proved, Reds are nothing without motivation.
Sunday, September 26th
Homer Bailey – See Wood, Travis or 1/8th of an inch above.
Fausto Carmona – He hasn’t been blown up since mid-August (though that was against the Royals who he gets in this start, so tread carefully).
J.A. Happ – Gets the Pirates. You need more?
Paul Maholm – Gets the Astros. Can we get a 1-0 game here? That would be pretty flippin’ suh-weet.
Clayton Richard – Hodgepadre in Petco and he gets a team that will probably already be in the playoffs. That’s about as tasty as they come.
Monday, September 27th
Carlos Carrasco – Has a 2-something ERA in September and goes against a guy (Armando G.) who has an 6-something ERA in the same time frame.
Marc Rzepcynski – Goes against the Yankees so this is only a possibility if the Yanks have clinch by this point.
Tim Stauffer – In Petco and the Padres are battling for a playoff spot going against a team that packed it in four months ago.
Tuesday, September 28th
Edinson Volquez – There’s a case to be made to not start a pitcher on a team that will have probably clinched. In fact, I’ve made that case. But Volquez has been great, goes against the Astros and is battling to be a part of the playoff rotation.
Randy Wolf – Goes to Metco and has a 0.78 ERA in his last three starts. Ah, ooooooh….
Wednesday, September 29th
Joe Blanton – If the Phils have clinched by this point, I’d try and look elsewhere.
Madison Bumgarner – Giants should still be battling for a playoff spot, so this start vs. the Diamondbacks is fair.
Jhoulys Chacin – See recommendation above about what Jhoulys has done recently.
Ian Kennedy – This could be a tough matchup if the Giants are fighting for their playoff lives.
James McDonald – Goes against Wainwright, which isn’t terrific, but McDonald’s been solid as mentioned about 27 lines ago.
Thursday, September 30th
Jeremy Bonderman – I really dislike Bonderman so it must be the final week to recommend him twice. Or not. Your call!
Chris Volstad – Against the Pirates seems like an easy matchup, but Volstad’s pretty iffy, or it’s ugly iffy since he’s not always pretty.
