2 Start Pitching Options Week 21

Posted by Ivar G. Anderson on 08/18/2012 | 0 Comments

Tags: 2 Start Pitchers, Starting Pitchers, Starting Pitching, Fantasy Baseball, Week 21, MLB, Clayton Kershaw, R. A. Dickey, Madison Bumgarner, Roy Halladay, Adam Wainwright, Jordan Zimmerman, Cliff Lee

As the season rolls though August, it's time to prepare for the stretch run if you are in contention for your league title.  Pick up as many fantasy points as you can now, and position your team for the final showdown.  With that in mind, let's take a look at those two start pitching options that can help you out this week.

Have an iPhone or iPad?  Get the #1 selling fantasy football tool this season!  Fantasy Alarm's  award winning 2012 Fantasy Football App!

By the way, is there anything more unfair than a summer cold?  If anything I write this week seems kinda wonky, I am going to blame it on my cold medicine.  Yeah, that's the ticket.

If you've been reading me for any length of time, you know that these are the guys you wind up and just let go.  No need to worry about match ups or stadiums.  Nor should you expect to find them on waiver wire, but if they grace your roster, take full advantage of that situation.

Why read boxscores when you can find out everything that happened in Howard Bender's nightly Fantasy Baseball Roundup

I feel like this tier could be divided into two sub-sets, the first ending with Freddy Garcia.  Up through him, I don't really have any qualms about starting these guys in two games.  The only reason they sit in the middle tier is a lack of general consistency game to game.  For example, Mad Max can be devastating when he's running his high fast ball past batters.  When he puts his pitches in the middle of the strike zone, however, he might say good bye by the 3rd inning.  Fortunately for the Tigers, he's been on his A game of late, and I'd suggest you ride out his hot streak.  McCarthy doesn't provide the Ks he did at one time, but his starts this year have been very good overall.  The Orioles have to be pleased with the manner in which Gonzalez has responded to taking a rotation slot.  The strikeout rate is middling at best, but he sure does limti the earned runs.  Harrell could be a great SP if he pitched on a team that provided a modicum of support.  As it is, pick him up for his fine peripherals.  Leake rebounded from a bad outing to pitch 9 innings and pick up a victory for his efforts.  On a hot team, it'd be a good idea to ride out Leake while he's dealing.  Buehrle is nothing special as a SP, but he is remarkably consistent, and will give you good stats as he chews up innings.  Hudson is another guy that won't bowl you over with his K rate, but he's a steady performer who on most days will be in line for a win or at the minimum, a good stat line.  Garcia has been resurgent in the second half, and he's secured his rotation spot because of it.  He pitches for the Yankees, and that weighs heavily in his favor, too.

Listen to The Fantasy Alarm Show Saturday & Sunday from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM EST and Wednesday 10:00 PM EST to 1:00 AM EST on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio XM channel 87/Sirius 210.

Into the second sub-tier, and as I wrote above, not a place I want to put a lot of my trust.  Feldman is a good example.  Before his back to back losses, he had my confidence.  I still think he can provide value, but I like him against the Twins more than the Orioles.  Many expected a regression for Hellboy, and in his two starts before he faced Seattle, we might have seen it.  He was excellent last time on the hill, but it's nearly impossible to win when your opponent tosses a perfect game.  Use him if you believe the two bad starts were not a harbinger of things to come.  Saunders suffered an injury to his hand in his last start, so monitor his status this week.  He did pitch the inning after he was hit by the ball, so I expect he will pitch this period.  Floyd has been upping his K rate recently, and tends to pitch better late in the season.  Of these lower tier guys, I like his chances best, except that he faces the Yankees in his first start.  Millwood had looked bad on the road in his previous two starts before he took care of Tampa Bay.    I like him against the Indians, not so sure about his chances on the road against the White Sox.  Smith has been the best KC pitcher, but...he pitches for KC, so that limits his value.  If you are in an AL-only league, he should be rostered immediately.  In a mixed league, I'd wait for some better match ups.  Rogers track record as a big league starter is limited, but he does have good control and that can make for some effective pitching, and allow him to rack up nice K numbers.  He's worth a flier at this point.  Santana and Lincecum could find themselves permanently residing in the bottom tier if they don't turn things around significantly, and soon.  Santana has shown glimpses lately of his former good self, but like Timmy, he's so frustratingly inconsistent, I won't even roster them at this point. 

Chacin and White are here because they pitch for the Rockies, and with their pitch count limits, they are basically worthless as fantasy starters, since in most cases they have no chance to put up a W for your team.  Duensing is just not all that good as a SP; I've felt for a while he fits better as a middle reliever.  Plus, he pitches for the Twins.  I thought that Bailey was getting his act together, but it turns out he's just a traveling circus, not a Broadway hit.  Dead to me, I assure you from this season on.  I also thought Volquez would pick up some nice value in Petco, but he fooled me too.  Jiminez is only worth starting at home, and more importantly, against Detroit.  Any other scenario, and you should leave him for your opponents to pollute their rotations with.  Same issue with Romero, except for the fact that there are no positives to put forth for his putrid performance.  Holland has been awful with one exception over his last few starts and should be forgotten about for now.  UPDATE:  Holland's first start has been moved to Wednesday, so no need to roster him for two bad starts now.  Cook may be losing his spot in the Boston rotation with the return of Dubront, but that's not written in stone at this point.  Even is he keeps a rotation role, don't you go rostering him now, ya hear?  De Vries is starting for Minnesota, because of injuries and the general suckiness of the other options the Twins have on their roster, but this guy isn't the answer, nor should you look to him for aid. 

It's never too early to be prepared.  Check out our 2012 Fantasy Football Player Rankings right now!!

Good luck and god speed in your fantasy endeavors.  I can be reached for questions about starting pitching or most any other fantasy baseball issue at ia@fantasyalarm.com.  Just so you are warned, the Pitch & Ditch articles will cease publication as we start to gear up for your fantasy football draft season.  Head on over the football side of our site, and check out our draft advice, especially my IDP articles.

Check out our in-season Fantasy Baseball coverage complete with injury reports, two start pitchers, waiver pickups, closer reports and in-depth minor league baseball coverage.