2 Start Pitching Options Week 22

Posted by Ivar G. Anderson on 08/25/2012 | 0 Comments

Tags: 2 Start Pitchers, Starting Pitching, Starting Pitchers, Week 22, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, Matt Cain, David Price, Jered Weaver, Stephen Strasburg, Yovani Gallardo, James Shields, Chris Sale, Kyle Lohse

Before we get to the 2 Start Options for this upcoming scoring period, a moment of silence for my loss...of BFBC, TT edition.  Should have known Colon's production was too good to be natural, but losing him for the rest of the season truly hurts.  Been scrambling all week to find a suitable replacement, some of whom are in the second tier below.  Anythehoo, let's get to it.

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I don't think I need to belabor the point, but if you own any of these SPs, just plug them in and let them go.  Good news that Sale won't be shut down, but expect him to get extra rest between starts come September.

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Milone may not rack up the Ks, but it is hard to ignore his performance.  He's one of those guys I grabbed to replace BFBC-TT.  Happ has been a fine addition to the Blue Jays rotation.  Nice to escape from the AAA team Houston is putting on the field, eh, Mr. Happ?  Phelp's inclusion in the Mets' starting staff has similarly yielded good results.  So long as he doesn't get put back in the bullpen, roll with him.  Atlanta has to be happy with the results of the trade for Maholm, who's presence has been strong even if he's only 2-2 in his 4 starts since the trade.  He goes deep into games and gives good stats.  Westbrook's last outing wasn't his best, but he still picked up the win, and his prior starts show that he's well worth a roster spot.  Anderson has had only 1 start this season, but that was spectacular.  He's a high upside pick up at the point.  Iwakuma isn't anything spectacular, just steady and an SP that can give you wins.  Gonzalez  has been very good until his last start, and I am considering that an aberration, not a sign of trouble.  You may disagree, but it's hard to go against the Orioles this late in the season.  Arroyo continues to pitch well in August, despite an ERA that is a bit higher than I would like.  Still, the results have been worth a roster slot.  Liriano is finally making the White Sox look smart in trading for him.  His last 2 starts were QS, and he put up a 13:4 ratio in those appearances.  Not a fan of his match ups, but ya gotta take some chances at this point to prevail.  Buchholz has been a solid SP until his last start, but consider that a blip on the radar.  Still, you have to wonder how the big trade with the Dodgers will affect the Boston offense. 

Mendoza and Diamond have both been steady performers for their under-performing teams.  Not exactly great sources for Ws, but the peripherals are tasty.  Likewise, McAllister has been the best Indian SP option for a while now.  Estrada may be leaving the Brewer rotation, but he's been a valuable back of the rotation guy for your fantasy squad to this point, so I would ride him as long as he sticks in the rotation. Norris has always been a favorite of mine (OK, for the past two years), and he's still putting up Ks at the rate of 1 per IP.  Don't rely on him for Ws, however, as he pitches for the Astros.  Hochevar continues to do his yo-yo impression.  If you can figure out when he's going to pitch well, then go ahead and roster him.  Me, if he hadn't pitched well in his last outing, he would be in the bottom tier...again.  Capuano is another guy that can pitch great, then crap the bed.  I'd avoid him at Coors Field in his first start.  Holland had a nice outing last time on the mound, but that's not the rule, it is more the exception.  Whorley through Cahill are simply bottom level SPs, who you can start based on match up, but certainly are not worth a permanent roster spot on your fantasy squad.

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Not so many in the bottom tier this week.  I could have made it larger, looking at the last 7 SPs in the middle tier, any one of them could have been demoted to this tier with one more bad start.  Of these guys, I don't any of them even with a favorable match up.  The risk is just too high for me to feel comfortable recommending them for your teams.  Ricky, wha' happened?  Who is going to take a chance on Romero next season before the end of your draft?  In other words, who still has faith? 

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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.

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