The upcoming week features our largest crop of two-start pitchers yet, so fantasy players will have a vast array of options to choose from. Most profile as mid-tier options, but there are some strong names highlighting the list, especially in the National League. There, we find
Tim Lincecum,
Ubaldo Jimenez,
Roy Halladay,
Cliff Lee, and
Josh Johnson -- fresh off his no-hit bid this past week.
Regarding the two-start pitcher projections, I'd like to point out to readers that while I put great effort into ensuring that these listings are as accurate as possible, it should go without saying that there will inherently be some mistakes when trying to project the rotations for all major-league teams 10 days out (especially in the early weeks of the season, with rotations still being settled, fifth starters occasionally being skipped, etc.). If you spot an error, shoot me an email and I'll do my best to get the column updated as quickly as possible. Just try to be polite -- we're all on the same side here.
Going Twice...
American LeagueStrong PlaysC.J. Wilson: LAA (Santana), KC (Chen)
Brett Anderson: BOS (Lackey), @SEA (Fister)
John Danks: @TB (Shields), @DET (Scherzer)
Edwin Jackson: @TB (Price), @DET (Penny)
Fausto Carmona: @KC (Davies), @MIN (Liriano)
David Price: CWS (Jackson), @TOR (Litsch)
Decent PlaysRicky Romero: @BOS (Matsuzaka), TB (Shields)
James Shields: CWS (Danks), @TOR (Romero)
Jason Vargas: DET (Scherzer), OAK (Cahill)
Doug Fister: DET (Coke), OAK (Anderson)
Carl Pavano: @BAL (Arrieta), CLE (Carrasco)
Francisco Liriano: @BAL (Tillman), CLE (Carmona)
Ervin Santana: @TEX (Wilson), BOS (Matsuzaka)
Max Scherzer: @SEA (Vargas), CWS (Danks)
Carlos Carrasco: @KC (Chen), @MIN (Pavano)
Chris Tillman: MIN (Liriano), NYY (Nova)
Jake Arrieta: MIN (Pavano), NYY (Garcia)
At Your Own RiskJohn Lackey: @OAK (Anderson), @LAA (Palmer)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: TOR (Romero, @LAA (Santana)
Matt Palmer: @TEX (Wilson), BOS (Lackey)
National LeagueStrong PlaysTim Lincecum: @COL (Jimenez), ATL (Beachy)
Roy Halladay: MIL (Marcum), @SD (Stauffer)
Cliff Lee: MIL (Narveson), @SD (Moseley)
Shaun Marcum: @PHI (Halladay), HOU (Rodriguez)
Ubaldo Jimenez: SF (Lincecum), @FLA (Johnson)
Josh Johnson: PIT (Maholm), COL (Jimenez)
Travis Wood: ARI (Galarraga), @STL (Westbrook)
Tim Hudson: @LAD (Lilly), @SF (Bumgarner)
Decent PlaysJohn Lannan: @STL (Westbrook), @PIT (Maholm)
Tim Stauffer: @CHC (Russell), PHI (Halladay)
Kevin Correia: @CIN (LeCure), WAS (Hernandez)
Paul Maholm: @FLA (Johnson), WAS (Lannan)
Hiroki Kuroda: ATL (Beachy), @CHC (Russell)
Ted Lilly: ATL (Hudson), @CHC (Dempster)
Wandy Rodriguez: NYM (Niese), @MIL (Marcum)
Sam LeCure: PIT (Correia), @STL (Carpenter)
Brandon Beachy: @LAD (Kuroda), @SF (Lincecum)
Jon Niese: @HOU (Rodriguez), ARI (Galarraga)
At Your Own RiskJake Westbrook: WAS (Lannan), CIN (Wood)
Dustin Moseley: @CHC (Zambrano), PHI (Lee)
James Russell: SD (Stauffer), LAD (Kuroda)
Armando Galarraga: @CIN (Wood), @NYM
Streamer City
The following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:
American League Wednesday, 4/20: Nick Blackburn @ BALThe Minnesota righty has gotten his season off to a strong start. We'll see if he can keep it going against the upstart Orioles.
Wednesday, 4/20: Justin Masterson vs. KCMasterson has jumped out to a hot start this season and will look to keep it going at home against the Royals.
National League Wednesday, 4/20: R.A. Dickey vs. HOUThe knuckleballer figures to bounce back from a rough outing against the Rockies with a favorable home match-up against the miserable Astros.
Thursday, 4/21: Jair Jurrjens @ LADJurrjens is ready to return from an oblique injury. Keep an eye on how he performs in his first start on Saturday, and if the results are good jump on him for his next turn.
The upcoming week features our largest crop of two-start pitchers yet, so fantasy players will have a vast array of options to choose from. Most profile as mid-tier options, but there are some strong names highlighting the list, especially in the National League. There, we find
Tim Lincecum,
Ubaldo Jimenez,
Roy Halladay,
Cliff Lee, and
Josh Johnson -- fresh off his no-hit bid this past week.
Regarding the two-start pitcher projections, I'd like to point out to readers that while I put great effort into ensuring that these listings are as accurate as possible, it should go without saying that there will inherently be some mistakes when trying to project the rotations for all major-league teams 10 days out (especially in the early weeks of the season, with rotations still being settled, fifth starters occasionally being skipped, etc.). If you spot an error, shoot me an email and I'll do my best to get the column updated as quickly as possible. Just try to be polite -- we're all on the same side here.
Going Twice...
American LeagueStrong PlaysC.J. Wilson: LAA (Santana), KC (Chen)
Brett Anderson: BOS (Lackey), @SEA (Fister)
John Danks: @TB (Shields), @DET (Scherzer)
Edwin Jackson: @TB (Price), @DET (Penny)
Fausto Carmona: @KC (Davies), @MIN (Liriano)
David Price: CWS (Jackson), @TOR (Litsch)
Decent PlaysRicky Romero: @BOS (Matsuzaka), TB (Shields)
James Shields: CWS (Danks), @TOR (Romero)
Jason Vargas: DET (Scherzer), OAK (Cahill)
Doug Fister: DET (Coke), OAK (Anderson)
Carl Pavano: @BAL (Arrieta), CLE (Carrasco)
Francisco Liriano: @BAL (Tillman), CLE (Carmona)
Ervin Santana: @TEX (Wilson), BOS (Matsuzaka)
Max Scherzer: @SEA (Vargas), CWS (Danks)
Carlos Carrasco: @KC (Chen), @MIN (Pavano)
Chris Tillman: MIN (Liriano), NYY (Nova)
Jake Arrieta: MIN (Pavano), NYY (Garcia)
At Your Own RiskJohn Lackey: @OAK (Anderson), @LAA (Palmer)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: TOR (Romero, @LAA (Santana)
Matt Palmer: @TEX (Wilson), BOS (Lackey)
National LeagueStrong PlaysTim Lincecum: @COL (Jimenez), ATL (Beachy)
Roy Halladay: MIL (Marcum), @SD (Stauffer)
Cliff Lee: MIL (Narveson), @SD (Moseley)
Shaun Marcum: @PHI (Halladay), HOU (Rodriguez)
Ubaldo Jimenez: SF (Lincecum), @FLA (Johnson)
Josh Johnson: PIT (Maholm), COL (Jimenez)
Travis Wood: ARI (Galarraga), @STL (Westbrook)
Tim Hudson: @LAD (Lilly), @SF (Bumgarner)
Decent PlaysJohn Lannan: @STL (Westbrook), @PIT (Maholm)
Tim Stauffer: @CHC (Russell), PHI (Halladay)
Kevin Correia: @CIN (LeCure), WAS (Hernandez)
Paul Maholm: @FLA (Johnson), WAS (Lannan)
Hiroki Kuroda: ATL (Beachy), @CHC (Russell)
Ted Lilly: ATL (Hudson), @CHC (Dempster)
Wandy Rodriguez: NYM (Niese), @MIL (Marcum)
Sam LeCure: PIT (Correia), @STL (Carpenter)
Brandon Beachy: @LAD (Kuroda), @SF (Lincecum)
Jon Niese: @HOU (Rodriguez), ARI (Galarraga)
At Your Own RiskJake Westbrook: WAS (Lannan), CIN (Wood)
Dustin Moseley: @CHC (Zambrano), PHI (Lee)
James Russell: SD (Stauffer), LAD (Kuroda)
Armando Galarraga: @CIN (Wood), @NYM
Streamer City
The following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:
American League Wednesday, 4/20: Nick Blackburn @ BALThe Minnesota righty has gotten his season off to a strong start. We'll see if he can keep it going against the upstart Orioles.
Wednesday, 4/20: Justin Masterson vs. KCMasterson has jumped out to a hot start this season and will look to keep it going at home against the Royals.
National League Wednesday, 4/20: R.A. Dickey vs. HOUThe knuckleballer figures to bounce back from a rough outing against the Rockies with a favorable home match-up against the miserable Astros.
Thursday, 4/21: Jair Jurrjens @ LADJurrjens is ready to return from an oblique injury. Keep an eye on how he performs in his first start on Saturday, and if the results are good jump on him for his next turn.
Total Games
American League5: NYY
6: DET, OAK, TEX, TOR
7: BAL, BOS, CWS, CLE, KC, LAA, MIN, SEA, TB
National League6: ARI, CHC, COL, FLA, HOU, MIL, NYM, SF, STL, WAS
7: ATL, CIN, LAD, PHI, PIT, SD
Lefty/Righty Breakdown
American LeagueBAL: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
BOS: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
CWS: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
CLE: 7 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
DET: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
KC: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
LAA: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
MIN: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
NYY: 4 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
OAK: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
SEA: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
TB: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
TEX: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
TOR: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
National LeagueARI: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
ATL: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
CHC: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
CIN: 7 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
COL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
FLA: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
HOU: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
LAD: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
MIL: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
NYM: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
PHI: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
PIT: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
SD: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
SF: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
STL: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
WAS: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
The Infirmary
You can get a full listing of injured players at Rotoworld's
Injury Page, but here's the latest on a few prominent players who have been out of action:
Joe Mauer: Out indefinitely
Evan Longoria: Out until late April
J.J. Hardy: Out until late April
Rafael Furcal: Out until May
Josh Hamilton: Out until June
Rajai Davis: Out until late April
Ryan Zimmerman: Out until late April