Streamer CityThe following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:
American LeagueWednesday, 4/25: Adam Wilk vs. SEAThe rookie left-hander looked sharp in his season debut before being knocked out by a line drive to the shoulder. He's expected to make his next start at home against the M's.
Thursday, 4/26: Felix Doubront @ CWSDoubront fanned 13 hitters over 10 innings in his first two starts, and the White Sox rank third in the AL in whiffs.
Friday, 4/27: Danny Duffy @ MINThe southpaw has been excellent early on and matches up well against the lefty-heavy Twins at Target Field.
National LeagueTuesday, 4/24: Randy Wolf vs. HOUWolf is a streamer staple. This is the kind of match-up you want to pick him up for.
Wednesday, 4/25: Lance Lynn @ CHCWith a 2-0 record and 1.50 ERA through two turns, Lynn is off to an awesome start this season. The Cubs… not so much.
Thursday, 4/26: Ross Detwiler @ SDAnother strong match-up for the lefty, who's been making the Nats look pretty smart for handing him a rotation spot.
Total GamesAmerican League6: BAL, CLE, DET, LAA, MIN, NYY, OAK, SEA, TB, TEX
7: BOS, CWS, KC, TOR
National League6: ARI, ATL, CHC, CIN, COL, HOU, LAD, MIA, MIL, PHI, PIT, SD, STL, WAS
7: NYM, SF
Lefty/Righty BreakdownsAmerican LeagueBAL: 6 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
BOS: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
CLE: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
CWS: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
DET: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
KC: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
LAA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIN: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
NYY: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
OAK: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
SEA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
TB: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
TEX: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
TOR: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
National LeagueARI: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
ATL: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
CHC: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
CIN: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
COL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
HOU: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
LAD: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIL: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
NYM: 3 vs. RHP, 4 vs. LHP
PHI: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
PIT: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
SD: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
SF: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
STL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
WAS: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
The InfirmaryYou 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:
Chris Young: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Jacoby Ellsbury: Out until June (shoulder)
Kerry Wood: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Scott Baker: Out for the season (elbow)
Brett Gardner: Out indefinitely (elbow)
Jeff Karstens: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Kyle Blanks: Out until late April (shoulder)
Brian Wilson: Out for the season (elbow)
Lance Berkman: Out until early May (calf)
Here in the early weeks of the season, it can be difficult to separate trend from mirage. Is a player who's off to a great start in the early stages of a big season or simply enjoying a spring hot streak? These are important determinations for fantasy owners.
One good example is a guy who is scheduled to start twice in the upcoming week for the White Sox: Jake Peavy. The right-hander has generally experienced nothing but turmoil since coming over from San Diego, but he's been spectacular over his first three starts this year, cruising to a 2-0 record with only 14 hits and six runs allowed in 19 2/3 innings.
Peavy has shown some flashes over the past couple seasons but has never been able to maintain, so the possibility exists that he'll lapse back into the same pattern. Still, the early signs have been roundly positive. The righty's velocity is up, his command is sharp and his 21/2 K/BB ratio is nothing short of spectacular. I'm plenty comfortable listing him as a strong play this week, especially with an opening match-up in Oakland.
Beyond Peavy, there are plenty of interesting storylines set to unfold in the week ahead. Will Cliff Lee pitch 22 innings between his pair of starts? Can Jamie Moyer, with two relatively favorable match-ups scheduled, get another win or two under his belt before turning 50? Will Matt Cain keep sizzling?
Going Twice…
American League
Strong Plays
Derek Holland: NYY (Kuroda), TB (Price)
David Price: LAA (Santana), @TEX (Holland)
Bartolo Colon: CWS (Peavy), @BAL (Hunter)
Jake Peavy: @OAK (Colon), BOS (Lester)
Jon Lester: @MIN (Marquis), @CWS (Peavy)
Josh Beckett: @MIN (Swarzark), @CWS (Floyd)
Decent Plays
Henderson Alvarez: @BAL (Hunter), SEA (Vargas)
Brandon Morrow: @KC (Chen), SEA (Millwood)
Jason Vargas: @DET (Scherzer), @TOR (Alvarez)
Hiroki Kuroda: @TEX (Holland), DET (Scherzer)
Ervin Santana: @TB (Price), @CLE (Lowe)
Bruce Chen: TOR (Morrow), @MIN (Liriano)
Max Scherzer: SEA (Vargas), @NYY (Kuroda)
Gavin Floyd: @OAK (Milone), BOS (Beckett)
Derek Lowe: KC, LAA (Santana)
At Your Own Risk
Jason Marquis: BOS (Lester), KC
Tommy Hunter: TOR (Alvarez), OAK (Colon)
National League
Strong Plays
Mark Buehrle: @NYM (Dickey), ARI (Hudson)
Jordan Zimmermann: @SD (Richard), @LAD (Capuano)
Matt Cain: @CIN (Latos), SD (Richard)
Madison Bumgarner: @NYM (Santana), SD (Bass)
Cliff Lee: @ARI (Hudson), CHC (Garza)
Zack Greinke: HOU (Harrell), @STL (Garcia)
Matt Garza: STL (Garcia), @PHI (Lee)
Decent Plays
Jaime Garcia: @CHC (Garza), MIL (Greinke)
Clayton Richard: WAS (Zimmermann), @SF (Cain)
R.A. Dickey: MIA (Buehrle), @COL (Moyer)
Johan Santana: SF (Bumgarner), @COL (Guthrie)
Chris Capuano: ATL (Jurrjens), WAS (Zimmermann)
Lucas Harrell: @MIL (Greinke), @CIN (Latos)
Jamie Moyer: @PIT, NYM (Dickey)
Mat Latos: SF (Cain), HOU (Harrell)
Daniel Hudson: PHI (Lee), @MIA (Buehrle)
At Your Own Risk
Jair Jurrjens: @LAD (Capuano), PIT
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, 4/25: Adam Wilk vs. SEA
The rookie left-hander looked sharp in his season debut before being knocked out by a line drive to the shoulder. He's expected to make his next start at home against the M's.
Thursday, 4/26: Felix Doubront @ CWS
Doubront fanned 13 hitters over 10 innings in his first two starts, and the White Sox rank third in the AL in whiffs.
Friday, 4/27: Danny Duffy @ MIN
The southpaw has been excellent early on and matches up well against the lefty-heavy Twins at Target Field.
National League
Tuesday, 4/24: Randy Wolf vs. HOU
Wolf is a streamer staple. This is the kind of match-up you want to pick him up for.
Wednesday, 4/25: Lance Lynn @ CHC
With a 2-0 record and 1.50 ERA through two turns, Lynn is off to an awesome start this season. The Cubs… not so much.
Thursday, 4/26: Ross Detwiler @ SD
Another strong match-up for the lefty, who's been making the Nats look pretty smart for handing him a rotation spot.
Total Games
American League
6: BAL, CLE, DET, LAA, MIN, NYY, OAK, SEA, TB, TEX
7: BOS, CWS, KC, TOR
National League
6: ARI, ATL, CHC, CIN, COL, HOU, LAD, MIA, MIL, PHI, PIT, SD, STL, WAS
7: NYM, SF
Lefty/Righty Breakdowns
American League
BAL: 6 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
BOS: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
CLE: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
CWS: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
DET: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
KC: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
LAA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIN: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
NYY: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
OAK: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
SEA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
TB: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
TEX: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
TOR: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
National League
ARI: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
ATL: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
CHC: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
CIN: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
COL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
HOU: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
LAD: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIL: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
NYM: 3 vs. RHP, 4 vs. LHP
PHI: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
PIT: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
SD: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
SF: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
STL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
WAS: 3 vs. RHP, 3 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:
Chris Young: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Jacoby Ellsbury: Out until June (shoulder)
Kerry Wood: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Scott Baker: Out for the season (elbow)
Brett Gardner: Out indefinitely (elbow)
Jeff Karstens: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Kyle Blanks: Out until late April (shoulder)
Brian Wilson: Out for the season (elbow)
Lance Berkman: Out until early May (calf)