The upcoming week will be an eventful one for baseball, with full schedules almost across the board, so rather than focus on any one particular storyline I'll touch on a few different notes:
* There are tons of two-start options in both leagues, but the Senior Circuit clearly offers more upside. That's unsurprising considering that the NL has had some ridiculous pitching this year (Gio Gonzalez, one of the Strong Plays, currently ranks TENTH in the league with a 2.55 ERA). On the AL side, there are some intriguing options among the Decent Plays, many of whom figure to be available on waivers. I'd specifically take a look at Justin Grimm, Francisco Liriano and Chris Archer – I didn't quite feel comfortable labeling any of them Strong Plays yet (especially since Derek Holland and Jeremy Hellickson could return to supplant Archer and Grimm), but they could all have very good weeks.
* You might notice that Colorado has three two-start pitchers in the upcoming week, which is pretty unusual. That's because the desperate Rockies recently switched to a four-man rotation, imposing a 75-pitch limit on all their starters with the hopes of letting their superior bullpen make a larger impact on games.
In theory, this would be good news from a fantasy perspective, since it means more two-start pitchers, but given the ugly state of Colorado's rotation and the fact that starters will frequently be pulled after four or five innings, I'd recommend staying away from this situation.
* In looking over the lefty/righty match-ups, you'll notice that a few teams are looking ahead to lefty-loaded schedules. The Twins are slated to face left-handed starters in four of their seven games, meaning Josh Willingham (1109 OPS vs. LHP) should be in your lineup and Justin Morneau (.326 OPS vs. LHP) should be out. The Cubs are scheduled to draw lefties in four of their first five games – bad news for Bryan LaHair, who's hitting just .097 off southpaws. Meanwhile, the Padres will go against five lefty starters, including four straight to end the week, so consider benching Will Venable (.220 AVG. vs. LHP) and expect big things from Carlos Quentin (.421 AVG vs. LHP).
Going Twice…
American League
Strong Plays
Yu Darvish: DET (Smyly), OAK (Parker)
Hiroki Kuroda: CLE (Tomlin), CWS (Floyd)
C.J. Wilson: @BAL (Hunter), @TOR (Carreno)
Jake Peavy: @MIN (Hendriks), @NYY (Hughes)
Decent Plays
Justin Grimm: DET (Porcello), OAK (Milone)
Matt Moore: @KC (Mazzaro), DET (Smyly)
Chris Archer: @KC (Hochevar), DET (Porcello)
Tommy Milone: @SEA (Ramirez), @TEX (Grimm)
Phil Hughes: CLE (Masterson), CWS (Quintana)
Francisco Liriano: CWS (Gloyd), KC (Hochevar)
Vin Mazzaro: TB (Moore), @MIN (Hendriks)
Luke Hochevar: TB (Archer), @MIN (Liriano)
Rick Porcello: @TEX (Grimm), @TB (Archer)
Justin Masterson: @NYY (Hughes), @BAL (Hunter)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: TOR (Carreno), @SEA (Vargas)
Felix Doubront: TOR (Chavez), @SEA (Ramirez)
At Your Own Risk
Joel Carreno: @BOS (Matsuzaka), LAA (Wilson)
Jesse Chavez: @BOS (Doubront), LAA (Richards)
Jason Vargas: OAK (Parker), BOS (Matsuzaka)
Erasmo Ramirez: OAK (Milone), BOS (Doubront)
Liam Hendriks: CWS (Peavy), KC (Mazzaro)
Drew Smyly: @TEX (Darvish), @TB (Moore)
Gavin Floyd: @MIN (Liriano), @NYY (Kuroda)
Josh Tomlin: @NYY (Kuroda), @BAL (Arrieta)
Tommy Hunter: LAA (Wilson), CLE (Masterson)
National League
Strong Plays
Stephen Strasburg: @COL (Francis), @ATL (Delgado)
Gio Gonzalez: @COL (Friedrich), @ATL (Hudson)
Ryan Vogelsong: LAD (Kershaw), CIN (Arroyo)
James McDonald: @PHI (Worley), @STL (Westbrook)
Vance Worley: PIT (McDonald), @MIA (Nolasco)
Shaun Marcum: @CIN (Leake), ARI (Hudson)
Johan Santana: @CHC (Wood), @LAD (Eovaldi)
Dillon Gee: @CHC (Wells), @LAD (Kershaw)
Clayton Kershaw: @SF (Vogelsong), NYM (Gee)
Nathan Eovaldi: @SF (Zito), NYM (Santana)
Wandy Rodriguez: SD (Ohlendorf), @CHC (Garza)
Decent Plays
Jake Westbrook: @MIA (Nolasco), PIT (McDonald)
Erik Bedard: @PHI (Blanton), @STL (Lynn)
Ricky Nolasco: STL (Westbrook), PHI (Worley)
Jordan Lyles: SD (Bass), @CHC (Wood)
Bronson Arroyo: MIL (Gallardo), @SF (Vogelsong)
Mike Leake: MIL (Marcum), @SF (Zito)
Travis Wood: NYM (Santana), HOU (Lyles)
Tim Hudson: ARI (Hudson), WAS (Gonzalez)
Daniel Hudson: @ATL (Hudson), @MIL (Marcum)
At Your Own Risk
Barry Zito: LAD (Eovaldi), CIN (Leake)
Joe Blanton: PIT (Bedard), @MIA (Buehrle)
Jeff Francis: WAS (Strasburg), SD (Volquez)
Christian Friedrich: WAS (Gonzalez), SD (Ohlendorf)
Josh Outman: WAS (Zimmerman), SD (Bass)
Ross Ohlendorf: @HOU (Rodriguez), @COL (Friedrich)
Anthony Bass: @HOU (Lyles), @COL (Outman)
The upcoming week will be an eventful one for baseball, with full schedules almost across the board, so rather than focus on any one particular storyline I'll touch on a few different notes:
* There are tons of two-start options in both leagues, but the Senior Circuit clearly offers more upside. That's unsurprising considering that the NL has had some ridiculous pitching this year (Gio Gonzalez, one of the Strong Plays, currently ranks TENTH in the league with a 2.55 ERA). On the AL side, there are some intriguing options among the Decent Plays, many of whom figure to be available on waivers. I'd specifically take a look at Justin Grimm, Francisco Liriano and Chris Archer – I didn't quite feel comfortable labeling any of them Strong Plays yet (especially since Derek Holland and Jeremy Hellickson could return to supplant Archer and Grimm), but they could all have very good weeks.
* You might notice that Colorado has three two-start pitchers in the upcoming week, which is pretty unusual. That's because the desperate Rockies recently switched to a four-man rotation, imposing a 75-pitch limit on all their starters with the hopes of letting their superior bullpen make a larger impact on games.
In theory, this would be good news from a fantasy perspective, since it means more two-start pitchers, but given the ugly state of Colorado's rotation and the fact that starters will frequently be pulled after four or five innings, I'd recommend staying away from this situation.
* In looking over the lefty/righty match-ups, you'll notice that a few teams are looking ahead to lefty-loaded schedules. The Twins are slated to face left-handed starters in four of their seven games, meaning Josh Willingham (1109 OPS vs. LHP) should be in your lineup and Justin Morneau (.326 OPS vs. LHP) should be out. The Cubs are scheduled to draw lefties in four of their first five games – bad news for Bryan LaHair, who's hitting just .097 off southpaws. Meanwhile, the Padres will go against five lefty starters, including four straight to end the week, so consider benching Will Venable (.220 AVG. vs. LHP) and expect big things from Carlos Quentin (.421 AVG vs. LHP).
Going Twice…
American League
Strong Plays
Yu Darvish: DET (Smyly), OAK (Parker)
Hiroki Kuroda: CLE (Tomlin), CWS (Floyd)
C.J. Wilson: @BAL (Hunter), @TOR (Carreno)
Jake Peavy: @MIN (Hendriks), @NYY (Hughes)
Decent Plays
Justin Grimm: DET (Porcello), OAK (Milone)
Matt Moore: @KC (Mazzaro), DET (Smyly)
Chris Archer: @KC (Hochevar), DET (Porcello)
Tommy Milone: @SEA (Ramirez), @TEX (Grimm)
Phil Hughes: CLE (Masterson), CWS (Quintana)
Francisco Liriano: CWS (Gloyd), KC (Hochevar)
Vin Mazzaro: TB (Moore), @MIN (Hendriks)
Luke Hochevar: TB (Archer), @MIN (Liriano)
Rick Porcello: @TEX (Grimm), @TB (Archer)
Justin Masterson: @NYY (Hughes), @BAL (Hunter)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: TOR (Carreno), @SEA (Vargas)
Felix Doubront: TOR (Chavez), @SEA (Ramirez)
At Your Own Risk
Joel Carreno: @BOS (Matsuzaka), LAA (Wilson)
Jesse Chavez: @BOS (Doubront), LAA (Richards)
Jason Vargas: OAK (Parker), BOS (Matsuzaka)
Erasmo Ramirez: OAK (Milone), BOS (Doubront)
Liam Hendriks: CWS (Peavy), KC (Mazzaro)
Drew Smyly: @TEX (Darvish), @TB (Moore)
Gavin Floyd: @MIN (Liriano), @NYY (Kuroda)
Josh Tomlin: @NYY (Kuroda), @BAL (Arrieta)
Tommy Hunter: LAA (Wilson), CLE (Masterson)
National League
Strong Plays
Stephen Strasburg: @COL (Francis), @ATL (Delgado)
Gio Gonzalez: @COL (Friedrich), @ATL (Hudson)
Ryan Vogelsong: LAD (Kershaw), CIN (Arroyo)
James McDonald: @PHI (Worley), @STL (Westbrook)
Vance Worley: PIT (McDonald), @MIA (Nolasco)
Shaun Marcum: @CIN (Leake), ARI (Hudson)
Johan Santana: @CHC (Wood), @LAD (Eovaldi)
Dillon Gee: @CHC (Wells), @LAD (Kershaw)
Clayton Kershaw: @SF (Vogelsong), NYM (Gee)
Nathan Eovaldi: @SF (Zito), NYM (Santana)
Wandy Rodriguez: SD (Ohlendorf), @CHC (Garza)
Decent Plays
Jake Westbrook: @MIA (Nolasco), PIT (McDonald)
Erik Bedard: @PHI (Blanton), @STL (Lynn)
Ricky Nolasco: STL (Westbrook), PHI (Worley)
Jordan Lyles: SD (Bass), @CHC (Wood)
Bronson Arroyo: MIL (Gallardo), @SF (Vogelsong)
Mike Leake: MIL (Marcum), @SF (Zito)
Travis Wood: NYM (Santana), HOU (Lyles)
Tim Hudson: ARI (Hudson), WAS (Gonzalez)
Daniel Hudson: @ATL (Hudson), @MIL (Marcum)
At Your Own Risk
Barry Zito: LAD (Eovaldi), CIN (Leake)
Joe Blanton: PIT (Bedard), @MIA (Buehrle)
Jeff Francis: WAS (Strasburg), SD (Volquez)
Christian Friedrich: WAS (Gonzalez), SD (Ohlendorf)
Josh Outman: WAS (Zimmerman), SD (Bass)
Ross Ohlendorf: @HOU (Rodriguez), @COL (Friedrich)
Anthony Bass: @HOU (Lyles), @COL (Outman)
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, 6/27: Luis Mendoza vs. KC
In two starts since rejoining the Royals rotation, Mendoza has allowed only three runs over seven hits in 12 innings with a 9/3 K/BB.
Wednesday, 6/27: Kevin Millwood vs. OAK
The veteran has been surprisingly effective for the M's, and matches up well against Oakland at home.
Thursday, 6/28: Brett Cecil vs. LAA
Cecil looked sharp in his season debut this past week. Give him a look against the Halos.
National League
Wednesday, 6/27: Lucas Harrell vs. SD
The rookie has been brutal on the road this season, but at home he's 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA.
Thursday, 6/28: Chris Young @ LAD
He might not be vintage Chris Young, but he's been plenty effective thus far, allowing only two runs in each of his first three starts for the Mets.
Friday, 6/29: Paul Maholm vs. HOU
Maholm has been very good in his last two turns, both at home, turning in a pair of quality starts to go along with a 13/2 K/BB.
Total Games
American League
6: BAL, LAA
7: BOS, CLE, CWS, DET, KC, MIN, NYY, OAK, SEA, TB, TEX, TOR
National League
6: ARI, ATL, CHC, MIA, MIL, STL
7: CIN, COL, HOU, LAD, NYM, PHI, PIT, SD, SF, WAS
Lefty/Righty Breakdowns
American League
BAL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
BOS: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
CLE: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
CWS: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
DET: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
KC: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
LAA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIN: 3 vs. RHP, 4 vs. LHP
NYY: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
OAK: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
SEA: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
TB: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
TEX: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
TOR: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
National League
ARI: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
ATL: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
CHC: 2 vs. RHP, 4 vs. LHP
CIN: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
COL: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
HOU: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
LAD: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIA: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
MIL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
NYM: 4 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
PHI: 5 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
PIT: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
SD: 2 vs. RHP, 5 vs. LHP
SF: 6 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
STL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
WAS: 3 vs. RHP, 4 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:
Jerome Williams: Out until early July (head)
Brandon Beachy: Out for the season (elbow)
Scott Podsednik: Out until July (groin)
Ryan Sweeney: Out until late June (toe)
Josh Beckett: Out until late June (shoulder)
Ryan Dempster: Out until July (shoulder)
Bud Norris: Out until late knee (June)
Chris Getz: Out indefinitely (leg)
Jason Bay: Out indefinitely (head)
Jeremy Hellickson: Out until late June (head)