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This week's two start pitchers post takes an interesting turn as managers shuffle their rotations to account for postponements and double-headers, as no less than 8 teams were affected by rainouts over the last several days. Some of the pitchers on this list appeared last week, only to have their starts pushed back.
The following teams were affected by rainouts:
Boston: They will skip Daniel Bard's turn, and Lester will pitch Monday and Saturday as originally scheduled.
Detroit: The way the off days fell means all of their pitchers get to go on normal rest this week.
New York Yankees: Everybody moves back a day. It seems there was a plan to pitch Sabathia on Saturday instead of Freddy Garcia, but now it appears that Garcia will pitch and Sabathia will go on Sunday in his normal spot in the rotation. This remains a fluid situation.
Texas: Because of the way the off days fell, Scott Feldman will make a spot start on Wednesday. No Ranger will start twice this week.
Miami: Their rotation remains the same. Everybody will pitch on an extra day's rest.
New York Mets: Dillon Gee will start game one of the doubleheader Monday, with Miguel Batista making a spot start in game two. Johan Santana's start was pushed back to Tuesday.
San Francisco: Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner are the two starters for Monday's doubleheader, and the mid-week off day means Lincecum can pitch Saturday on normal rest with Bumgarner taking the hill on Sunday with an extra day off.
Washington: The rotation remains unaltered. Everybody will pitch on an extra day's rest.
I've changed the format once again, but this week will mark the end of any major changes to how we do the two start pitchers. (There will of course be tweaks, and comments on how to improve are always welcome.) Listed below are every pitcher who will make two starts this week, along with their ownership percentage in Yahoo! leagues. I've also included a ranking (0 is the lowest possible score, 5 the highest) based on my subjective perception of their talent level and current performance. Considerations are also made based on ballpark and the talent level of the lineup they will be facing. Additionally, I've provided all of this same information in a Google spreadsheet, so that you can sort based on ownership percentage if you so desire (In order to sort, either copy and paste into your own Google Doc or export to a spreadsheet program). When the season has lasted long enough that including statistics would be an worthwhile exercise, this will become a useful tool for sorting based on the stat of your choosing. Finally, I've decided to make a brief comment on every pitcher instead of just highlighting a few that I find interesting. These are drive-by comments and many of them are based on small sample size, but I've tried to be as informative as possible. I'm happy to discuss any pitcher on a deeper level in the comments section or via Twitter.
Follow the jump for this week's two start pitchers.
As always, projected starters are subject to change.
Pitcher | This Week's Schedule | Owned | Rating | Comment |
Gio Gonzalez | T, @SD; Su, @LAD | 94 | 4.5 | 1 of the hottest pitchers in MLB gets to pitch in these parks? Yes, please. |
Jaime Garcia | M, @CHC, Su, MIL | 83 | 4 | If he can't miss bats against these teams, when can he? |
Jon Lester | M, @MIN; Sa, @CWS | 97 | 4 | At least he didn't throw a lot of innings in his last start, amirite? |
Tim Lincecum | M, @NYM; Sa, SD | 99 | 4 | Listen, this can't continue forever. Right? RIGHT?! |
Bartolo Colon | M, CWS; Su, @BAL | 49 | 3.5 | Owns a K/BB of 9.50 and neither team is an offensive force |
Matt Garza | M, STL; Su, @PHI | 95 | 3.5 | Monday's start will be the tougher one, but the wind should be blowing in. |
Dillon Gee | M, SF; Sa, @COL | 11 | 3.5 | Impressive start for the Cleburne native, and the high GB rate will play in COL. |
Josh Beckett | T, @MIN; Su, @CWS | 92 | 3 | When your ERA and K/9 match, it's not a good thing. @MIN & @CWS will help. |
CC Sabathia | M, @TEX; Su, DET | 99 | 3 | Are you willing to bet on a reversal of fortunes against these lineups? |
Madison Bumgarner | M, @NYM; Su, SD | 97 | 3 | Padres lead the league in strikeouts. Betting he'll get going there. |
Jason Vargas | T, @DET; Su, @TOR | 17 | 3 | These lineups aren't as fiercesome as we first thought…yet. |
Josh Johnson | T, @NYM; Su, ARI | 94 | 3 | Dbacks are a free-swinging club, so the strikeouts should rebound a bit |
Zack Greinke | M, HOU; Su, @STL | 98 | 3 | Will his ERA ever match his xFIP? STL & HOU can get on base |
Jake Peavy | M, @OAK; Sa, BOS | 66 | 3 | Needs to induce more GBs. BOS lineup is better than you think |
Gavin Floyd | T, @OAK; Su, BOS | 28 | 3 | Take the strikeouts and be happy. |
Henderson Alvarez | T, @BAL; Su, SEA | 15 | 3 | You have to admit…those are some tasty looking matchups. |
Bruce Chen | M, TOR; Sa, @MIN | 9 | 3 | Too many fly balls so far, but will it matter @ Kauffman & Target? |
Chris Capuano | M, ATL; Su, WAS | 10 | 3 | An average starter against 2 average offenses in a pitcher's park. Why not? |
Brandon Morrow | M, @KC; Sa, SEA | 85 | 3 | How can a .158 BABIP produce such pedestrian numbers? |
Lucas Harrell | M, @MIL; Su, @CIN | 3 | 2.5 | You could do worse than a 56.6 GB% at GABP |
Max Scherzer | T, SEA; Su, @NYY | 79 | 2.5 | These matchups are as different as Scherzer's eyes. Not a lot of upside here. |
Mat Latos | T, SF; Su, HOU | 86 | 2.5 | He's been unlucky, but not overly so. At least he'll be at home? Wait… |
Johan Santana | T, MIA; Su, @COL | 80 | 2.5 | One good matchup, one bad. Sort of fits his season so far. |
Kevin Correia | M, COL; Su, @ATL | 2 | 2.5 | Ride the hot hand will it lasts…because it won't. |
Ervin Santana | T, @TB; Su, @CLE | 75 | 2 | TB & CLE rank 4th & 5th in OBP |
David Price | T, LAA; Su, @TEX | 98 | 2 | Price will get going, just probably not this week against these teams. |
Derek Lowe | T, KC; Su, LAA | 5 | 2 | 3 Ks in 18 IP. Yeesh. But hey, ground balls! |
Tommy Hunter | T, TOR; Su, OAK | 3 | 2 | His two-seamer is worth -16.22/C, according to FanGraphs. |
Jamie Moyer | M, @PIT; Su, NYM | 2 | 2 | Do you think the scuffling PIT offense is eager to face a soft-tossing lefty? |
Clayton Richard | T, WAS; Su, @SF | 4 | 2 | It's hard to rec him based on ballpark, b/c when has that ever really helped him? |
Kyle Kendrick | M, @ARI; Su, CHC | 2 | 2 | The question isn't whether he will implode…it's when. |
Jason Marquis | M, BOS; Su, KC | 0 | 1.5 | I was going to make a snarky comment, but then I read this. |
Wade Miley | M, PHI; Su, @MIA | 0 | 1.5 | At least he gets to pitch in Marlins Park? |
Jonathan Sanchez | T, @CLE; Su, @MIN | 14 | 1.5 | CLE leads the league in walks. Sanchez' BB/9 is 7.11. You do the math. |
Jair Jurrjens | M, @LAD; Su, PIT | 49 | 1 | I'll admit: I'm a hater. Pirates' offense saves this rating from being even lower |