Fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings for week 11

The matchups and statistical data were pulled Saturday morning. Please be aware the matchups are subject to change.

Top Starters

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

1

Clayton Kershaw

LAD

ARI, @PIT

1.93

25.1%

7.2%

2

Hisashi Iwakuma

SEA

HOU, @OAK

1.94

24.0%

4.0%

3

Doug Fister

DET

@KC, @MIN

3.27

20.3%

3.7%

4

Yu Darvish

TEX

TOR

2.77

34.8%

7.5%

5

Adam Wainwright

STL

@NYM

2.34

24.3%

1.9%

6

Felix Hernandez

SEA

@OAK

2.58

26.8%

4.8%

7

Cliff Lee

PHI

@MIN

2.55

22.1%

4.3%

8

Justin Verlander

DET

@KC

3.71

27.2%

7.6%

9

Derek Holland

TEX

CLE, TOR

2.82

23.3%

6.4%

10

Max Scherzer

DET

@KC

3.24

31.5%

6.3%

11

Lance Lynn

STL

@MIA

2.76

25.2%

8.6%

12

A.J. Burnett

PIT

LAD

3.22

28.1%

9.6%

13

Matt Harvey

NYM

CHC

2.17

27.7%

5.9%

14

Shelby Miller

STL

@NYM

1.91

27.6%

5.8%

15

Chris Sale

CWS

TOR

2.68

24.1%

6.0%

16

Anibal Sanchez

DET

@MIN

2.65

31.2%

6.1%

17

Jeff Samardzija

CHC

CIN

2.96

28.3%

8.7%

18

Jordan Zimmermann

WSH

@CLE

2.16

15.6%

3.2%

19

Mike Minor

ATL

SF

2.52

23.8%

4.6%

Additional Information: In his last six starts, Mike Minor has a 1.80 ERA, 0.93 WHIP with a 26.5 strikeout rate and only a 5.8 walk rate. The San Francisco Giants have a much improved offense compared to the last couple of seasons, but they rank in the bottom third of the league in OPS against left handed pitching. In 19 career starts at home, Chris Sale has a 2.25 ERA and 0.93 WHIP compared to a 3.60 ERA and 1.21 WHIP on the road. Don’t let Friday’s box score fool you, Sale pitched extremely well, but threw one bad pitch to Josh Donaldson.

Backend Starters

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

20

Julio Teheran

ATL

@SD, SF

3.30

18.6%

5.1%

21

Mat Latos

CIN

@CHC

2.90

21.6%

6.9%

22

Madison Bumgarner

SF

@ATL

3.46

23.7%

7.3%

23

Alex Cobb

TB

BOS, KC

2.39

22.8%

5.6%

24

Homer Bailey

CIN

@CHC, MIL

3.84

24.4%

6.5%

25

Matt Moore

TB

KC

2.95

21.4%

12.5%

26

CC Sabathia

NYY

@OAK, @LAA

3.74

21.5%

4.6%

27

Bartolo Colon

OAK

NYY, SEA

3.14

15.2%

2.0%

28

Clay Buchholz

BOS

@BAL

1.62

25.8%

9.4%

29

Hiroki Kuroda

NYY

@OAK

2.84

17.7%

5.3%

30

Patrick Corbin

ARI

@LAD

1.98

20.0%

6.8%

31

Hyun-Jin Ryu

LAD

ARI

2.72

23.0%

7.2%

32

Ervin Santana

KC

@TB

3.03

20.3%

4.2%

33

Kris Medlen

ATL

SF

3.14

17.2%

7.6%

34

Zack Greinke

LAD

ARI

3.89

16.4%

6.7%

35

James Shields

KC

DET

2.81

22.8%

6.5%

36

Jered Weaver

LAA

@BAL

3.13

18.4%

7.1%

37

John Lackey

BOS

@TB, @BAL

2.79

23.4%

6.5%

38

Ricky Nolasco

MIA

MIL

3.61

19.9%

6.0%

39

Alexi Ogando

TEX

CLE, TOR

2.93

18.7%

9.6%

40

Justin Masterson

CLE

WSH

3.57

24.0%

9.3%

41

Matt Cain

SF

@PIT

5.09

22.1%

7.9%

Additional Information: If you remove Julio Teheran’s first three starts of the year he has 2.13 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. What’s most impressive about Teheran is he’s not walking anyone; only allowing eight walks in 55 innings (3.7 walk rate), which puts him in Cliff Lee and Bartolo Colon territory. In Madison Bumgarner’s last four starts, at Colorado, Washington, at Oakland and at St. Louis, he has a 6.29 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Consistency is one attribute he has lacked in his career. Since 2011, 13 percent of starts have been blowup starts (a start with five earned runs or more). John Lackey has morphed himself into a ground-ball pitcher, generating ground balls nearly 55 percent of the time. Also, the command of his fastball has been exceptional; throwing it for strikes 68 percent of the time and in the bottom of the strike zone. This week, he’s scheduled to pitch against the second best offense (in terms of OPS) in the majors, so this will be a great opportunity to show his resurgence is legitimate.

Spot Starters

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

42

Jarrod Parker

OAK

NYY

4.68

17.1%

9.3%

43

Trevor Cahill

ARI

@SD

3.27

15.0%

9.0%

44

Rick Porcello

DET

@MIN

5.21

19.9%

4.7%

45

Paul Maholm

ATL

@SD

3.46

17.1%

6.8%

46

C.J. Wilson

LAA

NYY

3.92

21.9%

9.6%

47

Phil Hughes

NYY

@OAK

4.79

22.1%

6.0%

48

Gerrit Cole

PIT

SF, LAD

49

Zack Wheeler

NYM

CHC

50

Hector Santiago

CWS

@HOU

3.35

23.5%

11.7%

51

David Phelps

NYY

@LAA

4.16

23.9%

10.1%

52

Matt Garza

CHC

CIN, @NYM

4.04

22.6%

8.6%

53

Andrew Cashner

SD

ATL

3.67

17.4%

7.2%

54

Travis Wood

CHC

CIN

2.65

18.3%

8.5%

55

A.J. Griffin

OAK

SEA

3.67

19.6%

6.1%

56

Dan Straily

OAK

NYY

4.67

20.6%

7.0%

57

Tommy Milone

OAK

SEA

3.91

19.4%

4.7%

58

Bronson Arroyo

CIN

MIL

3.38

13.7%

4.0%

59

Gio Gonzalez

WSH

@COL

3.64

22.3%

10.3%

60

Tyler Skaggs

ARI

@SD

3.85

27.7%

6.4%

61

Mike Leake

CIN

@CHC

2.93

17.2%

5.5%

62

Jose Fernandez

MIA

STL

3.34

24.4%

8.9%

Additional Information: C.J. Wilson, in his last four starts (27 innings), only has four walks, which is great for every Wilson owner. Throughout his career (as a starter), walks have always been an issue for him. But if this trend continues, he could be a top-30 starting pitcher the rest of the year. This section contains a lot of highly touted rookie pitchers: Gerrit Cole, Zack Wheeler, Tyler Skaggs, Jose Fernandez and Dan Straily. I ranked Cole the highest because he has the best combination of skill, stuff, bullpen and quality of team around him. Jim Callis has noted Cole “has made two scoreless seven-inning starts in the last week, issuing just two walks in the process and snapping Myers’ 12-game hitting streak on Wednesday.” Mike Leake has pitched very well in his past five starts (1.13 ERA and 1.10 WHIP), but three of those starts came against come against the Marlins, Mets, and Pirates, not exactly the best offenses in the National League.

Proceed With Caution

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

63

Cole Hamels

PHI

@MIN, @COL

4.56

22.3%

7.5%

64

Corey Kluber

CLE

@TEX, WSH

4.56

26.5%

4.4%

65

Wade Miley

ARI

@LAD, @SD

4.92

17.0%

7.8%

66

Michael Wacha

STL

@NYM, @MIA

5.38

20.8%

2.1%

67

Chris Archer

TB

BOS

4.91

12.8%

10.6%

68

Tony Cingrani

CIN

@CHC, MIL

3.27

31.1%

6.8%

69

Tim Hudson

ATL

@SD

4.48

17.3%

5.8%

70

Bud Norris

HOU

@SEA

3.43

15.6%

8.3%

71

Jon Lester

BOS

@TB

3.60

19.5%

7.4%

72

Ryan Dempster

BOS

@BAL

4.39

25.8%

11.0%

73

Andy Pettitte

NYY

@LAA

4.17

18.1%

7.8%

74

Tyler Chatwood

COL

PHI

2.14

21.9%

7.3%

75

Joe Saunders

SEA

@OAK

5.20

12.0%

7.4%

76

Tyler Lyons

STL

@MIA

2.66

15.8%

5.3%

77

Ian Kennedy

ARI

@LAD

5.73

19.4%

8.3%

78

Josh Johnson

TOR

@TEX

5.39

20.0%

7.2%

79

Nick Tepesch

TEX

CLE

3.92

17.2%

6.1%

80

Scott Feldman

CHC

CIN, @NYM

2.83

18.6%

7.1%

Additional Information: Michael Wacha has either looked great or extremely hittable in first two starts, but he gets an opportunity to start against two of the four worst offenses (in OPS) in the league. I’m buying Ian Kennedy either through trade or waivers. Kennedy has not pitched nearly as bad as his 5.72 ERA suggests. Before Thursday’s blowup, he only had a 1.24 WHIP. Walks have been an issue this year, but this is a pitcher who pitches in the most favorable division in the majors. If you remove Jon Lester’s first four starts he has a 4.42 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with a 18 percent strikeout rate and 8.7 percent walk rate.

Avoid

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

81

Edwin Jackson

CHC

@NYM

6.29

20.1%

9.0%

82

Yovani Gallardo

MIL

@MIA, @CIN

5.25

18.6%

8.4%

83

Kyle Lohse

MIL

@CIN

4.38

14.6%

4.0%

84

Dillon Gee

NYM

STL

5.20

19.3%

6.2%

85

Jeremy Hellickson

TB

KC

5.59

18.6%

6.2%

86

R.A. Dickey

TOR

@CWS, @TEX

4.66

18.2%

9.7%

87

Francisco Liriano

PIT

SF

1.75

30.9%

9.2%

88

Chris Tillman

BAL

BOS

3.97

20.5%

8.2%

89

John Danks

CWS

@HOU

5.63

18.2%

3.0%

90

Kevin Correia

MIN

PHI

4.10

10.0%

4.1%

91

Jason Vargas

LAA

@BAL

3.71

15.4%

8.3%

92

Wandy Rodriguez

PIT

SF

3.59

17.7%

4.6%

93

Chad Gaudin

SF

@ATL

2.21

21.9%

9.3%

94

Alfredo Figaro

MIL

@MIA

4.08

19.5%

4.1%

95

Jacob Turner

MIA

MIL

0.69

14.0%

10.0%

96

Tim Lincecum

SF

@PIT, @ATL

4.75

23.9%

10.3%

97

Jeff Locke

PIT

LAD

2.45

17.2%

9.8%

98

Joe Blanton

LAA

NYY

5.52

15.8%

4.0%

99

Aaron Harang

SEA

HOU

6.70

20.5%

4.4%

100

Dallas Keuchel

HOU

@SEA, CWS

4.69

14.0%

8.1%

101

Wily Peralta

MIL

@MIA

6.16

12.9%

8.9%

Additional Information: It’s safe to say Edwin Jackson has been a disappointment for fantasy owners, but there is hope for optimism. In his last six starts, he’s only allowed 10 walks in 30.1 innings. However, in the same time frame, he has a 7.71 ERA and 1.91 WHIP. Boston has the best offense in the league (in OPS), and Chris Tillman’s stuff isn’t as powering as his statistics indicate. In R.A. Dickey’s last start against the Giants, his knuckleball averaged 79 mph, which is the velocity he had last year. But with two starts in two of the most hitter friendly ballparks, I’m benching him if I can.

 

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