Fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings for week 14

 

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	Stephen Strasburg	WSH	MIL, SD	2.41	24.3%	7.3%
2	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@COL, @SF	2.08	24.9%	7.0%
3	Jordan Zimmermann	WSH	MIL, SD	2.28	17.9%	3.8%
4	Homer Bailey	CIN	SF, SEA	3.88	24.5%	6.0%
5	Patrick Corbin	ARI	@NYM, COL	2.22	19.6%	6.7%
6	Doug Fister	DET	@TOR, @CLE	3.50	18.6%	3.7%
7	Jered Weaver	LAA	STL, BOS	4.15	18.0%	7.0%
8	Yu Darvish	TEX	HOU	2.95	33.4%	7.7%
9	Cliff Lee	PHI	ATL	2.51	22.9%	3.9%
10	Adam Wainwright	STL	@LAA	2.31	23.3%	2.2%
11	Matt Harvey	NYM	ARI	2.00	29.8%	5.4%
12	Max Scherzer	DET	@TOR	3.10	31.2%	6.0%
13	Chris Sale	CWS	@TB	2.75	26.9%	5.9%
14	Justin Verlander	DET	@TOR	3.90	26.3%	8.4%
15	Jeff Samardzija	CHC	PIT	3.39	26.2%	7.7%
16	Johnny Cueto	CIN	SF	3.33	21.0%	7.2%
17	Felix Hernandez	SEA	@TEX	2.70	26.7%	4.8%
18	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	@TEX	2.42	23.2%	3.9%
19	James Shields	KC	CLE	2.99	21.8%	6.9%
20	Shelby Miller	STL	@LAA	2.79	26.9%	5.9%
21	Mike Minor	ATL	MIA	2.98	23.3%	4.9%
22	Madison Bumgarner	SF	LAD	3.20	24.6%	7.2%

Additional Information: Johnny Cueto left his start with a latissimus injury Friday night. He’s been on the DL two times this year with a right latissimus strain. It is unclear how much time he will miss, if any, but he wiped away tears as he walked off the field, which tells me it can’t be good. I haven’t believed in Patrick Corbin all year, but he’s tied for the most quality starts in the majors with 14 and gets an opportunity to pitch against the Mets. Hisashi Iwakuma is a really good pitcher, but eventually his .233 BABIP will regress and he’s not going to end the year with more than the 14 wins he’s projected to have. Sell now.

Backend Starters

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
23	Kris Medlen	ATL	MIA, @PHI	3.02	18.0%	6.2%
24	Lance Lynn	STL	@LAA, MIA	3.52	23.7%	9.2%
25	John Lackey	BOS	SD, @LAA	2.99	22.3%	5.2%
26	Cole Hamels	PHI	@PIT, ATL	4.58	21.9%	7.3%
27	Jose Fernandez	MIA	SD, @STL	2.98	24.2%	9.2%
28	Ervin Santana	KC	OAK	2.74	20.4%	4.4%
29	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	@SF	2.85	20.1%	7.7%
30	Bartolo Colon	OAK	CHC	2.79	14.7%	3.1%
31	Jarrod Parker	OAK	CHC	4.27	16.6%	8.7%
32	Mat Latos	CIN	SEA	3.05	23.4%	6.6%
33	Gio Gonzalez	WSH	SD	3.31	23.9%	10.3%
34	CC Sabathia	NYY	@MIN	4.15	20.1%	4.8%
35	Matt Garza	CHC	@OAK	3.83	22.9%	7.3%
36	Julio Teheran	ATL	MIA	3.12	20.5%	4.3%
37	Derek Holland	TEX	SEA	3.14	22.4%	6.2%
38	Matt Cain	SF	@CIN	4.54	23.2%	7.0%
39	Hiroki Kuroda	NYY	BAL	2.77	16.9%	5.2%

Additional Information: Matt Cain has been vintage Cain in his past four starts with a 2.02 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. However, in five career starts at Great America Ballpark, he has a 3.44 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, which doesn’t make him a must-start. Don’t look now, but Matt Garza, in his last three starts, has a 26.7 percent strikeout rate, 5.8 percent walk rate with a 0.82 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, the list of contending ball clubs looking for additional pitching will be long. With a successful track record in both the NL and AL, Garza will play the final two months for a contending team, most likely an NL West team, according to Buster Olney. Buy low right now. After a hot start to begin the year, Lance Lynn has only been mediocre with a 4.13 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in his last nine starts. However, he plays on the best team in the NL and gets an opportunity to pitch against the Marlins.

Spot Starters

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
40	Corey Kluber	CLE	@KC	4.16	23.2%	4.4%
41	A.J. Griffin	OAK	CHC, @KC	3.56	19.2%	5.9%
42	Andrew Cashner	SD	@WSH	3.34	16.9%	6.3%
43	Gerrit Cole	PIT	PHI	3.70	10.9%	4.0%
44	Dillon Gee	NYM	ARI	4.82	19.6%	5.6%
45	David Phelps	NYY	@MIN	4.01	22.0%	9.6%
46	Joe Kelly	STL	MIA	3.86	18.5%	6.8%
47	Ian Kennedy	ARI	@NYM	5.21	20.0%	7.9%
48	Jon Lester	BOS	SD	4.61	19.3%	8.5%
49	Ryan Dempster	BOS	@LAA	4.16	22.9%	10.7%
50	Matt Moore	TB	@HOU, CWS	3.94	21.8%	12.6%
51	Yovani Gallardo	MIL	@WSH, NYM	4.19	18.8%	8.5%
52	Tommy Milone	OAK	@KC	4.06	18.0%	5.7%
53	Paul Maholm	ATL	@PHI	3.75	17.2%	6.4%
54	Kyle Lohse	MIL	NYM	3.69	15.0%	4.0%
55	Mike Leake	CIN	SF	2.61	16.0%	5.1%
56	Ricky Nolasco	MIA	@ATL	3.93	18.8%	5.7%
57	Tyler Chatwood	COL	LAD	2.13	17.9%	8.7%
58	Zack Greinke	LAD	@COL	3.94	17.6%	6.2%
59	Josh Johnson	TOR	DET	5.22	21.9%	8.0%
60	Rick Porcello	DET	@CLE	5.27	19.5%	4.5%
61	Chris Tillman	BAL	@NYY	3.72	19.1%	9.2%
62	C.J. Wilson	LAA	BOS	3.88	20.4%	9.6%
63	Travis Wood	CHC	@OAK	2.85	18.2%	7.8%

Additional Information: Despite a good-looking box score in his last outing against the Blue Jays, Matt Moore has been wildly inconsistent all year, looking masterful one inning and looking like Mike Oquist the next inning. With two above-average matchups against the Astros and White Sox, now is the time to put him in your starting lineups. If he performs well, trade him (non-keeper leagues) because his inconsistency will ruin your ratios at any time. Gerrit Cole may not provide the strikeout numbers his stuff warrants, but he has looked really good in all of his starts. With the vast majority of his pitches thrown with a velocity greater than 94 mph, hitters will eventually catch up to or time his fastball, which will limit his effectiveness as the season progresses. For this week, start Cole with confidence. Even after two horrible starts for Rick Porcello, I’m not jumping off the bandwagon. He pitched effectively in his last start, but a lot of balls found holes and became hits, which is evidenced by a .476 BABIP. If he’s available in your league, go get him. A must-sit was my initial reaction when I saw Chris Tillman was facing the Yankees, in Yankee Stadium. However, in the past month, the Yankees have the lowest OPS and wOBA (weighted on-base average) in majors, not the AL, but the majors.

Proceed With Caution

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
64	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	SF, SEA	3.61	13.1%	4.6%
65	Wade Miley	ARI	@NYM, COL	4.55	17.0%	7.9%
67	Nick Tepesch	TEX	HOU	4.60	16.4%	6.1%
68	Francisco Liriano	PIT	@CHC	2.30	26.2%	9.4%
69	Andy Pettitte	NYY	@MIN, BAL	4.22	18.6%	6.4%
66	Tim Hudson	ATL	@PHI	4.10	17.8%	6.5%
70	Chris Archer	TB	@HOU	4.20	19.0%	12.9%
71	Zack Wheeler	NYM	@MIL	3.19	16.0%	16.0%
72	Kyle Gibson	MIN	NYY	–	–	–
73	Ross Detwiler	WSH	MIL	4.13	12.5%	4.5%
74	Jeff Locke	PIT	PHI, @CHC	2.06	17.4%	10.7%
75	Phil Hughes	NYY	@MIN, BAL	4.82	20.4%	6.4%
76	Allen Webster	BOS	SD	9.50	17.4%	9.3%
77	Hector Santiago	CWS	BAL	3.59	24.1%	11.7%
78	Edwin Jackson	CHC	PIT	5.84	19.5%	8.8%
79	Justin Masterson	CLE	DET	3.76	24.3%	9.1%
80	Jordan Lyles	HOU	TB	3.67	17.6%	6.1%
81	Bud Norris	HOU	TB	3.35	16.5%	7.4%
82	Alex Colome	TB	@HOU	–	–	–
64	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	SF, SEA	3.61	13.1%	4.6%

Additional Information: Jeff Locke has a 3.84 FIP, which is nearly two points higher than his ERA. Also, Locke is a command and control pitcher with fringe average stuff. If I were a betting man, I would take the over on a 3.90 ERA by the end of the year. For a more in-depth “scouting” report on Locke please go here. In the month of June, Tim Hudson (five starts) has a 1.82 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. During this time, he’s generating ground balls nearly 60 percent of the time and striking out 19 percent hitters. Among starting pitchers, Doug Fister has the highest ground-ball rate with 58 percent for the year.

Avoid

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
83	Mark Buehrle	TOR	MIN	4.73	15.1%	6.8%
84	R.A. Dickey	TOR	DET, MIN	4.72	16.9%	8.9%
85	Justin Grimm	TEX	SEA, HOU	5.56	18.0%	7.2%
86	Martin Perez	TEX	SEA	2.37	10.3%	5.1%
87	Jeremy Hellickson	TB	CWS	5.11	18.4%	5.7%
88	Randall Delgado	ARI	@NYM	4.05	18.6%	4.7%
89	Jose Quintana	CWS	BAL	3.97	17.0%	7.3%
90	John Danks	CWS	BAL, @TB	4.68	18.6%	2.3%
91	Drew Pomeranz	COL	@ARI	–	–	–
92	Jake Westbrook	STL	MIA	2.21	10.0%	10.0%
93	Tim Lincecum	SF	@CIN, LAD	4.64	22.5%	9.9%
94	Jason Hammel	BAL	@CWS, @NYY	5.09	16.2%	7.8%
95	Kevin Correia	MIN	@TOR	3.82	12.7%	3.8%
96	Felix Doubront	BOS	@LAA	4.33	21.7%	10.3%
97	Jeremy Guthrie	KC	CLE	4.11	11.3%	8.3%
98	Eric Stults	SD	@BOS	3.20	16.1%	4.8%
99	Ubaldo Jimenez	CLE	DET	4.57	22.9%	11.9%
100	Esmil Rogers	TOR	DET	3.46	14.2%	7.5%

Additional Information: In Mark Buehrle’s last six starts, he’s quietly started to rebound from a poor beginning to the season with a 2.75 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. There’s quite a bit of luck with the ERA, but if you’re looking for a spot start that won’t hurt your ratios, Buehrle is a solid option. Of course, after I say Jeremy Hellickson should dropped in all leagues, he rattles off two quality starts in a row. On paper, this is a great matchup, but after watching his past two starts, I’m not entirely convinced he’s turned a corner. Drew Pomeranz is the biggest wild card of the list. His biggest problem last year was the lack of a put-away pitch and poor command of his change-up. Without command of the change-up, he’s a two-pitch pitcher who will have a difficult time finding success the second and third time through a lineup. However, he currently has a 10.09 K/9 in triple-A, the highest it’s been since 2011. Trevor Cahill, in his last seven starts has a 7.34 ERA, 1.66 WHIP with a .362 BABIP. His biggest problem has been location of the sinker, which has resulted in a .329/.378/.500 slash line.