Fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings for week 12

 

These matchups and statistical data were pulled Saturday morning to help fantasy baseball owners plan their week. Please be aware the matchups are subject to change.

Top Starters

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

1

Adam Wainwright

STL

CHC, TEX

2.18

24.2%

2.2%

2

Yu Darvish

TEX

OAK, @STL

2.64

34.0%

7.8%

3

Max Scherzer

DET

BAL, BOS

3.19

31.0%

6.4%

4

Justin Verlander

DET

BAL, BOS

3.41

27.5%

7.6%

5

James Shields

KC

@CLE, CWS

2.79

22.7%

6.5%

6

Shelby Miller

STL

CHC, TEX

2.21

28.7%

5.4%

7

Matt Harvey

NYM

@ATL, @PHI

2.04

27.4%

5.4%

8

Clayton Kershaw

LAD

@SD

1.88

24.6%

7.2%

9

Hisashi Iwakuma

SEA

OAK

1.79

24.5%

3.9%

10

Chris Sale

CWS

@MIN

2.43

26.0%

5.7%

11

Stephen Strasburg

WSH

COL

2.54

24.6%

7.1%

12

Felix Hernandez

SEA

@LAA

2.49

26.6%

5.0%

13

Cliff Lee

PHI

WSH

2.55

22.3%

4.3%

14

Jordan Zimmermann

WSH

COL

2.00

16.6%

3.5%

15

Mike Minor

ATL

NYM

2.44

23.7%

5.2%

16

Hiroki Kuroda

NYY

LAD

2.78

17.2%

5.4%

17

Madison Bumgarner

SF

SD

3.30

24.8%

7.0%

18

Zack Greinke

LAD

@SD

3.68

16.8%

6.8%

19

Jered Weaver

LAA

PIT

3.76

17.4%

6.6%

20

Johnny Cueto

CIN

@ARI

2.17

23.8%

9.1%

21

Clay Buchholz

BOS

TB, @DET

1.71

24.9%

8.9%

Additional Information: It looks as though Clay Buchholz is fully recovered from the irritated AC joint and neck stiffness, and he should be added to your starting lineup. Supposing Stephen Strasburg comes off the DL on Sunday (June 16), he is expected to start this week against the Rockies. With Troy Tulowitzki on the DL for four to six weeks, the Rockies lineup is going to be Carlos Gonzalez, two young, unproven prospects (Josh Rutledge and Nolan Arenado) and a lot of fringe average offensive players; the Rockies are now a great stream option when they are on the road.

Backend Starters

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

22

Matt Cain

SF

SD, MIA

4.70

21.5%

8.0%

23

Andrew Cashner

SD

@SF, LAD

3.51

17.3%

6.8%

24

Mat Latos

CIN

PIT, @ARI

3.08

20.8%

6.1%

25

Ervin Santana

KC

@CLE

2.74

19.7%

3.6%

26

Jeff Samardzija

CHC

@STL, HOU

3.46

27.5%

8.7%

27

Patrick Corbin

ARI

MIA, CIN

2.28

19.3%

6.3%

28

Hyun-Jin Ryu

LAD

@NYY, @SD

2.85

21.7%

7.2%

29

Lance Lynn

STL

CHC

3.00

24.9%

8.8%

30

Bartolo Colon

OAK

@SEA

2.92

15.0%

3.1%

31

Rick Porcello

DET

BAL

4.37

20.9%

4.6%

32

Derek Holland

TEX

@STL

3.11

22.9%

6.3%

33

Homer Bailey

CIN

PIT

3.47

24.6%

6.5%

34

Kris Medlen

ATL

NYM

3.10

17.4%

6.8%

35

Anibal Sanchez

DET

BOS

2.65

31.2%

6.1%

36

Doug Fister

DET

BOS

3.28

19.4%

3.4%

37

Julio Teheran

ATL

@MIL

3.62

18.2%

4.7%

38

Jose Fernandez

MIA

@ARI

3.11

25.8%

9.0%

39

Gio Gonzalez

WSH

@PHI

3.40

23.1%

11.0%

40

Paul Maholm

ATL

NYM-2, @MIL

3.65

16.9%

7.1%

Additional Information: In his last nine starts, Rick Porcello has a 2.84 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 25.6 percent strikeout rate and 4.6 percent walk rate. Porcello is a top 30-35 starting pitcher the rest of the year. Shockingly, Bartolo Colon is only owned in 80.6 percent of ESPN leagues. Colon doesn’t strike anyone out, but he’s the perfect companion pitcher for high strikeout, poor WHIP pitchers (I’m looking at you Ryan Dempster). After a brief rough patch in late April, Jose Fernandez has a 2.42 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 27.4 percent walk rate. With Logan Morrison and Giancarlo Stanton back in the Marlins lineup, Fernandez may have an opportunity to pitch with a lead and earn more wins.

Spot Starters

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

41

Jarrod Parker

OAK

@TEX, @SEA

4.45

16.3%

9.1%

42

Dan Straily

OAK

@TEX, @SEA

4.45

19.6%

6.7%

43

Bud Norris

HOU

CWS, @CHC

3.47

16.1%

7.9%

44

Mike Leake

CIN

PIT, @ARI

2.75

17.5%

5.3%

45

CC Sabathia

NYY

TB

4.07

20.9%

4.5%

46

Cole Hamels

PHI

NYM

4.45

22.2%

7.0%

47

Corey Kluber

CLE

MIN

4.08

24.4%

5.1%

48

Alex Cobb

TB

@NYY

2.95

22.6%

6.2%

49

Tyler Chatwood

COL

@WSH

2.14

21.9%

7.3%

50

Andy Pettitte

NYY

TB

3.95

18.0%

6.6%

51

David Phelps

NYY

TB

3.90

24.2%

10.4%

52

Ricky Nolasco

MIA

@SF

3.80

19.8%

6.0%

53

Gerrit Cole

PIT

@LAA

2.86

7.4%

0.0%

54

Justin Masterson

CLE

KC

3.52

24.1%

9.7%

Additional Information: Dan Straily has looked great in his last five starts, recording a 2.20 ERA and 0.77 WHIP. The biggest adjustment he’s made is he’s no longer trying to strike everyone out; he has a 16.3 percent strikeout rate in that time frame compared to 23.1 percent to begin the year. Instead, he’s following Colon’s lead and throwing a lot of strikes, nearly 70 percent of them. Tyler Chatwood, only owned in 9 percent of ESPN leagues, is a must stream in all formats. The Nationals have the third lowest OPS in the league (ahead of the Mets and Marlins). Corey Kluber is only owned in 2 percent of ESPN leagues despite striking out 24.5 percent of batters and only walking 5 percent of batters. If he’s available, go get him.

Proceed With Caution

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

55

Jason Vargas

LAA

SEA, PIT

3.74

14.6%

8.0%

56

C.J. Wilson

LAA

SEA

3.90

21.2%

9.8%

57

Kyle Lohse

MIL

@HOU

3.84

15.0%

4.0%

58

Bronson Arroyo

CIN

PIT

3.27

13.8%

3.9%

59

Jose Quintana

CWS

@MIN, @KC

3.86

16.9%

6.8%

60

Zack Wheeler

NYM

@ATL-2

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

61

Kyle Kendrick

PHI

WSH

3.76

14.4%

6.4%

62

Edwin Jackson

CHC

@STL

5.40

21.6%

8.8%

63

Jacob Turner

MIA

@ARI, @SF

1.80

16.7%

9.0%

64

John Lackey

BOS

@DET

3.14

21.4%

6.2%

65

Jordan Lyles

HOU

MIL, @CHC

3.48

18.4%

7.2%

66

Hector Santiago

CWS

@KC

3.12

23.5%

11.8%

67

Ubaldo Jimenez

CLE

KC, MIN

4.79

23.3%

11.8%

68

Chris Tillman

BAL

@DET

3.61

20.1%

8.6%

69

Tommy Milone

OAK

@TEX

3.61

19.6%

5.1%

70

A.J. Griffin

OAK

@TEX

3.78

19.3%

5.8%

71

Jeff Locke

PIT

@CIN

2.19

18.1%

10.9%

72

Ryan Dempster

BOS

@DET

4.21

24.3%

11.2%

73

Ross Detwiler

WSH

@PHI, COL

3.02

11.5%

4.6%

74

Josh Johnson

TOR

COL, BAL

5.39

19.5%

8.7%

75

Tim Hudson

ATL

NYM, @MIL

4.41

17.9%

5.6%

76

Travis Wood

CHC

@STL, HOU

2.65

18.0%

8.4%

77

Jon Lester

BOS

@DET

4.11

18.9%

8.7%

78

Yovani Gallardo

MIL

ATL

4.74

18.3%

8.0%

79

Trevor Cahill

ARI

MIA

3.96

16.6%

9.0%

80

John Danks

CWS

@MIN

4.13

19.4%

3.2%

81

Alfredo Figaro

MIL

@HOU

3.47

19.3%

3.6%

Additional Information: The big name on this list is Zack Wheeler. The Braves strikeout the most of any team in the majors, so I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to showcase his plus stuff. In his last four starts, Ubaldo Jimenez has a 2.35 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 20.6 percent strikeout rate and 12.4 percent walk rate. Those numbers are not overly impressive but, he achieved those numbers @Texas, @Detroit, @Cincinnati and Tampa Bay. With two great matchups against the Royals and the Twins, Jimenez is worth the roll of the dice if you’re looking for a strikeout infusion for your team. However, Doug Thorburn recently wrote his posture is still very bad and is causing him to lose his release point. Hector Santiago has pitched great, but he’s facing the Royals who have the 10th highest OPS against lefties. Jordan Lyles has pitched very well in his last six starts, but he’s not as good as the 1.67 ERA and 1.09 WHIP would indicate. In those six starts he’s faced the Mariners, Rockies, Pirates, Angels and the Royals twice; not exactly the best offenses in the majors. Lyles doesn’t have overly impressive stuff, but has plus (on the scouting scale) command of the fastball (sits at 89-92 mph) and command of his other three pitches (change-up, slider and curveball). A profile like his is not a profile of a pitcher you want on your fantasy team because he doesn’t miss enough bats, and his performance from start to start are more difficult to predict.

Avoid

Rank

Name

Team

Opp.

ERA

K%

BB%

82

Aaron Harang

SEA

@LAA, OAK

5.59

22.1%

3.8%

83

Francisco Liriano

PIT

@CIN, @LAA

2.36

27.4%

9.5%

84

Josh Lindblom

TEX

OAK

5.89

21.3%

6.4%

85

Eric Stults

SD

@SF

3.27

16.6%

5.0%

86

Tim Lincecum

SF

MIA

4.69

23.4%

10.2%

87

Dillon Gee

NYM

@ATL, @PHI

4.84

19.8%

6.3%

88

Nick Tepesch

TEX

OAK, @STL

4.30

17.4%

5.9%

89

Chad Gaudin

SF

MIA

2.32

22.7%

8.5%

90

Stephen Fife

LAD

@SD

3.73

22.6%

7.5%

91

Joe Saunders

SEA

@LAA

4.80

12.4%

7.4%

92

Justin Grimm

TEX

OAK

5.58

18.0%

7.2%

93

Jorge De La Rosa

COL

@TOR, @WSH

3.49

16.1%

8.2%

94

Juan Nicasio

COL

@TOR

4.86

15.8%

8.4%

95

Wade Miley

ARI

CIN

4.89

16.9%

7.9%

96

Scott Feldman

CHC

@STL

3.22

17.8%

6.6%

97

Roberto Hernandez

TB

@NYY

4.91

20.7%

6.2%

98

R.A. Dickey

TOR

BAL

5.11

16.9%

9.3%

99

Chris Archer

TB

@BOS-2, @NYY

4.80

19.4%

13.4%

100

Jhoulys Chacin

COL

@WSH

4.52

15.0%

8.0%

101

Jonathan Pettibone

PHI

NYM

3.70

14.7%

7.9%

Additional Information: You may have noticed Matt Moore is not in my top 101. In his last nine starts he has a 6.38 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 12 percent walk rate and only a 14.7 percent strikeout rate. Those peripherals look like they belong to a fifth starter, not the best prospect in 2012 according to Baseball Prospectus. What’s most bothersome about Moore’s performance has been the decrease in his fastball velocity (two mph) compared to last year. I’m not starting him until he puts together a string of good starts.

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