Fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings for week 19

Yu Darvish throws a pitch. — Will Yu Darvish deliver in the postseason? (Jim Cowsert/USA TODAY Sports)

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	Yu Darvish	TEX	SEA, @HOU	2.72	32.7%	8.5%
2	Adam Wainwright	STL	@CHC, PIT	2.66	22.6%	3.0%
3	Max Scherzer	DET	KC, @CWS	2.84	28.9%	5.8%
4	Madison Bumgarner	SF	@MIA, @WSH	2.75	24.7%	7.4%
5	Chris Sale	CWS	@MIN, DET	2.77	26.6%	5.8%
6	Cole Hamels	PHI	LAD, @ATL	3.81	21.1%	6.2%
7	Doug Fister	DET	KC, @CWS	3.50	18.4%	4.2%
8	Homer Bailey	CIN	@MIL, @CHC	3.73	24.2%	5.4%
9	Julio Teheran	ATL	WSH, PHI	2.96	21.3%	5.3%
10	Mat Latos	CIN	@MIL, @CHC	3.21	23.3%	7.4%
11	Hiroki Kuroda	NYY	@BOS, LAA	2.45	17.7%	4.8%
12	Gio Gonzalez	WSH	@ATL, SF	3.52	24.4%	9.3%
13	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@PHI	1.91	25.0%	5.6%
14	Matt Harvey	NYM	@LAD	2.09	29.3%	4.8%
15	Jered Weaver	LAA	@NYY	2.90	18.7%	5.8%
16	David Price	TB	SEA	3.37	19.1%	3.2%
17	Stephen Strasburg	WSH	@ATL	3.02	25.7%	7.6%
18	Cliff Lee	PHI	LAD	3.13	23.4%	4.0%
19	Felix Hernandez	SEA	@TEX	2.39	25.7%	4.9%
20	Mike Minor	ATL	WSH	2.76	23.1%	5.2%
21	Jose Fernandez	MIA	@KC	2.58	27.0%	8.9%
22	Justin Verlander	DET	KC-2	3.74	22.4%	8.6%
23	Ervin Santana	KC	MIA	2.97	19.1%	5.4%
24	Shelby Miller	STL	PIT	2.89	26.8%	7.1%

Additional Information: Cole Hamels has quietly been extremely effective. In his past 12 starts, he has a 2.85 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 21.6 percent strikeout rate and 4.6 percent walk rate. The Washington Nationals have the lowest OPS against left-handed pitching in the majors (.643 OPS), which bodes well for Mike Minor owners this week. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch Shelby Miller is healing nicely and will most likely be ready to make his scheduled start against the Pirates. After a rough patch in June, Miller has returned to form with a 2.78 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 24.2 percent strike out rate. Backend Starters

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
25	Danny Salazar	CLE	@OAK, @MIN	3.28	33.3%	3.9%
26	Bartolo Colon	OAK	CLE, HOU	2.75	13.3%	4.0%
27	Scott Feldman	BAL	COL, @ARI	4.10	16.9%	6.6%
28	Matt Cain	SF	@MIA	4.47	22.2%	7.7%
29	Anibal Sanchez	DET	KC	2.58	27.0%	7.6%
30	A.J. Burnett	PIT	ARI	2.73	26.2%	8.9%
31	Jordan Zimmermann	WSH	SF	3.10	18.6%	4.7%
32	Matt Garza	TEX	MIL	3.09	19.0%	5.8%
33	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	NYM	2.99	20.3%	7.2%
34	C.J. Wilson	LAA	@NYY	3.49	21.6%	8.7%
35	Lance Lynn	STL	PIT	3.78	22.4%	8.3%
36	Derek Holland	TEX	SEA	3.02	22.6%	6.8%
37	John Lackey	BOS	NYY	3.21	22.5%	5.2%
38	Zack Greinke	LAD	@PHI	3.40	18.6%	6.9%
39	Joe Kelly	STL	@CHC	2.99	16.3%	8.5%
40	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	@TB	2.75	21.8%	4.4%
41	Rick Porcello	DET	@CWS	4.28	17.0%	4.8%
42	Jarrod Parker	OAK	HOU	4.02	15.6%	8.5%
43	Alex Wood	ATL	WSH	3.21	25.9%	8.2%
44	Jake Peavy	BOS	@TOR	4.14	22.1%	5.1%
45	James Shields	KC	@DET-2	3.36	19.6%	7.3%

Additional Information: Danny Salazar has electric stuff. His fastball sits in the mid 90s and can touch 100 mph. Most importantly, according to Jason Parks at Baseball Prospectus, Salazar can “dial it up and dial it down, depending on the situation,” which indicates he’s a pitcher and not a thrower. Salazar features a change-up and slider to go along with his near elite fastball. The change-up is the better secondary pitch right now, but both pitches are good enough to keep batters from sitting on the fastball. He should be owned in all formats. Interesting factoid: Jarrod Parker has not lost a game since May 22. In his last 10 starts, Derek Holland has a 2.92 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 22.1 percent strikeout rate and 7.5 percent walk rate. If Holland can reduce his walk rate two or three percentage points, he can be a top 10 starting pitcher. Spot Starters

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
46	Ivan Nova	NYY	LAA	3.08	21.8%	6.8%
47	Ricky Nolasco	LAD	@PHI, NYM	3.65	19.2%	5.9%
48	Tony Cingrani	CIN	@MIL	3.05	29.0%	10.4%
49	Chris Archer	TB	TOR, SEA	2.71	16.9%	9.4%
50	Francisco Liriano	PIT	@STL	2.02	24.2%	9.6%
51	Jeff Samardzija	CHC	CIN	4.23	24.0%	9.0%
52	Ryan Dempster	BOS	NYY, @TOR	4.67	21.2%	10.3%
53	Felix Doubront	BOS	NYY	3.56	21.1%	9.6%
54	Chris Tillman	BAL	@ARI	3.89	18.8%	8.6%
55	Jeremy Hefner	NYM	@SD	4.22	17.6%	6.1%
56	Wei-Yin Chen	BAL	COL	2.95	15.5%	6.4%
57	Kris Medlen	ATL	PHI	3.85	18.1%	6.0%
58	Brandon Beachy	ATL	PHI	9.00	12.5%	4.2%
59	Dillon Gee	NYM	@LAD	3.82	17.0%	6.2%
60	Alexi Ogando	TEX	MIL	3.28	16.3%	9.9%
61	Wade Miley	ARI	@PIT, BAL	3.56	17.9%	8.3%
62	Kyle Lohse	MIL	CIN	3.23	15.2%	3.9%
63	Bud Norris	BAL	COL	3.78	17.5%	8.0%
64	Brandon McCarthy	ARI	@PIT	4.94	14.1%	4.2%
65	Mike Leake	CIN	@MIL	2.94	14.8%	5.9%

Additional Information: Since coming off the DL, Ivan Nova has a 2.04 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 23.6 percent strikeout rate and 6.4 walk rate in eight starts. What’s remarkable is he’s put these numbers up against the Orioles twice, Tigers, Rangers and the Tampa Rays twice. If Nova has another strong start, he’s a possible top 20 starting pitcher moving forward. There are 26 pitchers with at least 13 starts and an ERA under three. One of those pitchers is Wei-Yin Chen. Chen has a great matchup with the Rockies this week, but his ERA is a mirage as he doesn’t miss enough bats to maintain a 79 percent LOB (left on-base) rate. In his last 13 starts, Jeff Samardzija has a 5.47 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. With a .364 BABIP suggests he’s been extremely unlucky during this stretch, but overall his command has not been as sharp as it was at the beginning of the year. Proceed With Caution

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
69	Patrick Corbin	ARI	BAL	2.34	20.7%	6.1%
70	Travis Wood	CHC	STL, CIN	3.04	17.7%	8.5%
71	CC Sabathia	NYY	@BOS, LAA	4.73	19.5%	5.6%
72	Jose Quintana	CWS	@MIN	3.51	18.9%	6.9%
73	Zack Wheeler	NYM	@SD	3.73	18.3%	12.5%
74	Jeff Locke	PIT	ARI	2.47	18.1%	11.3%
75	Gerrit Cole	PIT	@STL	3.95	17.7%	5.7%
76	A.J. Griffin	OAK	CLE	3.91	19.6%	5.3%
77	Jacob Turner	MIA	@KC	2.68	16.2%	7.9%
78	Eric Stults	SD	NYM, @COL	3.50	15.4%	4.8%
79	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	@CHC	3.62	13.3%	4.3%
80	Wily Peralta	MIL	CIN	4.42	15.0%	9.0%
81	Samuel Deduno	MIN	CWS, CLE	3.38	13.5%	8.9%
82	Jon Lester	BOS	@TOR	4.37	20.1%	7.6%
83	Jeremy Hellickson	TB	TOR	4.77	18.9%	6.4%
84	Zeke Spruill	ARI	@PIT	6.51	21.1%	7.9%
85	Hector Santiago	CWS	@MIN, DET	3.43	24.1%	10.6%
86	Phil Hughes	NYY	LAA	4.86	19.0%	6.9%
87	Roberto Hernandez	TB	SEA	4.75	17.3%	5.2%

Additional Information: Eric Stults is an extremely difficult decision for fantasy owners in weekly leagues. At home this year, he has a 2.37 ERA and 0.93 WHIP while on the road he has a 4.64 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. In his last five starts, Jeff Locke has a 3.38 ERA despite a 1.57 WHIP and 13.2 walk rate. Eventually, Locke’s luck is going to run out. Gerrit Cole has a strikeout rate of 22 percent and a 6.7 percent walk rate; that’s a profile of a back-of-the-rotation fantasy starter. On paper, it looks like a tough matchup against the Cardinals, but since the All-Star Break, the Cardinals offense has struggled; they are only 19th in the majors in OPS. Avoid

Rank	Name	Team	Opp.	ERA	K%	BB%
88	Dan Haren	WSH	SF	5.14	19.4%	4.1%
89	Bruce Chen	KC	@DET, MIA	1.79	17.8%	6.4%
90	Dan Straily	OAK	CLE, @TOR	4.41	19.0%	7.4%
91	Danny Duffy	KC	@DET-2	4.86	36.8%	10.5%
92	Randall Delgado	ARI	BAL	3.48	18.0%	4.5%
93	Ian Kennedy	SD	NYM	5.13	19.9%	9.1%
94	Tim Lincecum	SF	@WSH	4.18	25.1%	8.9%
95	Henderson Alvarez	MIA	SF	2.80	12.8%	5.6%
96	Ubaldo Jimenez	CLE	@OAK	4.18	21.5%	12.1%
97	R.A. Dickey	TOR	@TB	4.49	17.6%	8.0%
98	Ryan Vogelsong	SF	@WSH	7.19	16.4%	7.4%
99	Scott Kazmir	CLE	@MIN	3.89	20.9%	7.7%
100	Charlie Morton	PIT	ARI, @STL	3.88	17.9%	5.0%
101	Erasmo Ramirez	SEA	@TEX	7.26	18.7%	7.5%

Additional Information: I never thought I would ever rate Bruce Chen ahead of Tim Lincecum in any type of starting pitcher rankings, but it honestly wasn’t even close. I’ve always been a believer in Danny Duffy and it looks as though his stuff is almost back, especially his fastball velocity. He should be owned in all formats. In his last six starts, Dan Haren has a 2.43 ERA, 0.92 WHIP. 26.9 percent strikeout rate and 5.5 walk rate. I’m still not a believer, but he’s a sneaky stream option against of the worst offenses in the majors in the Giants.