Fantasy Baseball: Daily Pitcher Rankings (June 1st)

By Muntradamus

BEAST DOME NATION.

It is Friday, which means the most exciting day of baseball as all games start in the evening.  Hope you start the right guys, and feel free to leave any feedback on the bottom.  This article will be published everyday of the weekend.

ELITE STARTERS:

1. FELIPE PAULINO VS. OAK

When you start a sentence with, Paulino has not allowed an ER at home all season long.  That is a good reason to start him right away.  When he faces an Oakland team that does not have the same momentum they had earlier this month, that is even more of a reason not to start him.  Paulino is in for a very dominant start.

 

2. DAVID PRICE VS. BAL

Price owns a 1.19 home ERA this season, and is coming off of a huge start where he allowed only 1 ER to the Red Sox in Boston.  The game before that he allowed only 1 ER to the Braves at home.  Point is, Price is on point.  The O’s offense does have some firepower coming into this game, but they were just shutout by Brandon Morrow.  Adam Jones has a banged up wrist, and it will really be up to Mark Reynolds to come through.  He has 2 HR’s off of Price, and a .143 average.

 

GOOD STARTERS:

 

3. ADAM WAINWRIGHT @ NYM

Wainwright appears to have turned the corner with back-to-back superior starts.  They were not against great teams, but neither are the Mets.  Despite the roller coaster season, Wainwright has been pretty solid on the road all season with a 2.59 ERA.  His career ERA against the Mets is alarming at 6.75, but you have to expect Adam to get his game together.  No active Met has done any damage off of him, including David Wright who is 0/6.

 

4. CHRIS CAPUANO @ COL

Capuano is lucky to come into this start with no Troy Tulowitzki.  He faced the Rockies earlier this season in LA, allowed only 1 ER in 7 INN.  Carlos Gonzalez is 1/9 in his career against Chris, and only Michael Cuddyer has any success against Cap.  In Chris’s last 9 starts, only one of them has not been of quality.  It is safe to use him with confidence in this one, despite how hot the Rockies offense is.

 

5. WADE MILEY @ SD

Miley may be the biggest surprise this season.  6-1 with a 2.41 ERA is ELITE this deep into the season.  He could easily make it 7-1 as the Padres offense is one of the worst in baseball.  They are starting to pick up some momentum, but Miley owns a 1.55 ERA on the road so far this season.  This is a key performance to prove he is no fluke.

 

6. MADISON BUMGARNER VS. CHI

Bumgarner only got 1 W in the month of May.  He will look to switch that up quickly against a Cubs team where he owns a 2.03 ERA.  The Cubs offense does have some rhythm, but Bum is a pitcher that can change that in a hurry.  He owns a 4.33 ERA in his last 4 starts which is a bit worrisome, but the good news is no active Cub has hit a HR off of him.

 

7. STEPHEN STRASBURG VS. ATL

Stras struggled in his last start, and it so happened to come against the Braves where he allowed 4 ER in 5 INN.  In his career he has not been great against the Braves with a career 5.28 ERA.  The Braves offense is ready to hit everyday of the week, and even though Strasburg always will be elite.  He really is a bit risky.  Dan Uggla has been a Strasburg killer.

 

8. WEI-YIN CHEN @ TB

Chen has had QS’s in every games besides his one Inter-league performance.  Maybe the fact he had to hit threw off his entire day.  The Rays secretly cannot hit lefty pitching, and Chen will pose as a huge threat in this one since the Rays have never faced anything like him.  I expect a QS from Chen.

 

9. CC SABATHIA @ DET

Never is it an easy start when you have to go up against Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.  Especially when you see Miguel is 10/20 with 2 HRs against CC.  Prince does have a HR in only 6 ABs.  Sabathia does own a 4.46 ERA against the Tigers in his 33 career starts against them, but his last one he was great allowing 2 ER in 8 INN.  CC will have his hands full, especially coming into the game with a 4.61 ERA.

 

10. JOHAN SANTANA VS. STL

Don’t mess with the Johan.  When he is home this season, he owns a 1.60 ERA.  In his career he owns a 3.40 ERA against the Cardinals.  The Cards are one of the best hitting teams in the NL, but Santana may be one of the best pitchers in the NL.  Matt Holliday could be a big threat in this one, but if he limits him, he should get the job done.  Santana has not been super rock-solid against great teams.

 

11. FELIX HERNANDEZ @ CWS

No doubt, Hernandez can shutdown any team.  But when the match-up is not promising, I would stay away.  So far his road ERA is 4.31, and the White Sox may have the hottest offense in the AL right now.  In his last two road starts he owns a 8.91 ERA.  This is simply a trap door game for him to either fizzle, or show how dominant he is.  I see the worst of the two.

 

RISKY STARTERS:

 

12. HENDERSON ALVAREZ VS. BOS

In Henderson’s last 3 starts, he has allowed 28 hits in 17.1 INN.  The Sox offense is not the hottest it has been, but they are capable of going off any game.  Henderson has actually been better on the road than at home, so that 4.62 ERA will not help his cause.  However in his career he has pitched 12 INN to the Red Sox, he has only allowed 1 ER.  Big sleeper, with a lot of risk.  If Pedroia does not play, this start gets a lot easier.

 

13. CLAYTON RICHARD VS. AZ

Richard has had a QS in every home start this season.  His career ERA of 5.40 is not great against the Diamondbacks, neither is his 4.76 season ERA.  But he owns a 2.50 ERA at home, and is literally a different pitcher when that moment comes.  Paul Goldschmidt is heating up, but really Chris Young and Justin Upton are the only players with any success against Richard.  He could be a great sleeper for the day.

14. RANDY WOLF VS. PIT

Wolf is a streaky pitcher, and right now he is slowly starting to streak in the right direction with a 2.36 ERA in his last three home starts.  An easy match-up against the Pirates will boost his chances for a QS.  Pedro Alvarez has surprisingly owned Wolf in his career hitting .500 with 2 HRs in 6 ABs.  It will be key to not let players outside of Andrew McCutchen beat him.

 

15. DEREK LOWE VS. MIN

Lowe has already thrown a CG shutout against the Twins this season.  Only two weeks ago.  Lowe is coming off of his worst start of the season allowing 8 ER in 2.1 INN, but now he returns home where he owns a 1.38 ERA.  Lowe has pitched great all season, and as long as he can limit the middle of that Twins lineup.  He should be solid.  Josh Willingham does have 3 HR’s off of Lowe in his career.

 

16. JAKE PEAVY VS. SEA

When you think of Seattle, you think of a team that just scored 21 runs in their last game.  Against Derek Holland of all pitchers.  Jake Peavy has allowed 13 ER in his last two home starts.  So to count this game as an automatic easy start is far from the truth.  He owns a career 2.12 ERA against Seattle, but that did not stop the Mariners when Holland matched up against them with a similar ERA.  I would not pick Peavy with confidence.

 

17. KYLE KENDRICK VS. MIA

Kendrick is coming off of the best start in his career throwing a CG shutout against the Cardinals in St.Louis.  The Marlins offense is not a threat compared to the Cardinals, but Giancarlo Stanton and Hanley Ramirez are very hot.  It would be hard to imagine Kendick matching that success, though he does own a 1.22 ERA in his last three starts. Stanton, Ramirez, Sanchez, Reyes, and Morrison have all hit HR’s off of Kendrick.  This could be the game that snaps his streak.

 

18. J.A. HAPP VS. CIN

Happ was struggling all season before finally getting it together against three not so great teams in his last three starts.  He came away with a 1.49 ERA, including a 10 K performance in his last game against the Dodgers.  The Reds will be his toughest challenge in sometime, and Brandon Phillips is due for a monster game with a .556 average and 3 HRs against J.A.

 

19. MARK BUEHRLE @ PHI

The Phillies offense is starting to pick it up.  That is not a good line to start with when thinking about using Mark.  He has pitched well on the road this season with a 3.15 ERA.  He faced the Phillies earlier this season and allowed 3 ER in 6.1 INN.  A similar start is expected as his career ERA against the Phil’s is 4.88.  Ty Wigginton and Hunter Pence are threats to do some damage.  Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are heating up.

 

20. PAUL MAHOLM @ SF

Paul was pitching great this season, only to see him unravel against the White Sox and Cardinals.  He gained back some momentum with a good start against Pittsburgh, but it may not have been good enough to convince owners he is worth the start against the Giants on the road.  That 5.48 road ERA is not pretty, but luckily the Giants do not have a lot of options to do damage.

 

21. CARL PAVANO @ CLE

Pavano is facing the Indians at a good time.  Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner are out, and no player is playing at a standout level outside of maybe Michael Brantley.  In his career he owns a 3.08 ERA against the Indians in 11 starts, it is going to be up to Shin-Soo Choo to really be a spark plug.  Bruce Chen looked good against the Indians in the last game against them.

 

22. JOSH OUTMAN VS. LAD

Outman is making his first start of the season, and he is lucky to not see Matt Kemp in the middle of that order.  No Dodgers are very familiar with Josh, and their offense has seen much better days failing to do much against the Brewers.  Outman could be a huge sleeper for the day, but still not a pitcher who I would throw out there with any confidence.

 

23. JEROME WILLIAMS VS. TEX

Williams has been pitching pretty well this season, especially at home with a 2.08 ERA.  However his career ERA against Texas is 12.19.  No that is not a typo, and the last time he faced them back on May 11th, he gave up 6 ER in 6.2 INN.  It could have been worst with the 11 hits.  It would be hard to trust Jerome in this start, but if you are desperate for the W, you could give it a shot.  All active Rangers besides Elvis Andrus are hitting over .300 against Jerome.

 

24. CLAY BUCHHOLZ @ TOR

Clay is doing a little bit better this month with a 5.60 ERA.  But I expect that number to skyrocket up as he faces a hot Blue Jay team.  On the road Clay owns an 8.69 ERA, and although he has shutdown most of the Jay hitters in his career, I do not expect that trend to continue especially after them getting to Jason Hammel.

 

25. COLBY LEWIS @ LAA

Lewis is not facing the Angels at a good time.  Their offense is just about as elite as they come right now.  Albert Pujols is on, Mark Trumbo is on, Mike Trout is on, Kendrys Morales is heating up.  Lewis owns a 4.48 ERA against the Angels in his career, I expect to see that number come up.  Especially when you consider his last good start against an AL road team was back in April.

 

26. KEVIN CORREIA @ MIL

Kevin owns a 4.50 ERA on the road, and a 5.22 ERA against the Brewers in his career.  Kevin at times is good, but for the most part he is very inconsistent.  Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez have already hit Kevin hard in the past.  Braun is questionable coming into the game, but if he plays.  There is no way you can start Correia with confidence.

 

 

BAD STARTERS:

 

27. MIKE MINOR @ WAS

Minor has not had a QS since April 19th.  He has not even lasted 7 INN since that time.  Minor is simply getting bombed left and right, and now goes on the road to face Strasburg.  Minor just faced Washington in his last start, to allow 4 ER in 5 INN.  Danny Espinosa has his number, and although this could be a good time to sneak past them while their offense is not that hot.  It is still a bad decision to trust a pitcher who is struggling as much as Mike.

 

28. MIKE LEAKE @ HOU

Leake appeared to be a pitcher who was starting to get it together, only to fall short and allow 9 hits in 3.2 INN to the Rockies in his last start.  Earlier this season he had a similar start against the Astros allowing 7 Hits in 3.2 INN.  I would stay away from him despite the nice match-up.  Leake owns a 5.04 road ERA, and a 2-4 record against Houston.  Not promising at all.  Chris Johnson is a Leake killer.

 

29. BARTOLO COLON @ KC

Colon is not the same pitcher from April.  His May ERA was 7.92, and the Royals come into this game with momentum.  A lot of their bats are starting to come alive, and potentially Eric Hosmer is ready to breakout.  Colon owns a 4.92 ERA against the Royals in his career.  The Royals who have faced him more than 5 times, have solid numbers against him.  This is looking like a terrible start.

 

30. CASEY CROSBY VS. NYY

The Yankees offense is too hot for a rookie pitcher to try to come in and do any damage.  Luckily for Crosby he comes into the game where he is pitching at home, still there is little to be excited about.  This is simply an emergency start for Fister, that is going to end very poorly for Crosby.