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Two Start Pitchers :: Week 19
by Scott Mickels
Published: August 7, 2011, 10:15 am
 Since there are no Injury Watch's to speak of this week, I wanted to take the lead from a week ago and touch on a couple of moves that took place at the trade deadline after last week's article came out. The first I'd like to talk about is the Ubaldo Jimenez trade from the Colorado Rockies to the Cleveland Indians. The Indians admittedly gave up a ton to get him, but it's nice to see them acquire an ace for a change instead of shipping them out of town (Sabathia, Lee). From a fantasy perspective, however, the move does help Ubaldo's fantasy value at least a little bit. What this really comes down to is playing half his games at Coors Field versus facing 9-batter lineups every day in the American League, and the AL side wins out. I think we can all agree getting the heck out of Coors Field should do wonders for him, as his ERA at Coors stands at 5.55. He had an ERA of 2.93 outside of Colorado before the trade. His road ERA now stands at 3.8 due to his first start with Cleveland against Texas. However, I'm willing to give him a pass on his first outing with the Indians as pitching at the Ballpark in Arlington, which leads the league in average runs scored per game, isn't exactly the ideal place to debut for your new team. Things don't get much easier as the Tribe hosts the Tigers in his next start this Wednesday. On the plus side, he's already faced Detroit and Chicago earlier in the year during interleague play so he is familiar with the lineups of two big division rivals. He beat Detroit and threw a quality start against the White Sox. I don't foresee him returning to last year's form, but I can easily see him being a solid play for the rest of the season, especially with the motivation of playing for a contender.
 Next is the Erik Bedard trade from the Seattle Mariners to the Boston Red Sox. This move, on the other hand, hurts Bedard's fantasy value. He leaves the comfy confines of SafeCo Field, one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league, to Fenway Park, a place he has a career ERA of 6.99 and a WHIP of 1.84 in 28.1 innings of work. The Red Sox had originally planned to acquire someone like Bedard as a stop-gap until Clay Buchholz returns from injury. However, Buchholz's injury is far more serious than the Red Sox thought and are now counting on Bedard for the stretch run. His first start for the Red Sox was only his second since returning from the DL. He went 5 innings giving up 3 earned runs and striking out 5 in a no-decision against the Indians. Like his last outing, I expect Bedard to be fairly solid but not spectacular for the rest of the year. It remains to be seen how he will pitch in Fenway from here on out, but the silver lining is he does have a better supporting cast around him. He's not going to throw you a complete game shutout, but if he has two starts and the matchups are favorable, he could be useful in some leagues. Now, on to what we all came here for, the Two-Start Pitchers! Of course, if you have any pitching questions, or now any fantasy football questions, don't hesitate to email me with them at scottmickels@fantasyplaymakers.com. NOTE: These starts are not set in stone. They can change for any variety of reasons: managerial moves, injuries, rain-outs, etc. Please keep in mind they are probable.
AMERICAN LEAGUE NO-BRAINERSDan Haren, ANA: @ NYY, @ TOR
Justin Masterson, CLE: vs. DET, vs. MIN ADVISABLE OPTIONSDoug Fister, DET: @ CLE, @ BAL
Matt Harrison, TEX: vs. SEA, @ OAK
Jeremy Hellickson, TB: vs. KC, @ NYY OTHERS TO KEEP IN MIND
Scott Baker *, MIN: vs. BOS, @ CLE
Brett Cecil, TOR: vs. OAK, vs. ANA
Gavin Floyd, CHW: @ BAL, vs. KC
Jeremy Guthrie, BAL: vs. CHW, vs. DET
Rich Harden, OAK: @ TOR, vs. TEX
Phil Hughes, NYY: vs. ANA, vs. TB
Philip Humber, CHW: @ BAL, vs. KC
Guillermo Moscoso, OAK: vs. TB, vs. MIN
Josh Tomlin, CLE: vs. ANA, vs. KC
Tim Wakefield, BOS: @ MIN, @ SEA TRY TO AVOIDCharlie Furbush, SEA: @ TEX, vs. BOSINJURY WATCH
None NATIONAL LEAGUE NO-BRAINERSRoy Halladay, PHI: @ LA, vs. WAS
Daniel Hudson, ARI: vs. HOU, vs. NYM
Ryan Vogelsong, SF: vs. PIT, @ FLA ADVISABLE OPTIONSMatt Garza, CHC: vs. WAS, @ ATL
Hiroki Kuroda, LA: vs. PHI, vs. HOU
Shaun Marcum, MIL: @ STL, vs. PIT
Wandy Rodriguez, HOU: @ ARI, @ LA
Joe Saunders, ARI: @ SD, @ LA
Tim Stauffer, SD: @ NYM, @ CIN OTHERS TO KEEP IN MINDHomer Bailey, CIN: vs. COL, vs. SD
Edwin Jackson, STL: vs. MIL, vs. COL
Jeff Karstens, PIT: @ ATL, @ PHI
Charlie Morton, PIT: @ SF, @ MIL
Mike Pelfrey, NYM: vs. SD, @ ARI TRY TO AVOID Chris Capuano, NYM: vs. SD, @ ARI
Jason Hammel, COL: @ CIN, @ STL
Brad Hand, FLA: vs. ATL, vs. SF
Clay Hensley, SD: vs. ATL, vs. SF
Derek Lowe, ATL: @ FLA, vs. CHC
Jordan Lyles, HOU: @ ARI, @ LA
Jason Marquis, WAS: vs. HOU, vs. NYM
Esmil Rogers *, COL: @ CIN, @ STL
Chien-Ming Wang, WAS: @ CHC, @ PHI
Dontrelle Willis, CIN: vs. COL, vs. SDINJURY WATCHNone * = this pitcher's two-start status is questionable. Want to see which pitcher is more valuable? Try Fantasy Playmaker's IntelliStats!
 Scott Mickels, FPM Staff Writer/Editor, Member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, All-Around Nice Guy
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