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Two Start Pitchers :: Week 16 by Scott Mickels Published: July 28, 2012, 8:47 pm
We've got a couple of things to get to this week. We start things off with an Injury Watch, and for this we head down to the Lone Star state to talk about the Rangers' Roy Oswalt. Oswalt, who has a long history of back problems, is once again dealing with tightness in his lower back. He was scratched from his last start last Monday because of the soreness. Since then he returned to Houston to see his back specialist and received a cortisone injection. He also threw a 50-pitch bullpen session before Friday's game without any setbacks. The Rangers had him slated to start on Sunday, but elected to give him one more day of rest and now have him starting on Monday against the Angels. Oswalt had been pitching rather effectively before his back flared up. His ERA (5.22) and WHIP (1.67) are rather pedestrian, but he is 3-1 and has given up no more than one earned run in 3 of his 5 starts this season. He'll look to continue pitching effectively on Monday as it seems to be a safe bet he'll make his next start. Consider Oswalt a slightly risky yet advisable option going into Week 16.
I also wanted to touch on the Oakland A's Tommy Milone. He might still be available in your league, although he's getting picked up quick. For the second week in a row the article focuses on an A's pitcher. Not to mention, A. J. Griffin is one of my Mick's Picks this week on the podcast. But you'll have to listen to that to get the low-down on Griffin. As for Milone, the rookie out of Southern Cal has pitched fantastic this season. He's 9-7 on the year with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He's also very fond of pitching in the friendly confines of Oakland Coliseum as evidenced by his 5-1 record, his minuscule 0.91 ERA and the fact hitters are only hitting .184 against him. And wouldn't you know it, both of his starts this week just happen to be at home as the A's host the Rays and Blue Jays. If Milone is still hanging around on your league's wire, go get him as he makes an advisable option in all standard leagues.
Good luck to your fantasy teams! Now, on to what we all came here for, the Two-Start Pitchers!
Of course, if you have any pitching questions, don’t hesitate to email me with them at scottmickels@fantasyplaymakers.com. Also, don’t forget to check out Mick’s Fantasy Podcast! It goes hand-in-hand with this article!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 LEAGUENO-BRAINERSDavid Price, TB: @ OAK, vs. BAL Jered Weaver, ANA: @ TEX, @ CHW
ADVISABLE OPTIONSClay Buchholz, BOS: vs. DET, vs. MIN A. J. Griffin, OAK: vs. TB, vs. TOR Tommy Milone, OAK: vs. TB, vs. TOR Max Scherzer, DET: @ BOS, vs. CLE
OTHERS TO KEEP IN MINDJosh Beckett, BOS: vs. DET, vs. MIN Freddy Garcia, NYY: vs. BAL, vs. SEA Luke Hochevar, KC: vs. CLE, vs. TEX Derek Holland, TEX: vs. ANA, @ KC Aaron Laffey, TOR: @ SEA, @ OAK Jose Quintana, CHW: @ MIN, vs. ANA
TRY TO AVOIDNick Blackburn, MIN: vs. CHW, @ BOS Cole De Vries, MIN: vs. CHW, @ BOS Miguel Gonzalez, BAL: @ NYY, @ TB Hiashi Iwakuma *, SEA: vs. TOR, @ NYY Derek Lowe, CLE: @ KC, @ DET Ervin Santana, ANA: @ TEX, @ CHW
INJURY WATCHRoy Oswalt, TEX: vs. ANA, @
NATIONAL LEAGUENO-BRAINERSMadison Bumgarner, SF: vs. NYM, @ COL Cliff Lee, PHI: @ WAS, vs. ARI Stephen Strasburg, WAS: vs. PHI, vs. MIA
ADVISABLE OPTIONSHomer Bailey, CIN: vs. SD, vs. PIT Mark Buehrle, MIA: @ ATL, @ WAS Tommy Hanson, ATL: vs. MIA, vs. HOU Aaron Harang, LA: vs. ARI, vs. CHC Tim Lincecum, SF: vs. NYM, @ COL Kyle Lohse, STL: @ COL, vs. MIL Edison Volquez, CIN: @ CIN, vs. NYM
OTHERS TO KEEP IN MINDErik Bedard, PIT: @ CHC, @ CIN Trevor Cahill, ARI: @ LA, @ PHI Marco Estrada, MIL: vs. HOU, @ STL Matt Harvey, NYM: @ SF, @ SD Mike Leake, CIN: vs. SD, vs. PIT Jason Marquis, SD: @ CIN, vs. NYM Ricky Nolasco, MIA: @ ATL, @ WAS
TRY TO AVOIDJeff Francis, COL: vs. STL, vs. SF Jair Jurrjens, ATL: vs. MIA, vs. HOU Bud Norris, HOU: @ MIL, @ ATL Drew Pomeranz, COL: vs. STL, vs. SF
INJURY 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 Support FPM! You can send your questions and comments to Scott at scottmickels@fantasyplaymakers.com |
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