Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings: Week 19

The matchups and statistical data were pulled Saturday morning. Please be aware the matchups are subject to change. The original post can be found at TTFB.

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 InformationEric 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.

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