Archives For 2 start pitchers

Dixon’s Picks: Waiver Wire Additions for the Week of May 13

Michael Dixon —  May 13, 2013 — Leave a comment
Photo courtesy of Mike LaChance.

Photo courtesy of Mike LaChance.

Welcome back to Dixon’s Picks! I hope that everyone had a good weekend.

This isn’t the best week when it comes to two-start guys. There aren’t many available guys out there going against two bad offenses this week. So, that means that you’ve gotta take some chances. But, that’s a big part of streaming anyway. So, let’s take a look at some guys to consider gambling on.

 

  • A.J. Griffin, Oakland Athletics — Probable Starts: Monday vs. Texas Rangers, Sunday vs. Kansas City Royals

I’ve been a fan of A.J. Griffin all year, so I guess there’s no reason that he shouldn’t be here. At first glance, his 3.83 ERA and 1.21 WHIP look decent, but probably not great. But he’s taken the mound seven times, recording five quality starts, and only one really bad outing, which came against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. To show you what one bad start can do this time of the year, Griffin’s ERA in his other six outings is 2.68, while his WHIP is 1.14. That looks much better.

As far as this week goes, I get some skepticism about starting him against the Rangers. That’s certainly a lineup that can produce a bad day. But if 2012 is any indicator, Oakland isn’t exactly Texas’ happy place. They hit only .212 in the Coliseum last year, hitting only five home runs. The fewest of any of any AL West stadium (in 2012). Oakland’s big dimensions hurt a lot of bats, and the Rangers’ potent lineup hasn’t been much different. Remember that while the 2013 Rangers are a good team, their pitching is a big reason why. Texas are currently hitting .263. They did lose Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, and Mike Napoli. So, in a pitcher’s park, they can be had.

The Royals are always an interesting team for me to include here. They are one of the better hitting teams in the league in terms of average, but are in the bottom-third of the MLB in scoring runs. So, I have no reason to believe that Griffin won’t do well against them, even if a few more guys get on base than you’d normally like.

There’s also one more bonus with Griffin. While he only gets one start next week, it comes against the Astros. So, you can count on a pretty good outing there, too.

Griffin’s Projections for the Week

IP ER H BB K W-L ERA WHIP
14 5 14 3 11 1-1 3.21 1.21

 

  • Jason Vargas, Los Angeles Angels — Probable Starts: Tuesday vs. Kansas City Royals, Sunday vs. Chicago White Sox

Much like Griffin, Jason Vargas is an old friend who I’ve written about more times than I care to count. You may be asking yourself a question. How in the world can I suggest throwing a guy who just had a rough outing against the Astros? Well, the two outings before were gems, and the one before that was not bad at all. Take a look, going in reverse chronological order.

Opponent IP H ER BB K
Baltimore Orioles 9 3 0 2 3
at Seattle Mariners 8 6 2 2 7
Texas Rangers 7 7 3 3 7

So yes, the outing against the Astros was bad, but I’m not giving up on a guy who came into that start really hot.The start against the Royals should be an interesting one. As we went over with Griffin, they get a lot of hits, but don’t score a lot of runs. Vargas gives up a lot of hits, but not a lot of runs. So, expect some stranded runners there.

As for the White Sox, they are a bottom two offensive team in just about every offensive category. Mind you, that’s not bottom two in the American League, but bottom two in all of baseball. Other than the Marlins, every team in the DH-free National League has scored more runs, gets on base more, etc. That’s amazing.

Heading into Angel Stadium, it’s hard to see those numbers going up too much. You have to play odds here and while the Astros defied those odds once against Vargas, don’t bet on it happening again. Make your own decision about the start against the Royals, but the White Sox are a pitcher-friendly opponent in 2013.

Vargas’ Projections for the Week

IP ER H BB K W-L ERA WHIP
13 5 12 5 11 1-0 3.46 1.30

 

  • Travis Wood, Chicago Cubs – Probable Starts: Monday vs. Colorado Rockies, Sunday vs. New York Mets

Do you know that Travis Wood enters this week with a WHIP under 1.00? Do you know that every one of his outings has been a quality start? This includes outings against the Brewers, Rangers, Reds (in Cincinnati), and Cardinals. Do you know that over the last two months of 2012, Wood had an ERA of 3.56, and a WHIP of 1.10?

Well, whether you knew it or not, it’s all true.

So, even though the Rockies have been pretty solid with the bats both at Coors Field and away from it, I feel alright with Wood against that lineup. Yes, they could make me eat those words, but their numbers were also aided by a really strong start to the season. Over the last few weeks, Colorado has normalized a little bit. You may not like the matchup, but I’m not scared of it.

I’m definitely not scared of the matchup against the Mets over the weekend. They have done a decent job scoring runs, but nothing more than that. Wood has done well against far better offenses this year. A red-hot pitcher should do just fine against that offense. Grab Wood and ride him until this hot streak ends. He’s still on an awful lot of waiver wires. Give him a roster spot — at least for the week.

Wood’s Projections for the Week

IP ER H BB K W-L ERA WHIP
14 4 11 4 11 2-0 2.57 1.07

 

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Dixon’s Picks: Waiver Wire Additions for the Week of May 7

Michael Dixon —  May 7, 2012 — 2 Comments

Braves vs. Diamondbacks

Welcome back to Dixon’s Picks, where we take a good look at some players to at least take a look at signing for the upcoming week of action.

As is always the case, an emphasis will be placed on pitching, but I will never completely neglect hitting.

Without further adieu, let’s take a look at some available players that promise to have a big week. I know that you would rather they have a big week for you than for someone else, so make it happen.

 

Carlos Zambrano – Pitcher, Miami Marlins

Projected Starts: Monday at Houston, Sunday vs. New York Mets

Big Z has been a strong arm this year, throwing a quality start in four of his five starts on the young season. Heck, even the one start that didn’t fall in that category was a six inning, four earned run affair at Cincinnati in his first outing; that is hardly getting shelled.

So, despite not having a win on the season, he enters the week with a 2.53 ERA and a WHIP of 1.19. I will take that any day of the week.

You could say that the first start of the week is something of a gamble. The Astros are hitting pretty well as a team right now, and Minute Maid Park is friendly to the hitter. Personally, I would take the gamble, as Zambrano is throwing well enough to justify it.

Sunday against the Mets is a much better bet. The Mets do get on base at a nice clip, but they have little to no power. As a result, they are one of the league’s worst scoring teams through the first month. Don’t look for that to change when they go on the road to the pitcher friendly Marlins Park.

As of this writing, Carlos Zambrano is available in over 90 percent of ESPN leagues. Going twice in the week in decent to good matchups, he’s worth adding.

Zambrano’s Projections for the week

    IP         H         BB         ER          W           K         ERA        WHIP    
    14    11      5      5       1     10     3.00     1.14

 

Erik Bedard – Pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates. Ross Detwiler – Pitcher, Washington Nationals

Projected Starts: Wednesday, vs. each other (at Washington)

With respects to Nash, we’re going to call this my own version of coupling. If only one of these players is available to you, then that person will be a solid pickup. But the greatest value will come if both are available. In that case, I suggest that you pick both up.

Each man is only throwing once this week. Obviously, between the two, you’re not going to get anything more than one win. But the Nationals and Pirates are two of the bottom offenses in the league. So, while you’re potentially losing one win when compared to what someone going twice will bring, the rest of the numbers are going to be solid.

This is the kind of game that we can completely expect to be in the 3-2 range. Combined, I am looking at these guys to bring a lot of value.

Erik Bedard will bring the strikeouts, while Ross Detwiler will be consistently around the plate, limiting walks.

On the young season, Detwiler has an ERA of 1.59 and a WHIP of 0.99, with 21 strikeouts in 28-and-one-thirds innings. Bedard’s WHIP is a little higher at 1.41, but his ERA is a stellar 2.65 with 37 strikeouts in 34 innings. We’re going to see a well pitched game in Washington on Wednesday. I’ll accept one possible fewer loss to have both pitchers going in a pitcher’s duel.

Bedard & Detwiler’s Combined Projections for the week

    IP         H         BB         ER          W           K         ERA        WHIP    
    16    10      5      4       1     15     2.25     0.94

 

Philip Humber – Pitcher, Chicago White Sox

Projected Starts: Monday at Cleveland, Sunday vs. Kansas City

The Chicago pitching rotation is going to be a little off base this week because it starts with a double-header, but they have a Thursday off day, which should normalize the rotation and give Philip Humber is second start of the week over the weekend.

Humber had a start last Thursday against the Indians. While he did struggle, he still struck out six hitters in six innings, while allowing only three runs. That is not a bad thing to have in your back pocket to get the week going. But the start I really like him in this week is over the weekend against the struggling Royals.

Kansas City is just not scoring runs this season, and Humber’s already shown us that he can work well against a slumping offense. No, I am not projecting a perfect game, but I am looking for a solid start.

The start in Cleveland may not be that great, but there’s every reason to believe that Humber will keep the damage down, at least in terms of who crosses the plate against him. Also, Humber has stuck out hitters at better than one per inning this year. At the very least, you know that one category will be filled up quite well.

Humber’s Projections for the week

    IP         H         BB         ER          W           K         ERA        WHIP    
    13     9      6      5       1     15     3.46     1.15

 

Chipper Jones – Third Baseman, Atlanta Braves

Monday-Wednesday: at Chicago Cubs. Friday-Sunday: at St. Louis Cardinals

Jones’ Projections for the week

Considering Chipper Jones plays a position that currently has three of its top players on the disabled list, I am guessing a lot of you are looking to fill some gaps right now at the hot corner. Jones is a future Hall of Famer and while his best days are behind him, he’s playing like a Hall of Famer right now.

Jones had three different three-hit games last week and managed a .429 average with seven runs, two homers, and nine RBI. You do need to realize that Chipper will probably have a day off or two, but when he’s in the lineup, the production is there.

The Braves offense is also clicking right now, as they are in the Top 10 in most major categories, first in baseball in runs scored, especially impressive for a National League team.

There will be no shortage of RBI chances for Chipper, and plenty of opportunities to score runs as well.

Jones’ Projections for the week

    H         AB          R         HR          RBI           SB         AVG     
     6      19      5      1        8       0     .316


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