2 Start Pitchers

Baseball - 2 Start Pitchers

We're a month into the season, and things are starting to shake out vs. who's got it, and who's not.  This article is about pitching, but I'm still shocked by Albert Pujols and his incredibly sloooooooow start.  I thought about putting a few extra o's in there, but figured the point was made.  He's said himself that "it's how finish", and I still believe he turns his season around.  I'm going to start organizing a Sabremetrics article, but let's look at his BABIP vs. Batting Average.  Over his illustrious career, this is the first time his BABIP is higher than his batting average... which is to say... with a BAIP of .226 his Batting Avg of .194 is expected to increase.  .226 is not great, mind you, but keep in mind, this is still Albert... have patience.

Pitching is still shaking out a little bit, but hitters are much more definitive.  27 games for hitters vs. 5 starts for pitchers.

Oh wait, this article is about pitching... Jarrod Parker is the other big name to start following.  He was a 2 start pitcher until just recently, but he deserves a blurb since this guy looks to be a future stud.  He's faced a pair of Sox (Red & White), and he is holding a 1.38 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP.  His first start was impressive against the White Sox in the friendly confines of Oakland, but the real test was away against a potent Red Sox lineup.  This week he starts vs. Toronto, and he's worth a pickup going forward to anchor your SPs.

Read more: 2 Start Pitchers - Week of 5/7

Baseball - 2 Start Pitchers

From Philip Humber one week to Jair Jurrjens with his demotion in this past week.  I still believe that Jair will come back to form, so when he returns to the big leagues, keep an eye on him.  It's a bit of a late update this week, but was celebrating a good friend's wedding, and that ate up a lot of travel + celebration time...

Alright, now onto the week's picks.

Trevor Cahill: He's had a solid season so far with one bad start against the Phillies, but if you're using in him in spot starts, you can cherry pick his starts, and this week I like his matchups vs. the Nationals & the Mets.  He's away in both parks, and that's what you should look for because Chase Field is basically Coors Field Light... see what I did there... Cahill is too good not to be owned in < 50% of leagues, and he'll continue to shine in spot starts all season.

Read more: 2 Start Pitchers - Week of 4/30

Baseball - 2 Start Pitchers

I should quit while I'm ahead... if you read last week's article, you saw me pick Philip Humber.  I will say this: I'm not going to guarantee perfect games, but it's just a healthy side effect of using this strategy.  I will be tracking my progress as the weeks go by.  My 1st week was good, but the second week with Humber, Gee, and somewhat Bedard helped my stat line improve.

Total Stats
Week #	W	K	ERA	WHIP	K/9
Week 1	2	20	2.23	0.94	4.46
Week 2	4	44	1.89	0.89	5.94

Wins are hard to come by when you're picking sleeper starters, but the combination of all the pitchers I have picked has WHIP/ERA comparable to Roy Halladay so far this year.

Roy Halladay

3

19

1.50

0.90

5.70

The perfect game helps, but showing all these stats is to not brag about my picks so far (although, that doesn't hurt either), but it's to show the validity of the strategy.  Normally, I try to keep 2-3 spots open to pick spot starts to boost your pitching stats just *that* much to give you an extra edge over your opponents.

Alright, now onto this week's picks.

Read more: 2 Start Pitchers - Week of 4/23

Baseball - 2 Start Pitchers

Alright, we're now a full week into the MLB season, but I'll stress this.... if your ERA is over 4, don't panic yet.  Baseball is a marathon, and not a sprint.  For example, Cole Hamels had a bad start vs. the Marlins off the start, but is rebounding nicely vs. the Mets.  Greinke also got blasted this week, but that is not a trend that I will expect to continue.

As a recap, this article will look at 2 Start pitchers that you can use in spot starts to gain an advantage of your opponent.  Last week, I had gone with Trevor Cahill, Henderson Alvarez, and Tom Milone.  As the weeks go by, I'll be tracking the success (or failure) of my picks.

Erik Bedard: Let's start off with the classic "I get no run support" case.  Erik Bedard has started off with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP facing off against Roy Halladay & Chad Billingsley where the Pirates' hitters have gathered a grand total of 1 run of support in his 12 innings pitched.  This week he faces Joe Saunders & Kyle Lohse, and the Pirates' bats can't stay cold forever.

Read more: 2 Start Pitchers - Week of 4/16