Tag: Mat Latos

Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

Ah, it’s good to be back…

Last Night Rewind

  • Keep an eye on Ryan Kalish in deeper leagues heading in to next season. Kalish has shown the ability to hit and is working on adjustments to the big-league game. He hit another grand slam last night and stole two bases, giving him three in his short stint. Kalish is likely to stick at this point heading in to 2011, and could be seen as a 20-20 player as early as next season.
  • Corey Hart finds himself on a recent tear, going eight for his last 25. In that stretch, he has knocked four home runs, including two last night. His numbers have fallen from the .288 he was hitting before the break to only .260 afterwards, but he certainly is hitting the ball well right now. At this point, it’s all about the streaks.
  • Madison Bumgarner recorded another road win last night, his fifth of the season. He has yet to win at home, but has pitched well outside of San Francisco. Of late, he has been solid. Bumgarner has worked seven innings in three of his last five starts, and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of five.
  • Mat Latos was scratched from his start on Monday, following a battle with the flu that kept him away from the team on Sunday. Latos lobbied to pitch, but the Padres were looking to be cautious overall with their young pitcher. Latos is expected to be fine, and is looking to get the start tonight for the Padres.
  • The loss of Josh Hamilton cannot be understated for both fantasy owners, and the Rangers. His injury did not look like much at the time, but a rib injury is what has sidelined Jacoby Ellsbury for the bulk of the season. Hamilton seems to be prone to maladies in general, and that makes him a hard selection. It looks like both David Murphy and Julio Borbon will see extra at-bats as a result of losing Hamilton.

Tuesday Notes

  • You might say that CC Sabathia has owned the Orioles this season. Sabathia is 4-0 in four starts against them this season with a 2.73 ERA. The one slight issue has been the home run. Sabathia has surrendered four in 29.2 innings. Nothing overwhelming from the Orioles, but you may see them start Nolan Reimold (he is back!) tonight, as Reimols is 6-for-14 against Sabathia liftime.
  • Jason Bartlett and B.J. Upton have struggled against Daisuke Matsuzaka. Upton is only 1-for-13, whlie Bartlett has recorded just three hits in 19 at-bats against him. Other than these two, there are no real concerns from the players you would have in your normal lineup. Matsuzaka has allowed seven runs on 12 hits, and eight walks in 11 innings against the Rays this season.
  • Justin Verlander has been dominant at home this season, posting a 9-3 record in 13 starts, while allowing batters to hit just .230 against him. Paul Konerko is only 4-for-34 against him lifetime while Mark Teahen is just 4-for-29 with 13 strikeouts. Big winner is the .333 of A.J. Pierzynski, who adds three home runs to the mix. Carlos Quentin checks in at .300 as well.
  • It is nice to see that Freddy Garcia is 2-0 against Detroit this season, but he had a setback over the week that delayed his last start. The back issue has lingered, but he anticipates being able to make his next start tonight against the Tigers. Despite the wins, he has allowed six home runs in 24.2 innings, and has an ERA over 4.00 against them in 2010.
  • While I would look to avoid Jose Lopez against Dallas Braden, Chone Figgins has shown good numbers at 8-for-19 against him. Ichiro Suzuki checks in at .294, and even Franklin Gutierrez is 4-for-9 against the Oakland pitcher. Braden has allowed only two earned runs in two starts over 16 innings against Seattle this year.
  • Clayton Kershaw is 2-0 against San Diego this season, allowing only two runs on 10 hits and four walks in 14.1 innings pitched against them. Adrian Gonzalez has ugly numbers against him, going only 3-for-22. Ryan Ludwick is not much better with only two hits in 12 at-bats. The best bet is Scott Hairston at 5-for-12 or Miguel Tejada at 4-for-9.
  • Tim Linececum is just 1-5 in his last six starts and is just 0-1 in three starts against the Diamondbacks this year. He has allowed 11 runs in 19 innings against them on 19 hits. The numbers are not exactly pretty from a team perspective, but Justin Upton has hit .321 against him lifetime. Otherwise, despite the numbers this year, leave your Diamondbacks on the bench where you can.
  • Both Ryan Braun and Craig Counsell are hitting better than .400 against Kyle Lohse. Braun is 7-for-17 while Counsell checks in at 10-for-22. Lohse has had ugly numbers in three of his last four outings and has allowed 23 earned runs in his last 16.2 innings of work.
  • Chris Volstad has had some ugly outings against the Phillies this year. He is 0-1 in three starts with a 5.63 ERA in that stretch. That translates to nine walks and 23 hits in 16 innings pitched. Only red flags for the Phillies are the 1-for-17 of Jayson Werth, and the 4-for-21 of Shane Victorino. Everyone else is good otherwise. Raul Ibanez, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard all check in at better than .400 against him.
  • Spot Starts: Figueroa, Blanton, Chacin

Wednesday Notes

  • J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell have ugly numbers against Matt Garza. Both have at least 22 at-bat,s and neither cracks .160 against him. Look to use Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez, as both hit better than .300 against him. David Ortiz is only a .250 hitter, but does have three home runs in 28 at bats. Garza is 2-1 against Boston in five starts, but does have a 4.11 ERA.
  • Dan Uggla has certainly had his issues with Cole Hamels. Uggla is just 5-for-32 against him lifetime with 11 strikeouts. Hanley Ramirez has hit just .256 in 39 at-bats with 11 strikeouts as well. Hamels has been solid of late, not allowing an earned run over his last two starts in 15 innings of work.
  • Barry Zito has been hit hard by both Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew. Reynolds may only be hovering near .200 this season, but he is 8-for-17 with three home runs against Zito. Drew checks in at .345 in 29 at-bats. These two have by far the best numbers against the lefty. Zito is just 2-7 on the road this season with a 5.07 ERA.
  • Chad Billingsley is 2-1 against the Padres this season, giving up only three runs in 19.1 innings of work. The numbers have not been great for the Padres overall against him. Adrian Gonzalez is just a .233 hitter in 43 at-bats. Only Miguel Tejada and Yorvit Torrealba have numbers worth starting in any format.
  • Nothing good to report for the Tigers against John Danks. Ryan Raburn is 1-for-13, while Jhonny Peralta is only 6-for-29 and Brandon Inge is 4-for-18. Danks is 6-3 on the road this season and already has recorded a good win against the Tigers.
  • Spot Starts: Hudson, Wells, Duensing

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB: The San Diego Padres Have Lost Their Firm Grip on the NL West

The Padres have been leading the NL West for virtually the whole season. Recently, a week or so ago they extended their lead to 6.5 games over the Giants. 

At this point, the team showed no signs of slowing down. Their pitching was still magnificent and their hitting was getting it done. 

The Padres also seemed to show no signs of having a major weakness, even though they didn’t have a major strong point besides their pitching staff. 

It has surprised me, as a San Francisco Giants fan, that the Padres entire pitching staff has been so successful though. 

Garland? Richard? LeBlanc? Correia? Everyone of these guys has had an average to above average year so far. But how have they continued this success throughout the whole year? Well it may be the teams that they have been playing, and their schedule having a big part of it because they were a last-place team last season.

Their ace, Mat Latos, this season is a rookie. He has been absolutely outstanding the entire season. He has the poise of a veteran out there on the mound, but you have to remember that he is still a rookie. Down the stretch he may falter a bit, but we will have to see.

So what are the reasons for this Padres losing streak? 

Well since the Padres do not have a prolific scoring attack in their arsenal, they rely almost entirely on their pitching. There are exceptions though. Since the Padres have been playing teams with mediocre or worse pitching staffs almost all season, they can still win without a perfect pitching performance.

But now that the Friars schedule has started to get harder, they are faltering a bit. They have been playing small ball all year long, and this has worked when playing weaker teams and by pitching well. How many times have you seen them score on sacrifice flies, RBI groundouts, or heads-up plays? 

Too many to count. That has been a main part of their offense, but things are changing. They can’t play small ball if their pitching fails them against the Phillies or Cardinals, and the Padres don’t have enough of a scoring threat to overcome large deficits.

Once in a while it may happen, but their home ballpark isn’t Coors Field, where all you need is a broom and a whiffle ball to hit one out. They are playing in a pitchers’ friendly ballpark where comebacks are scarce.

They can still overcome this losing streak and win the West, but there is a long road ahead of them.

They have to fend off the pesky Colorado Rockies first, who are slowly creeping up in the standings. Then the Giants come in town for a four-game series on Thursday. This will be a huge part of the season for both teams.

The Giants are now only two games back in the division, and are gradually building momentum, while the Padres have hit a brick wall. 

The Padres have to dig deep to stay in first place and reach the postseason, but with their lack of experience how will they do down the stretch? 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Rookie Pitcher Keepers for 2011: Mat Latos is a Must!

2010 has blessed Major League Baseball with a memorable rookie class.

Fantasy owners in Dynasty and Keeper leagues were quite familiar with this cast of characters long before they arrived in the show.

In commemoration of their foresight, let’s take a gander at the top 10 pitching keepers for 2011.

Check out our Positional Rookie List too!

Begin Slideshow


Delmon Young, Carlos Gonzalez and 10 MLB MVPs No One Is Talking About

With the 2010 Major League Baseball season nearing the final six weeks of action, it’s time to take a quick glance at 10 worthy Most Valuable Player candidates that no one is talking about.

And from Delmon Young, to Carlos Gonzales, to a handful of other overlooked stars in the majors this season, we’re going to be counting down the 10 MLB MVPs no one is talking about.

As a side note, let me mention that for “fairness reasons,” I have decided to include five players from the National League and five from the American League, breaking it down by a majority of overlooked batters and one or two under-the-radar pitchers that deserve mention in the MVP category.

So, without further ado, let’s begin…

Begin Slideshow


Top 5 Reasons Why the San Diego Padres are at the Top of Their Game

This year, the San Diego Padres have taken the West by storm and it’s no secret that they are at the top of their game.

The Padres have constructed a team that include good, young arms, contact hitters, and a well managed front-office.

Bud Black has been nothing more than stellar when it comes to game day and has showed off the potential of his squad. Combine that with power hitting in Adrian Gonzalez, and young pitching in Mat Latos, and your team will go a long ways.

Begin Slideshow


Chicago Cubs: Bullpen Blows Save for a 5-3 Loss To San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are simply too strong for the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs could not avoid the sweep by the NL West leaders Thursday afternoon.  Once again, their bullpen sank and a careless defensive play in the seventh inning put them down 5-3 in the series finale.

Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs’ starter, did not have a stellar performance.  However, he managed to limit the Padres to one run and four hits in six innings.  Even though he walked far too many battersgiving six Padres free passes to first basehe got out of his jams, stranding runners one inning after another.

Well…except in the second, when the Padres took a 1-0 lead. 

He issued back-to-back walks to Yorvit Torrealba and Will Venable.  Chris Denorfia followed and loaded the bases with a single to shortstop.  One out later, Jerry Hairston, Jr. hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Torrealba from third.

The Cubs scored two runs off Mat Latos in the sixth for a 2-1 lead, the first time they had a lead in this series.  Lead-off man Kosuke Fukudome singled and scored on Marlon Byrd’s line-drive double to left field.  Aramis Ramirez also doubled to left field to drive in Byrd. 

The lead did not last long.  The following inning hurt the Cubs.  The Padres scored four runs with help from the careless Cubs’ defense.

Left-handed reliever Sean Marshall was brought in to try to protect the Cubs’ one-run lead.  But he walked lead-off batter Miguel Tejada and gave up a single to Adrian Gonzalez.  Ryan Ludwick tied the game with an RBI single that brought Tejada home. 

Chase Headley followed with another single to load the bases.  One out later, Venable hit a single to score Gonzalez and Ludwick.

Then with Headley on third and Venable on second, Chris Denorfia hit a ground ball to third baseman Aramis Ramirez.  Headley tried to head home, but he was tagged out on a 5-2-5 rundown.  Having already reached third on the play, Venable caught the Cubs off guard.  Seeing no Cub covering home plate, he hustled home and scored before the late relay arrived.

Marshall (6-4), who had not given up a run in the month of August, blew the save and took the loss.

On the other hand, Padres starter Latos (13-5) tossed seven innings, giving up two runs with 10 strikeouts and one walk for the Padres, who improve their season record to a National League-best 73-47.  They sit six games over the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West.

The Cubs got a consolation run in the bottom of ninth.  Alfonso Soriano scored on Blake DeWitt’s two-out single.  But Heath Bell struck out Koyie Hill, the potential game-tying run, to end the game for his 37th save of the year.

NOTE: The Cubs recalled outfielder Sam Fuld from Triple-A Iowa Thursday.  He pinch-hit in the sixth inning.

The article is also featured on www.sportshaze.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


NL West Showdown: The Padres and Giants Ready for a Late-Season Battle

The NL West hasn’t gone the way most of the “experts” thought it would. The team leading the division, the San Diego Padres, was expected to be the bottom feeder, while the predicted leader, the Los Angeles Dodgers, sits in third place seven games back.

That sets up for a showdown in the bay area this coming weekend between the first place San Diego Padres and the second place San Francisco Giants who are just two and a half games back. The two teams have met eight times this season with the Padres coming out victorious in seven of those games.

Giants’ right-hander Jonathan Sanchez has already thrown down the gauntlet in a recent comment to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle saying, “We’re going to play San Diego, and we’re going to beat them three times. If we get to first place, we’re not going to look back.”

The only problem with the comment from Sanchez was the fact that he was confident in the first part then questionable in the second part. First, it was “we’re going to beat San Diego,” but then said “if we get to first place.” Why not go all the way and say “when we get to first place?”

When Shea asked Sanchez about the Giants losing seven of eight to the Padres so far this year Sanchez responded, “That was a long time ago. Doesn’t matter. We’ve got a better team now.” While he wasn’t quite as colorful as Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips calling the St. Louis Cardinals “little b******,” it still gives the weekend series a different feel than early on in the year.

 

Tale of the tape:

Pitching:

San Diego Padres – 3.26 ERA

San Francisco Giants – 3.44 ERA

Analysis: The San Diego Padres have been towards the top of the NL West all season long. Much to the chagrin of a lot of “experts” who picked them to finish last. The biggest reason for their success is their pitching staff. Not only their starters but also the guys out of the bullpen.

Adding Jon Garland, a veteran that knows what it takes to get to the World Series, was a good off season acquisition, but adding a young and talented right-hander in Mat Latos behind him makes for a solid one-two punch in the rotation. Not only have those two guys been getting it done but guys like left-hander Clayton Richard, right-hander Kevin Correia, and young left-hander Wade LeBlanc have stepped up at the right time to provide solid outings.

As for the Giants, they also boast one of the best rotations in baseball with guys like Tim Linecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez, not to mention Barry Zito, all of which have ERA’s below 3.60 with Matt Cain leading the way at 3.06.

The problem this team has had in years passed was the failure of their bullpen to hold a late inning lead. They seemed to have fixed that with guys like Brian Wilson (2.19), Sergio Romo (2.18), Javier Lopez (2.51), and Santiago Casilla (2.32). It give the starters confidence to turn the ball over to them when the game is on the line instead of worrying whether or not the lead would hold. 

 

Offense:

San Francisco Giants – .261 average

San Diego Padres – .250 average

Analysis: There’s no secret when it comes to the struggles of the San Diego Padres as far as scoring runs. Sometimes, pitchers can hold an opposing team to a single run and end up losing the game 1-0. General manager Jed Hoyer is hoping that the addition of both Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick will help some of those issues and give their pitchers more runs to work with.

Outside of those two, the Padres have been getting better than expected production from Jerry Hairston Jr. and as expected production from Adrian Gonzalez. However, having David Eckstein out of the lineup for an extended period has definitely hurt the team. They are hoping to have him back by this weekend.

As for the Giants, they have become a better offensive team but still lack that one big bat that general manager Brian Sabean really wanted. They attempted to acquire Adam Dunn from Washington as well as Corey Hart from Milwaukee but were unable to get a deal done for either player.

What they did get came from inside their own system. After trading away catcher Benji Molina, it gave them the opportunity to call up Buster Posey who has since surprised even the Giants with his performance. Posey played in just seven games for San Francisco in 2009, hitting .118 and striking out four times in 17 at bats. This season however, something must have clicked because the young catcher is hitting .345 with eight home runs and 42 runs batted in.

 

Padres will take the series if…

They can score early on the Giants’ starters. The longer they go, the stronger they seem to get. Get to their pitchers early and get into their bullpen.

They can go into the late innings with the lead and hand it to their bullpen.

Giants will take the series if…

They are patient and take pitches. The Padre pitchers will attempt to get ahead and early but wait them out and they will make a mistake.

Their pitchers can keep Ryan Ludwick from becoming a factor. His bat has started to heat up and that’s the last thing they want to see.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez Has a Prediction for the San Diego Padres

The National League West isn’t known for its rivalries in the same manner as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees feud.

However, San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez is doing his best to change that.

After the Giants lost 6-3 to the Atlanta Braves Sunday that extended San Diego’s division lead to two games, Sanchez fired some heavy words in a tall statement.

“We’re going to play San Diego, and we’re going to beat them three times,” Sanchez told The San Francisco Chronicle, speaking of a potential sweep this weekend in a pivotal series against the Padres. “If we get to first place, we’re not going to look back.”

What about the fact the Padres have won seven out of eight games against the Giants this year?

“That was a long time ago,” Sanchez said. “Doesn’t matter. We’ve got a better team now.”

The prediction came on the same day Sanchez couldn’t pitch himself into the fifth inning, surrendering four runs in four innings against the Atlanta Braves.

Sanchez has pitched well against the Padres this season. In three starts and 21 innings of work, Sanchez has allowed six runs and 11 hits, but he hasn’t produced a win.

Mat Latos can be thanked for that.

Latos has out-dueled Sanchez in all three outings. In 22 innings against the Giants, Latos has surrendered just two runs and 11 hits.

Guess what?

Both pitchers were on the hill Sunday, which could result in another face-off this weekend in San Francisco.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Fantasy Baseball & Sabermterics: How To Use BABIP To Win Your League

In fantasy baseball, we use statistics all day, everyday. But a surprisingly high number of managers tend to ignore some fundamental statistics generated by the Society for Baseball Research. Get to know a new Sabermetric each week in this new series. This week we’re looking at BABIP.

 

B atting A verage on B alls In P lay = (Hits – Home Runs) / (At Bats – Strikeouts – Home Runs + Sacrifice Flies)

 

The purpose of B atting A verage on B alls In P lay, BABIP, is to add a luck factor which can be used when evaluating players previous production. BABIP is a ratio of plate appearances to the numbers of balls put into play. The result is a ratio similar to batting average. However, it is measured on a scale which removes home runs and strikeouts. By removing home runs and strikeouts, BABIP measures the numbers of times which a hit fell when a defender had the opportunity to make a play on it.  If we agree that defenders will get to balls at the same rate over the long run, then BABIP shows us how lucky or unlucky a player is based on their deviation from the mean.

 

This statistic can be used with both pitchers and hitters, but it has been found to be much more useful in regards to pitching. For hitters, BABIP can be influenced by skill much more than luck.  A hitter has the ability to run out infield singles and shoot gaps to influence BABIP. But in the case of a pitcher who faces many different hitters, BABIP will fall gravitate to a mean. Research has found that the mean for BABIP is around .300 and the conclusion can be drawn that anyone with a higher BABIP is unlucky (lucky/good for hitters) .. .lower than .300 and you’re lucky (unlucky/bad for hitters).

When evaluating pitching, BABIP can be used to explain other statistics like standard ERA and WHIP. A high BABIP is generally a sign that a pitcher will improve upon their previous production. The higher BABIP means that more hits are falling which have a negative impact on ERA and WHIP. But we expect BABIP to be around .300. and in order for that to take place, we expect a regression to bring the average to the mean. So to get to .300, there will be a period of low BABIP to account for the higher BABIP in the past.

 

Lets look at some examples

 

How bad was Mike Pelfrey in July? Well, to go along with his 10.01 ERA, Pelfrey put up a insane BABIP of .482! Seriously, half of the balls which were put into play fell for base hits. There is no way that a rate like that could ever keep going. Even with his amazing start, his BABIP is .342 for the year, so we should expect improvement to finish the season off. But keep in mind that Pelfrey has a career BABIP higher than .300, so it may not be a serious improvement.

 

On the flip side of BABIP this year is Mat Latos . He has put together a very strong year so far and his BABIP is down to .234. Again, we should expect this rate to trend towards the mean. So should we expect Latos to have a severe downswing?  No … but we should not expect him to keep up the same rates he’s produced so far. We should expect his rates to increase from where they are today.  If the numbers don’t increase … he’s a lucky man.

One last thing to take into account when evaluating BABIP is the defense behind the pitcher.  Earlier I stated that we need to work with the assumption that defenders will get to balls at the same rate over the long run. However, it is safe to assume that pitchers for teams with good defense have a lower BABIP than a pitcher who is on a team with bad defense. So take that into account when looking at numbers that haven’t deviated far from the mean. Use the entire teams BABIP and compare that with the pitchers BABIP to adjust your assumptions.

 

For fantasy purposes, BABIP is a great tool to use to gauge some hidden value. It can be used to sell high or buy low. On draft day, use BABIP to discount a break out season or to justify an upcoming rebound year. In our game we need all the help we can get, if you’re not using BABIP, you’re not seeing the whole picture.

 

Written by James Weston exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. You can follow him on Twitter  @TheRealJamesA .

Who are some other BABIP extremists?  
Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on twitter@TheFantasyFix

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Fantasy Baseball Forecast: Week 18

THE NUMBERS GAME
 
Start ‘Em :

Jorge Cantu (89 percent) : Start him, or if you can, pick him up and then start him. He is only owned in 89 percent of leagues and most recently trending downward. He’s going ot be streaking up soon. He will be entering one of the hitter-friendliest parks in the bigs as well as one of the most hitter-friendly lineups in the bigs. This week Texas faces Seattle and Oakland. Cantu’s career numbers against both teams: In over 150 at bats Jorge is hitting .297 with four home runs. He doesn’t have great career power numbers against these teams, yet he has hit for an average almost 25 points above his total career numbers and with the devastating lineup around him his RBI chances will skyrocket.

Josh Willingham (89 percent) : Just like Jorge, start ‘em if ya got ‘em. Josh has phenomenal numbers at Chase Field (.333 AVG, .360 OBP, .964 OPS through 48ABs) one of the league’s better hitter’s parks. The start of August ushers in Josh’s historically best month for home run hitting (1 HR/20 AB vs. a career 1 HR/ 24 AB w/o Aug.) and second-best month for batting average (.280 avg. vs. a career avg. .261 w/o Aug, nearly 20 points higher).

Rajai Davis (69 percent):   His speed is great but when you account for his great career hitting numbers against KC and at home, he makes more of a complete fantasy impact.  Career numbers against KC: .366 AVG. with an OBP of .451. If he can keep raking at this pace his potential for swipes could jump this upcoming week. After KC he plays at home where he plays against Texas, hitting a .314 clip against them this year, nearly 40 points above this year’s numbers. You also have to take into account that Rajai has a career post all-star average 50 points higher than before the Midsummer Classic, as well as an OPS that’s over 140 points higher. His hot pace continues with 11 hits in his last 33 at bats and five stolen bases as well over the course of the last 15 games.

 

Sit ‘Em:

David Wright: Against both the Braves and Phillies this year, David Wright is hitting a pathetic .163 through 49 at bats with only two home runs.  His average at Citizens Bank is 46 points below his career average. His average against the three Braves starting pitchers is .247 through 73 at bats. His news facing the Phillies isn’t much better. He’ll be facing the murderer’s row of pitching: Oswalt, Hamels, and Halladay. His career against these pitchers is a little better, .269, but has only one home run in 52 at bats. His recent cold streak should help increase the uneasiness too. Through his last 15 games he’s hitting .216 with a .585 OPS, ouch!

Matt Kemp:   One out of every three hits against the Padres for Matt Kemp is a home run. The bad thing is, that’s through 26 at bats.  The Padres are holding Matt Kemp to a weak .192 average this season.  The 4 starters that he will face are holding him down to an even worse .184 avg.

Carl Crawford:   Against the Blue Jays this year he’s hitting .226 in 31 at bats. He’s also hitting .250 for his career against the starting pitchers that he’ll face up against. Crawford has also been a victim of poor hitting lately. He has a .217 average and .577 OPS through his last 15 games played. (Insert America’s Funniest Home Video ball-to-crotch punch line here.)
 

Two-Start Pitchers:

Travis Wood (15.1 percent) :   Start this rookie sensation. His first start is at the cavernous PNC park, the fourth-worst park for home runs. Pitching against that Pirate lineup should raise a brow or two as well. Pittsburgh is hitting a weak .248 against lefty pitching. Start No. 2 for Travis Wood takes place in Chicago against the under achieving Cubs. There’s obviously not much history with this rookie against the Cubs, however he did have a great outing earlier on, giving up two runs off of two hits in seven innings.

Mat Latos:   Here’s another good two-start young phenom for this upcoming week. First he starts at Dodger Stadium against a team that he worked over pretty well earlier on in the season. As well, Latos holds lefties in check to a .188 BAA, neutralizing the better hitters of LA’s lineup (Xavier Paul, Andre Ethier, James Loney). Latos likes to minimize the home run threat with his great GB/FB ratio of .93.  His second start comes against the D-backs in the desert. Arizona’s average against righties is bad enough for 22nd at .252.  Adding to the potential for fantastic fantasy numbers for Latos is Arizona’s horrible strikeout rate. They lead baseball with 708 strikeouts against righties. Next closest…Florida with 632.  Expect a lot of whiffs for Latos.

 
Other Lesser-Known Two-Start SPs To Consider:

Clayton Richard (30.5 percent) – Same opponents as Latos above and always potential for a big game.

Randy Wells (9 percent) – This guy is on fire through his last three starts.  He has only allowed only three earned runs in 19.2 innings in the last three starts.

Written by James Bryce exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com .

Agree or Disagree with James? Leave a comment or reply to us on Twitter @TheFantasyFix

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