Posts Tagged ‘Ian Kennedy’

2011 Two Start Pitchers – Week 5

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 23rd, 2011

Here is a look at the options for two start pitchers in week five of the major league baseball season, covering April 25 – May 1. With several rainouts on Friday, multiple teams have juggled their pitching rotation for next week which means pitchers that had two starts earlier this week are now one start pitchers. Be sure to check back here tonight and tomorrow for any updates

2 start pitchers week 5: the list below is focused on mixed leagues since in AL or NL only leagues in most cases you do not have the option to rotate starting pitchers with the smaller player pool. The pitchers below are listed in alphabetical order by team name per category.

American League:

Start them:

Jered Weaver (LAA) ~ OAK (Gonzalez), @TB (Davis)
Gio Gonzalez (OAK) ~ @LAA (Weaver), TEX (Harrison)
Felix Hernandez (SEA) ~ @DET (Coke), @BOS (Buchholz)

Roll the Dice:

Zach Britton (BAL) ~ BOS (Buchholz), @CWS (Floyd)
Clay Buchholz (BOS) ~ @BAL (Britton), SEA (Hernandez)
Gavin Floyd (CHW) ~ @NYY (Nova), BAL (Britton)
Justin Masterson (CLE) ~ KC (Hochevar), DET (Coke)
Phil Coke (DET) ~ SEA (Hernandez), @CLE (Masterson)
Luke Hochevar (KC) ~ @CLE (Masterson), MIN (Blackburn)
Nick Blackburn (MIN) ~ TB (Davis), @KC (Hochevar)
A.J. Burnett (NYY) ~ CWS (Humber), TOR (Drabek)
Wade Davis (TB) ~ @MIN (Blackburn), LAA (Weaver)
Matt Harrison (TEX) ~ TOR (TBD), @OAK (Gonzalez)
Colby Lewis (TEX) ~ TOR (Drabek), @OAK (Anderson)
Kyle Drabek (TOR) ~ @TEX (Lewis), @NYY (Burnett)

Coke’s walk to strikeout ratio at 10 to 9 is not what you want to see from your starting pitcher, but he has been able to limit the damage so far because batters are hitting only .208 against him. Buchholz is another pitcher struggling with his walk to strikeout ration in the early going at 14 to 10. Hopefully two starts against lesser offenses in the American League will get him back on track after facing New York and Texas in earlier outings. Hochevar is a contradiction in numbers with a 5.12 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Six home runs allowed in 31 2/3 innings has spiked the first number.  Lewis has been homer prone as well in his three starts with five dingers allowed in 17 innings. That should normalize over his next few starts.

Sit Them:

Phil Humber (CHW) ~ @NYY (Nova), BAL (Arrietta)
Ivan Nova (NYY) ~ CHW (Floyd), TOR (TBD)

Humber has dropped his last two starts although he has not pitched too bad. He has a tough start in his first outing next week at New York. Nova has been unable to translate his success from spring training into his starts in 2011 and should remain benched for now.

National League:

Start them:

Ricky Nolasco (FLA) ~ LAD (Garland), @CIN (Arroyo)
Cliff Lee (PHI) ~ @ARI (Kennedy), NYM (Young)
Jaime Garcia (STL) ~ @HOU (Norris), @ATL (Lowe)
Matt Cain (SF) ~ @PIT (Morton), @WAS (TBD)

Roll the Dice:

Derek Lowe (ATL) ~ @SD (Moseley), STL (Garcia)
Ian Kennedy (AZ) ~ PHI (Lee), CHC (Russell)
Daniel Hudson (AZ) ~ PHI (Oswalt), CHC (Garza)
Matt Garza (CHC) ~ COL (Rogers), @ARI (Hudson)
Bronson Arroyo (CIN) ~ @MIL (Estrada), FLA (Nolasco)
Bud Norris (HOU) ~ STL (Garcia), MIL (Estrada)
Jon Garland (LAD) ~ @FLA (Nolasco), SD (Moseley)
Marco Estrada (MIL) ~ CIN (Arroyo), @HOU (Norris)
Chris Young (NYM) ~ @WAS (Zimmermann), @PHI (Lee)
Dustin Moseley (SD) ~ ATL (Lowe), @LAD (Garland)
Jordan Zimmermann (WAS) ~ NYM (Young), SF (Cain)
John Lannan (WAS) ~ @PIT (Maholm), SF (Sanchez)

Hudson’s control has been off so far in 2011 with 12 walks in 24 1/3 innings compared to only 16 walks in 79 2/3 innings with Arizona last season. Lannan has also been struggling with is control with nine walks in 21 innings. He has two starts against average offenses next week. Dickey  has shown the problem with owning knuckleball pitchers is their lack of control with so much movement on the pitch. His 14 walks in 26 1/3 innings is a big reason his WHIP is 1.59.

Sit Them:

James Russell (CHC) ~ COL (De La Rosa), @ARI (Kennedy)
Esmil Rogers (COL) ~ @CHI (Garza), PIT (Morton)
Paul Maholm (PIT) ~ WAS (Lannan), @COL (Jimenez)
Charlie Morton (PIT) ~ SF (Cain), @COL (Rogers)

Yes, the overall numbers look good so far from Morton at a high level, but with a suppressed home run rate and more walks than strikeouts, some bad outings lie ahead. Having his second start at Colorado will not help matters. Rogers has been good in his two road starts but was blown up in his start at Coors Field earlier this season.

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2010 Two Start Pitchers – Week 8

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 22nd, 2010

Here is a complete look at the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers for week 8. Obviously the top tier pitchers are going to be left in your line up, but here is a look at some of the more border line pitchers for mixed league starts and who they face in those starts.

Two-start pitchers week 8: remember again that the list below is more focused on mixed leagues since in AL or NL only leagues in most cases you do not have the option to rotate too many starting pitchers with the smaller player pool. The pitchers below are listed in alphabetical order by team name per category.

American League:

Start them:

Jon Lester (BOS)  – @TB (Shields), KC (Meche)
Clay Buchholz (BOS)  – @TB (Davis), KC (Greinke)
John Danks (CHW)  – @CLE (Masterson), @TB (Davis)
Dallas Braden (OAK)  – @BAL (Guthrie), @DET (Porcello)
James Shields (TB)  – BOS (Lester), CHW (Peavy)
Wade Davis (TB)  – BOS (Buchholz), CHW (Danks)

Roll the Dice:

Jeremy Guthrie (BAL)  – OAK (Braden), @TOR (Cecil)
Jake Peavy (CHW)  – @CLE (Talbot), @TB (Shields)
Justin Masterson (CLE)  – CHW (Danks), @NYY (Burnett)
Joe Saunders (LAA)  – TOR (Cecil), SEA (Hernandez)
Scott Baker (MIN)  – NYY (Burnett), TEX (Wilson)
A.J. Burnett (NYY)  – @MIN (Baker), CLE (Masterson)
Brett Cecil (TOR)  – @ANA (Saunders), BAL (Guthrie)

Peavy has already thrown twice against Cleveland this year, allowing five runs in 12 1/3 innings. He struggled in his lone start against Tampa Bay, giving up six runs in six innings and five walks. Guthrie has won two of his last three starts while allowing five runs in 20 2/3 innings. Saunders overall numbers don’t look great, but he has allowed only two runs in his last 22 1/3 innings and pitched well against Seattle and Toronto in his two starts earlier this season.

Sit Them:

Gil Meche (KC)  – TEX (Harden), @BOS (Lester)

National League:

Start them:

Ian Kennedy (AZ)  – @COL (Chacin), @SF (Wellemeyer)
Mike Leake (CIN)  – PIT (Maholm), HOU (Paulino)
Jon Garland (SD)  – STL (Garcia), WAS (Hernandez)
Jaime Garcia (STL)  – @SD (Garland), @CHC (Gorzelanny)
Livan Hernandez (WAS)  – @SF (Wellemeyer), @SD (Garland)

Roll the Dice:

Tom Gorzelanny (CHC)  – LAD (Ortiz), STL (Garcia)
Aaron Harang (CIN)  – PIT (Burres), HOU (Norris)
Jhoulys Chacin (COL)  – ARI (Kennedy), LAD (Ortiz)
Anibal Sanchez (FLA)  – ATL (Kawakami), PHI (Moyer)
Randy Wolf (MIL)  – HOU (Paulino), NYM (Dickey)
Jamie Moyer (PHI)  – @NYM (Dickey), @FLA (Sanchez)

Sanchez has quietly been on a roll since mid April, running off six starts with two runs allowed or less in each of them. Moyer is on pace to give up 40 home runs this season, but his Maddux-like control has kept his WHIP ratio close to one. He allowed five runs in starts against New York and Florida earlier this season, although those were both at home.

Sit Them:

Kenshin Kawakami (ATL)  – @FLA (Sanchez), PIT (Maholm)
Felipe Paulino (HOU)  – @MIL (Wolf), @CIN (Leake)
Ramon Ortiz (LAD)  – @CHC (Gorzelanny), @COL (Chacin)
R.A. Dickey (NYM)  – PHI (Moyer), @MIL (Wolf)
Brian Burres (PIT)  – @CIN (Harang), @ATL (Medlen)
Paul Maholm (PIT)  – @CIN (Leake), @ATL (Kawakami)
Todd Wellemeyer (SF)  – WAS (Hernandez), ARI (Kennedy)

Wellemeyer may be pulled from the rotation in favor of either Madison Bumgarner or Eric Hacker so his two-start week is in jeopardy.

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2010 Waiver Wire – Week 2

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 10th, 2010

Here is a look at some of the players to target for pick up in week 2 of your fantasy baseball season.

12 / 15 team mixed league:

OF – John Bowker / Jim Edmonds – both look to be in platoon roles with their respective clubs although as both are left-handed hitters, they will see the majority of the at bats. Each has some power upside so if your team is short in projected home runs, either one would be worth grabbing.

SP – Ian Kennedy – looked like the real deal in his first start and minor league numbers support the foundation for success going forward.

SP – Gio Gonzalez – has always had the stuff to dominate and pile up strikeouts but control had always been an issue. If he is able to consistently duplicate his delivery like his first start, he could turn out to be a great pick up.

SP – C.J. Wilson – I believe for now; decent mix of pitches combined with the right mindset and a decent offense behind him leads me to believe he can win 13-14 games this year.

American League Only:

SS – Julio Lugo – depending on how long Brian Roberts is out, Lugo should get a chance to see extended playing time.

RP – Jim Johnson – Mike Gonzalez has been vunerable early in the season for the Baltimore Orioles. Johnson is a good handcuff if you own Gonzalez.

National League Only:

2B – Omar Infante - it was only a matter of time until Chipper Jones pulled up lame.

2B / 3B Jeff Keppinger – looks like he will see time at a variety of infield positions for the Houston Astros. Has 11 at bats already this week.

SS/3B/OF - Jerry Hairston Jr. – versatility means he will see a decent amount of at bats this week and chip in a few stolen bases. Has 10 at bats so far in week 1.

OF – Tyler Colvin – after his good start in spring training and with the Chicago Cubs offense not hot out of the gate, Lou Pinella has to give Colvin some extra player time, in addition to being able to justify keeping him in the major leagues and not stalling his development.

C – Miguel Olivo – depending on the number of catchers you need on your roster, Olivo has been getting equal time with Chris Ianetta.

SP - Rodrigo Lopez - had a successful first start and the move to National League should help his strikeout numbers.

RP – Sean Marshall – Lou Pinella seems to like him too much in the bullpen to give him a shot as a starter unless there are injuries, but I think he could have some success if he gets the opportunity. Worth stashing if you have quite a few reserve spots in your roster.

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The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 7th, 2010

New season, but same story as last year for Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he struggled with his control and was unable to make it through five innings. Kershaw allowed 11 runners in 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts, while throwing 50 balls and 59 strikes. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Jim Edmonds got the start again in right field over Corey Hart and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

John Bowker hit his first home run of the season and looks good-to-go against right-handed pitching.

Russell Martin, who was dropped down to the 8th spot with Matt Kemp moving up to second, hit his first home run of the season.

Colby Rasmus stole a base but more importantly drew two walks on Wednesday. It seems in the early going he has improved his plate discipline from last season and could be headed for a very good season.

Reid Brignac got the start at second base for Tampa Bay and went 2-for-3 with a run scored. It looks like he could be sharing time at second base with Sean Rodriguez.

Vernon Wells went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four runs scored, giving him three home runs on the season.

The two question marks in the Minnesota Twins line up have answered the bell so far as Justin Morneau and J.J. Hardy both belted their second home runs of the season.

It was a bad night at the plate for Troy Glaus and Kyle Blanks as both sluggers went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.

Pitchers:

Ryan Dempster allowed one run in six innings with nine strikeouts in a no-decision against the Atlanta Braves. He was on top of his game Wednesday, getting seven ground ball outs and only two flyouts.

Matt Garza went eight string innings, allowing one run and racking up nine strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season. It looks like he is carrying over his jump in strikeout rate from 2009.

There was some good and some bad in Fausto Carmona’s start Wednesday as he only allowed one hit, but walked six batters against only one strikeout in six innings while picking up the win.

Max Scherzer’s first start in the American League went well with one hit allowed in six scoreless innings with three strikeouts in a no decision.

I got a chance to watch the start of Ian Kennedy against San Diego and I liked what I saw. His fastball was in the 88-90 range, but he showed a real nice change up recording a couple of strikeouts with the pitch. He also showed a good ability to locate his pitches on both sides of the plate to hitters. His only mistake was a 3-2 pitch that Scott Hairston hit for a three-run home run. It was the only runs Kennedy allowed in five innings while issuing no walks and eight strikeouts.

Closers:

Ryan Madson collected a four out save to nail down the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 win over the Washington Nationals

Jason Frasor was much better in his second save opportunity, working a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts.

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2010 Arizona Diamondbacks Team Preview

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 19th, 2010

This is the fourth part our series of 2010 fantasy baseball team previews looking at the National League West. The team previews will include the projected batting order, projected rotation, rookies that could make an impact in 2010 as well as each players current ADP for a 15 team mixed fantasy baseball league.

2010 Arizona Diamondbacks Projected Batting Order:

1.  SS Stephen Drew (ADP 109)
2.  LF Conor Jackson (ADP 299)
3.  RF Justin Upton (ADP 24)
4.  1B Adam LaRoche (ADP 169)
5.  3B Mark Reynolds (ADP 18 )
6.  C Miguel Montero (ADP 143)
7.  2B Kelly Johnson (ADP 272)
8.  CF Chris Young (ADP 306)

2010 Arizona Diamondbacks Projected Rotation & Bullpen:

1.  Dan Haren (ADP 41)
2.  Edwin Jackson (ADP 168)
3.  Brandon Webb (ADP 145)
4.  Ian Kennedy (ADP 422)
5.  Billy Buckner / Kevin Mulvey (ADP ND / ND)

Closer – Chad Qualls (ADP 209)
Handcuff – Bob Howry

2010 Arizona Diamondbacks Prospects with potential impact this year:

1.  Brandon Allen  – 1B


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