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Fantasy Baseball: Two-Start Pitchers for the Week of May 22
May 19, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Brad Peacock (41) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
It's that time of the week when we look to give you some fantasy baseball advice!
Last week I went over the top two-start pitchers to target with certain caveats, those being that each player mentioned was owned in no more than 50% of ESPN fantasy baseball leagues. That's it. That's the stipulation. This week I look to help out once more.
In that post I drew attention to a number of names, from Wade Miley and Eduardo Rodriguez as options in a few leagues, to Chase Anderson and Zack Godley as the main two to target under our criteria. Well, Anderson was a bit of a bust after lasting just 5 1/3 against San Diego, allowing four runs on six hits and striking out five.
Godley on the other hand was superb at home against the Mets. He went 6 2/3 innings, struck out seven, and allowed just a single earned run on one hit. The one downside was that he also walked five batters, bringing his WHIP up a bit for the outing, but keeping it just below one. He is scheduled for his second start today, and he is now owned in 28.8% of fantasy baseball leagues–up 26.4% from this time last week.
Another starter that was mentioned in last week's post was Ty Blach, who is also slated to start on Sunday. In his first outing of the week against the Dodgers at home, Blach went seven innings, had a WHIP of 1.00, allowed one run and struck out four. Blach isn't a strikeout pitcher by any means, but he could help lower your ERA to close out the week and earn you a couple of victories in two different categories. That said, this is Blach's second road start of the season and the first one did not go so well against a then red-hot Reds team, when he gave up eight earned in three innings. If you're willing to take a chance on him, he's going to be available in your league.
As for this week, here are some names that caught my eye.
Phillies
Apr 10, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff (48) throws a pitch during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Jerad Eickhoff, Philadelphia Phillies – 23.0%
There is a lot not to like about Jerad Eickhoff this week, starting with his Monday opponent. The Phillies welcome in the Colorado Rockies for a four-game set, and they have been obliterating the ball this weekend against the Reds, scoring 20 runs in their first two games. Perhaps they'll be all tuckered out once they reach Philly on Monday?
Eickhoff has a 6.46 ERA this month, allowing 11 runs in 15 1/3 innings. He has also struck out 15 batters in that time, or just ever so slightly under one per inning. And that's where he fits on our board. The Rockies have the fourth-worst strikeout rate on the road (25.00%) and for the season Eickhoff has a K/9 of 8.47.
For what it's worth, his ERA is also just over 4.00 at home this season with two excellent outings and one that was a stinker. Eickhoff is definitely a risk, but he also has a start against the Reds who have one of the worst run-producing road offenses in baseball. I'm not going to say that Eickhoff is a must-add, but he is definitely an intriguing option to consider.
Brad Peacock, Houston Astros – 1.9%
This is how slim the pickings are this week. Peacock is set to make his first start of the season after appearing out of the bullpen all year, but it comes in a favorable matchup against the Detroit Tigers who rank seventh-worst in strikeout percentage at 24.1%.
For the season Peacock has made 12 appearances totaling 16 1/3 innings pitched and has struck out 22, good for a K/9 rate of 12.12.
Whether this is a one-off start or if Peacock will make his second start of the season later in the week depends upon how well Monday's start goes. Thus far this season his high pitch total is 39, which covered all of two innings. To expect a quality start out of Peacock would be asking a bit much unless he is extremely efficient with his pitch count. My guess is that he'll hover somewhere around a 70 pitch limit, which could be good for four or five innings. If he can keep the Tigers from pouncing on him and provide your fantasy team with five or six strikeouts, that's a decent add.
May 6, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesse Hahn (left) and catcher Stephen Vogt (right) look towards the bullpen during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Christian Bergman, Seattle Mariners – 0.6%
Bergman has made all of three starts this season due to the numerous injuries plaguing the Mariner pitching staff. In those starts Bergman has accumulated a 2.25 ERA, striking out 12 in 16 innings.
While the numbers look good, this isn't quite the time to pick him up. Nine of those 12 strikeouts came in his last outing against the free-swinging Oakland Athletics, and his Tuesday night matchup is on the road against the Washington Nationals and their ever-so-potent lineup. The Nats also rank in the lower-third of strikeout victims at 20.5%. I'd stay away from Bergman this week.
More from Call to the Pen
Jesse Hahn, Oakland Athletics – 21.0%
Like most of the A's pitching staff, Hahn has had his ups and downs this season, but when he's on he's a productive member of any fantasy baseball squad. Hahn's pitch count has been an issue for him this month, tossing 101 pitches in just 3 2/3 innings against the Tigers on May 6 and another 103 over five frames in his last outing.
That said, his first start of the week comes against the visiting Miami Marlins, who rank 24th in baseball in runs scored. While their ranking ticks up a bit on the road, the Oakland Coliseum will likely contain the Fish like their tank in Miami, where they rank 26th in runs scored. The downside for having Jesse Hahn on your fantasy team is that the A's just don't score many runs with him on the mound, so a win may be hard to come by, especially if he can't find the zone and his pitch count escalates early.
German Marquez, Colorado Rockies – 6.4%
I've stated my love for Marquez here on a couple of occasions, and while I'm a little more wary about starting him on Tuesday, he's still going to be in my lineup when he takes on the Phillies.
Marquez is either going to shut down the opposition and accumulate a decent amount of strikeouts, or he's going to get shelled. That's how his season has been going thus far. In his two poor outings against the world-beating Washington Nationals and his second consecutive start against a power D-Backs lineup, Marquez has allowed 13 runs in ten innings while striking out five.
In his three solid starts, he has allowed a total of one run in 19 innings and struck out 14. The Phillies aren't going to strike out a ton with a team K% of 19.2, but if he's on Marquez will lower your ERA and WHIP and potentially get you a quality start and a win while throwing in a few K's.
