First a look at the running totals through half of week nine:

14-8 record
3.86 ERA
7.8 K/9
3.0 K/BB
1.20 WHIP

Here’s a look at this week’s recs, with team wOBA in parentheses:

Ryan Vogelsong – 33.3% ESPN/31% Y!/68% own, 43% start CBS – v. WAS (.315), v. COL (.348) Read the rest of this entry »

First a look at the running totals through half of week eight:

11-8 record
4.08 ERA
8.1 K/9
2.9 K/BB
1.25 WHIP

Here’s a look at this week’s recs, with team wOBA in parentheses:

RHP Henderson Alvarez – 4.9% ESPN/12% Yahoo!/55% own, 27% start CBS – v. TB (.307), @CHC (.293) Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you for your patience with me as I missed last week’s piece to attend a funeral in Minot, North Dakota. Now, onto this week’s business, but not before first taking a look at the running totals through week six:

9-8 record
4.17 ERA
8.3 K/9
2.8 K/BB
1.28 WHIP

Needless to say, the pre-DL Tyler Lyons clunker took its own toll on these stats. Let’s get back on track.

Here’s a look at this week’s recs, with team wOBA in parentheses:

RHP Nathan Eovaldi – 46.2% ESPN/46% Y!/80% ESPN (50% start) – @WAS (.309), v. ATL (.298) Read the rest of this entry »

First a look at the running totals through half of week four:

8-5 record
3.73 ERA
8.6 K/9
3.1 K/BB
1.18 WHIP

Here’s a look at this week’s recs, with team wOBA in parentheses:

LHP Tyler Lyons – 0.3% ESPN/2% Yahoo!/17% own, 10% start CBS – v. CHC (.285), v. ATL (.299) Read the rest of this entry »

First a look at the running totals through half of week four:

8-4 record
3.44 ERA
8.6 K/9
2.9 K/BB
1.15 WHIP

Not a bad start. Here’s a look at this week’s recs, with team wOBA in parentheses:

LHP Jon Niese – 12.1% ESPN/16% Yahoo!/68% CBS (52% start) – @ MIA (.327), v. PHI (.305) Read the rest of this entry »

Here are the stats so far through two-and-a-half trips through:

7-2 record
3.22 ERA
8.8 K/9
2.7 K/BB
1.17 WHIP

This week’s bunch is a pair of left-handers and one righty, and has brought about a potential semantics change for this column. It can be very difficult to find pitchers with three ownership figures in the sub-50 percent range, so it’s the opinion of the author that two out of three should suffice. If any grievance should be felt on this, feel free to air it in the comments section below. Thank you. -BW

Onto this week’s picks:

LHP Tyler Skaggs – 16.8% ESPN/23% Yahoo!/72% CBS (40% start) – v. CLE, v. TEX Read the rest of this entry »

Halfway through week two, here we are:

4-1
2.67 ERA
9.5 K/9
3.2 K/BB
1.13 WHIP

I think that’s about the best one could expect so far. Regression is coming though, right? I wanted badly to recommend Garrett Richards for this week (@WAS, @NYY), but his ownership rates in CBS leagues (76 percent) are far too high for me to appeal to my unwritten rule that at least two of the three leagues have to be under 50 percent (between Yahoo!/ESPN/CBS Sports).

So here’s who you get this week:

RHP Zach McAllister – 2.6% ESPN/9% Yahoo!/43% CBS – v. KC, @SF Read the rest of this entry »

After last week’s veteran love fest, I’ve chosen to live a bit more on the edge with this go-round. This week’s bunch is a trio of far less proven guys.

Through half of week one, here are the stats:
3-0 record
4.00 ERA
6.5 K/9
1.2 K/BB
1.61 WHIP

So….not great, with the exception of the won-loss column. Good record though so far.

Onto this week’s recommendations:

RHP Jesse Chavez – 0.6% ESPN/7% Yahoo!/31% CBS – @LAA, v. HOU Read the rest of this entry »

Year three of 2xSP rolls on with a pair of lefties and a veteran righty. As a procedural note, the ticker will be back again this year. Any tweaks that you’d like to see? Feel free to share below.

LHP Scott Kazmir – 16.8% ESPN – @MIN, @SEA

Quite frankly it’s completely stunning that Kazmir qualifies for this list at all, but here we are. And the skepticism on Kazmir isn’t totally unfounded; this is a guy who couldn’t find the strike zone with a GPS unit for three full seasons, and before that was still only marginal in that department. But for my fantasy dollars, he is who he was in Cleveland last year until he proves he isn’t. The A’s know pitching, and Kaz was solid the first time out against the Indians. With these two matchups this week, I think it’d be foolish not to take a look at the lefty. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2014 season marks the third year that I’ve played in the BP Kings — named for a previous affiliation with Baseball Prospectus — Scoresheet league. I’ve learned a considerable amount along the way, and hope that this year will be the first that I can hold my own in a league chock full of experts. Last year didn’t go very well, as I finished below .500 in my first full season alone at the helm of a club.

The league roster carries some veritable hard-hitters in the fantasy community. The list includes Jeff Erickson, Al Melchior, Bret Sayre, Nando DiFino, Matthew Pouliot, D.J. Short, Beardley Woodbeard (Woodrum), Todd Zola, Pete McCarthy, Ben Murphy, Brady Gardiner, Brent S. Gambill, David Laurila, David Wiers, Rob McQuown, Casey Stern, Nate Stephens, and yours truly*.

*not a hard hitter

For those unfamiliar with Scoresheet, you’re permitted to keep up to 10 players in a league that more or less mirrors actual, real-life roster construction. Players that are designated as big leaguers cost you picks up front (one per round), while players with the minors designation — as I recall, rookie eligible — cost you back end picks in a 35 round draft. Supplementals take place throughout the season, allowing teams to add bullpen arms, utility players, and the occasional sleeper, as well as newly minted draft picks as the summer rolls on. Read the rest of this entry »