Today’s Deep League Waiver provides fantasy owners with a potential third base replacement for Ian Stewart and my first dive into the pitching free agent pool.

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Four or five years ago, these two guys were high-end fantasy players that you couldn’t dream of grabbing off waivers. Injuries and Father Time have a way of changing things, so here they are now, useful pieces instead of roster stalwarts…

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The first step is admitting you have a problem. I admit it: I cannot rid myself of Edinson Volquez, let alone reserve him for even a week. Ever since picking him up post-draft, but still during spring training, before his breakout 2008 campaign, I have been guilty of suffering from Volquez Fandom Syndrome. Please, someone help me.

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Here is the latest update to Week 3 two-start pitchers. Again this list is subject to change going forward.

Pitchers not listed on last update:

J. Sanchez, C. Wilson, W. Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanton, Westbrook, Carrasco, J. Gomez

Pitchers no longer scheduled for two starts: Carmona, Lewis

Of the new pitchers let’s look at Wandy Rodriguez. He has an ownership rate of 91 percent in CBS Sports leagues. However, he is off to a rough start, with an 0-2 record and a 7.31 ERA in three games. While his K rate is down, so too, is his BB rate. The end result is a 3.67 K/BB ratio, an outstanding mark. Rodriguez has allowed just one home run in 16 IP, so he is not being hurt by the gopher ball.

It all comes down to his BABIP which is at a head-shaking .417, the second-worst mark currently in the majors, trailing just Matt Garza. Rodriguez has been a solid pitcher in the past and it would be an easy assumption to make to put him in your lineup and wait for his BABIP to normalize.

However, you might want to sit him for another week.

Minute Maid Park has always been a hitter-friendly venue, but Rodriguez has actually fared much better historically at home than he has on the road. In his career he has a .585 winning percentage and a 3.48 ERA in Houston compared to a .381 winning percentage and a 5.12 ERA in road parks. In his lone road start this season, Rodriguez allowed 9 H and 7 ER in 4 IP.

In Week 3, Rodriguez has road starts in New York and Milwaukee. Rodriguez has but one start in Citi Field, but came out on the losing end with 8 H and 3 ER in 6 IP. He has 11 career starts in Miller Park and is 3-6 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.641 WHIP in 60.1 IP.

Last week’s Sunday night look was Jeff Francis. He had 13.1 IP, 14 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 6 Ks and 2 QS.

Everyone is happy when one of their pitchers is scheduled for two starts in a week. But that is not always a good thing. Here are five pitchers you may be on the fence about (or should be on the fence) putting into your lineup for Week 3.

Brandon Beachy – With 17 Ks in 17.1 IP, you could make a case for starting Beachy on strikeouts alone. Unfortunately, the other categories come into play. Beachy has yet to break into the win column and his ERA and WHIP took it on the chin Thursday night against the Marlins. This week Beachy has two tough road matchups against Kuroda and Lincecum and all signs point to leaving him on the bench this week.

Daisuke Matsuzaka – The good news is that Matsuzaka’s xFIP is half of what his ERA is. The bad news is he has a 6.56 xFIP. This week he gets to face the slugging Blue Jays and then a cross country road trip to take on the Angels. It may be worthwhile to hang onto him for a few more starts to see if he can put it back together, but by all means let him figure things out while he sits on your bench.

Carl Pavano – After getting rocked in his first start, Pavano has put up back-to-back strong outings, allowing just 1 ER and 8 H over 16 IP. He surrendered three gopher balls in his first game but has kept the ball in the park since then. Pavano’s peripherals are worse than his ERA, due mainly to that first outing. A 17-game winner last year, make sure he is in your lineup this week

Jason Vargas – Last year Vargas shocked everyone by winning nine games and putting up a sub-4.00 ERA. Seven of his nine wins came at home, where his ERA was a full two runs lower than his road mark. Vargas got knocked around in his first home start this year, but last time out in Safeco he allowed 1 ER in 6.2 IP. He has two home starts this week and as he’s likely on the waiver wire in your league, he makes an excellent streaming option.

Carlos Zambrano – Another pitcher with two home starts is Zambrano. But unlike Vargas, Zambrano has not shown an extreme preference for pitching in his home park. In fact, Zambrano has a much higher road winning percentage in his career (.676 vs .544). But the reason to start Zambrano this week is his opponents. He faces off against the Padres and Dodgers, two of the weaker offensive teams in the National League. While Zambrano has not pitched particularly well this year, the Cubs offense has provided him with lots of support, as he has two wins despite a 6.11 ERA.

Other scheduled two-start pitchers in Week 3 are listed below. Please remember that these are projected pitchers and changes can and will happen between now and next week.

Halladay, Johnson, Lincecum, Marcum, Price, T. Hudson, Danks, B. Anderson, Romero, E. Jackson, Liriano, Scherzer, Kuroda, E. Santana, Shields, Lilly, Lewis, T. Wood, Pavano, Lackey, Carmona, Niese, Stauffer, Correia, Jimenez, Tillman, Chen, Fister, Lannan, Arrieta, LeCure, Galarraga, Moseley, Davies, Palmer.

Check back Sunday night for an update of two-start pitchers.

In this edition of NL Starting Pitchers, we go with players returning from injury and those who are directly affected by it.

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Time to take a look and see who might be available in your leagues and could be worth adding to your squad.  It’s still real early, but there might be a few choice names out there that can help, whether it’s short term or long term.  Here’s a few to think about… Read the rest of this entry »

Two starters and an outfielder as you contemplate whether or not Willie Bloomquist is actually worth a roster spot…

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It may be a bit early to analyze velocity changes as pitchers continue to build up arm strength and we are still working with tiny sample sizes, but as you could tell by now, I am a sucker for comparisons and ranking lists. We all know that velocity has a significant impact on a pitcher’s effectiveness and all else equal, the higher the velocity, the better the results. When a pitcher suddenly experiences an increase or decrease in his average fastball velocity, it could portend a change in performance, for better or for worse. Since fantasy owners sometimes jump on pitchers quickly after just one strong outing, it is important to identify the velocity changers early on before it becomes obvious in their results.

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Here is the latest update to Week 2 two-start pitchers. Again this list is subject to change going forward.

Pitchers not listed on last update

F. Hernandez, Price, Cahill, Burnett, Duensing, Pineda, Richard, Matsuzaka, Francis, Tillman, Penny, Litsch, Talbot.

Pitcher no longer scheduled for two starts: Stauffer

Of the new pitchers, Jeff Francis is an interesting one to examine. After missing all of the 2009 season recovering from shoulder surgery, Francis came back to pitch 104.1 innings for the Rockies last year. A free agent following the 2010 season, the former 17-game winner had to sign an incentive-heavy, $1 year/$2 million deal with the Royals.

While winless in his first two starts, Francis has pitched into the seventh inning both games and has a 1.98 ERA along with a solid 3.28 xFIP. He’s getting more swings out of the zone (31.3 O-Swing%) and batters are making less contact than normal. It makes him an interesting candidate for his two starts this week and he potentially has some favorable pitching matchups.

In his first game this week, Francis squares off against Brian Duensing and the Twins. In his first start, Duensing’s velocity was down 2 mph from his average last year. Plus Minnesota is next to last in the American League with a 2.62 runs per game average.

Francis’ second start comes against rookie sensation Michael Pineda. Dave Cameron reviewed Pineda’s first start and concluded that Pineda has some work to do with his off-speed offerings to lefty batters, who managed two doubles and a triple in his game against the Rangers. The Royals can stack a lineup full of lefties to face Pineda, including the red-hot Alex Gordon, along with Chris Getz, Melky Cabrera, the Kila monster and Wilson Betemit.

While those names might not strike fear into many hearts and minds, that group has led the Royals to a 6-3 start to the season. Available on the waver wire in most leagues, Francis is a potential pickup to stream for his two starts this week.