Interesting Week 24 Two-Start Pitchers

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 22.

Jon Garland – After some ugly starts at the beginning of the year in Chase Field, Garland has settled down and been a reliable starter wherever he pitches for the last two-plus months. Since the beginning of July, Garland is 5-4 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Get him active for his two home starts this week.

Wade LeBlanc – If you are looking for a waiver addition with two starts this week LeBlanc could be your guy. Owned in just four percent of CBS Sports leagues, LeBlanc has won back-to-back games on the road. He allowed just six hits and two runs in 13 IP. He gets one home start this week in Petco and faces two of the worst teams in the majors in the Diamondbacks and Pirates, neither of which do particularly well against lefties.

Carl Pavano – The overall numbers in 2009 are not great for Pavano but he has been solid in his starts for Minnesota and has hurled Quality Starts in five of his seven outings for the Twins. Since the trade, Pavano is averaging 7.11 K/9 and he has a 1.26 WHIP. He has favorable matchups this week, with a start against Cleveland, the team he began the season with, and a matchup against Jarrod Washburn and the Tigers. Pavano did lose a game against the Indians earlier this month, but he notched 6 Ks in 6 IP in the road outing.

Ian Snell – Since a disastrous start against the Yankees in mid-August, Snell has been a useful fantasy pitcher. He has posted four wins in his last five games, with a 3.33 ERA, although his WHIP (1.48) and Ks (12 in 27 IP) have left owners wanting more. Snell is capable of adding strikeouts, he averaged 7.39 K/9 last year and hit 96 in his last start, and he gets two home starts this week, although one of them is a rematch with New York. Overall, I like his chances this week of picking up a win.

Sean West – The rookie has been solid for the Marlins this season since his promotion in late May. But he has a huge home/road split and this week he has two away games. Five of his six wins have come at Dolphin Stadium. On the road he is 1-3 with a 6.81 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. With starts this week in St. Louis (against Wainwright) and Cincinnati, leave West on the bench this week.

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Other scheduled two-start pitchers in Week 24 are listed below. Please remember that these are projected pitchers and changes can and will happen between now and next week.

Verlander, Lincecum, Lee, Weaver, W. Rodriguez, Nolasco, Hanson, Dempster, Zambrano, Gallardo, Arroyo, Price, Niemann, Smoltz, Washburn, Duke, Hammel, McCarthy, Gaudin, Suppan, Sowers, Mock, Byrd, Parnell, Tomko, C. Torres, D. Hernandez, Purcey, Wells, Buckner, Berken, Chen.

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

Now, I would like to take a step back and provide some accountability for previous picks. There needs to be a two-week time lag because last week’s pitchers have yet to complete their second start. So here are my selections for Week 22 and how they did.

Cahill – Advised to start. 5.40 ERA, 3 Ks, 1.60 WHIP (1 start)
Richard – Advised to start. 1.35 ERA, 6 Ks, 0.90 WHIP (1)
Sanchez – Advised to sit. 1.50 ERA, 17 Ks, 1.00 WHIP (2)
Wakefield – Advised to sit. 6.00 ERA, 4 Ks, 1.50 WHIP (1)
Washburn – Advised to sit. 12.71 ERA, 2 Ks, 2.12 WHIP (1)





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ecp
16 years ago

Chen won’t start at all; the Royals are moving him back to the bullpen. That was a one-start deal to give Greinke an extra day off. It’ll be Tejeda with two starts.