Week 22 Two-Start Pitchers Update

Here is the latest update to Week 22 two-start pitchers. There’s more changes than normal because of all of the rescheduling necessitated by Hurricane Irene. And there will undoubtedly be even more changes as the week progresses.

Pitchers not listed on last update: Halladay, Jurrjens, Vogelsong, Nolasco, A. Sanchez, Gee, McCarthy, F. Garcia, Simon
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Pitchers no longer scheduled for two starts: Sabathia, J. Garcia, Worley, Tomlin, Harrison, Fister, Harden, Lowe, Vazquez, Pelfrey, Guthrie, Volstad.

Let’s take a look at Anibal Sanchez. From the second week in May until the end of June, Sanchez was a fantasy star, as he went 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA, a 0.920 WHIP and 75 Ks in 70.2 IP. He put up this impressive line with a .280 BABIP, so it seemed likely that he would continue to put up good numbers, even after this lights-out streak was over.

But in his last 10 starts, Sanchez is 1-5 with a 6.33 ERA. The strikeout numbers are still good, as he has 56 Ks in 54 IP. But the BABIP is ugly at .369 and he’s surrendered 11 HR in 54 IP. Sanchez has allowed 62 fly balls in those 10 starts and has a 17.74 HR/FB ratio. Lifetime, he has an 8.1 HR/FB mark, so clearly something is out of whack.

Sanchez is really struggling with his slider, typically his best pitch. In 2010, Sanchez had a 12.0 wSL, easily his most effective offering. This year it sits at a 3.8 wSL, still a good mark but very deceiving. Here’s how it breaks down by month:

April: 2.2
May: 5.1
June: 2.4
July: -4.4
August: -1.5

After being on the first page of the leaderboard with results from his slider in each of the first three months of the season, Sanchez had the second-worst results of any qualified starter in July and is again below average with his slider so far in August.

Velocity has not been an issue for Sanchez, as he hit 94.6 in his last start and averaged 91.5 – right at his seasonal average. There’s been no talk about any injury but that’s always a possibility for someone who relies heavily on the slider.

For whatever reason, the results have not been there for Sanchez for two months now. He still has some value because of his strikeouts, but Sanchez is no longer a must-start fantasy pitcher. This week in his two starts, he has a matchup with the Phillies, who are third in the NL in HR since the All-Star break, not something that a pitcher who has allowed 11 HR in his last 54 IP should relish.