It’s the last day of the fantasy baseball week in most weekly leagues, but it may not be too late to grab a spot starter to save your week or at least give you a nice boost in the starting pitching categories. It’s been an up-and-down week in our spot starter selections, and here’s the three picks for Sunday’s close-out games:
Jun 5, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher A.J. Burnett (34) pitches during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE
The Picks
A.J. Burnett-Pit: (30.6% owned in ESPN leagues) Burnett’s ERA and WHIP are still inflated due to the pounding he took at the beginning of May. He’s gotten them down to a 3.76 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP as he looks for his sixth win of the year and his fifth in a row tomorrow against the Royals. In his nine games started, Burnett has allowed more than two earned runs just twice and has 50 K’s in 55 innings of work this year for Pittsburgh.
June 5, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Alexi Ogando (41) pitches the ball against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at O.co Coliseum. The Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE
Alexi Ogando-Tex: (12.0%) Returning to the rotation for his first start of the year means that Ogando will be on a pitch count of around 70. He’s pitched excellently out of the ‘pen allowing eight earned runs over 31.2 innings with 33 strikeouts and a 0.88 WHIP. He’s a great long-term addition and his start against the Giants should be a good way to start his return to the rotation and universal ownership.
Francisco Liriano-Min: (14.1%) After a trip to the bullpen, Liriano appears to have rediscovered his form allowing just a run in 12 innings in his first two starts back to the rotation while striking out 17 and walking just three. He’s still just 1-6 on the year, but if he continues this form he’ll be a great pickup for the rest of the way. Tomorrow he’ll take the hill against the offensively-challenged Chicago Cubs.
The Payoff
Here’s how our picks have done over the last week:
| Starter | Date | IP | ER | K | H | BB | W | L | ||
| Jarrod Parker | 9-Jun | |||||||||
| Scott Diamond | 9-Jun | 6 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Jason Vargas | 9-Jun | 6 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | 9-Jun | 5 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Kevin Millwood | 8-Jun | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| P.J. Walters | 8-Jun | 5 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Eric Bedard | 8-Jun | 7 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Mike Leake | 7-Jun | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Derek Lowe | 7-Jun | 5 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| J.A. Happ | 7-Jun | 4 2/3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Felipe Paulino | 6-Jun | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Kyle Kendrick | 6-Jun | 5 2/3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jerome Williams | 6-Jun | 5 2/3 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jose Quintana | 6-Jun | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Homer Bailey | 5-Jun | 3 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Francisco Liriano | 5-Jun | 6 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Garrett Richards | 5-Jun | 7 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Christian Friedrich | 4-Jun | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Dillon Gee | 4-Jun | 7 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| ERA | WHIP | |||||||||
| Totals: | 99 2/3 | 53 | 87 | 105 | 28 | 4 | 9 | 4.79 | 1.33 |
Topics: A.J. Burnett, Alexi Ogando, Fantasy Baseball Additions, Francisco Liriano, Spot Starters, Starting Pitchers, Streaming Starters, Waiver Wire
I'm an avid Boston sports fan and fantasy sports enthusiast. When I'm not blogging, I serve as Audio and Video producer as well as High School History teacher at Harvest Ministries on the island of Guam. The 14-hour time difference can make things challenging, but I'll play any fantasy sports just about anytime I can.
Zach Thompson
Fantasy CPR
