Fantasy baseball notes for June 30

Starting pitcher rankings for June 30

						2011 Statistics			Past 21 Days
Rk	Team	Name	T	Opp	QR	W-L	ERA	WHIP	W-L	ERA	WHIP
1		Justin Verlander	R	NYM	10	10-3	2.38	0.84	4-0	0.53	0.53
2		CC Sabathia	L	MIL	8	10-4	3.25	1.22	3-1	4.71	1.22
3		Matt Cain	R	@CHC	8	7-4	3.22	1.11	3-0	2.12	0.81
4		Cole Hamels	L	BOS	6	9-4	2.49	0.96	2-2	1.53	0.92
5		Jon Lester	L	@PHI	7	9-4	3.66	1.29	1-2	2.45	1.00
6		Jaime Garcia	L	@BAL	9	6-3	3.06	1.22	0-2	3.09	1.50
7		Trevor Cahill	R	FLA	7	8-5	3.09	1.29	2-2	4.76	1.50
8		Carlos Zambrano	R	SF	6	6-4	4.38	1.34	1-2	5.60	1.65
9		Wandy Rodriguez	L	TEX	5	5-4	3.21	1.31	2-1	2.50	1.22
10		Jake Peavy	R	@COL	7	4-1	4.23	1.02	2-0	2.89	1.18
11		Jeff Karstens	R	@TOR	2	5-4	2.66	1.10	2-0	1.32	0.88
12		Randy Wolf	L	@NYY	5	6-4	3.20	1.25	2-0	1.95	1.12
13		Matt Harrison	L	@HOU	5	6-6	3.00	1.26	1-1	1.40	1.03
14		Mike Pelfrey	R	@DET	5	4-6	4.78	1.31	1-2	2.89	0.82
15		Chris Volstad	R	@OAK	5	3-7	5.42	1.44	1-2	4.85	1.35
16		Aaron Cook	R	CHW	3	0-3	5.48	1.74	0-3	5.48	1.74
17		Brett Cecil	L	PIT	4	1-2	6.86	1.67	--	--	--
18		Brian Matusz	L	STL	3	1-3	6.85	1.84	0-3	11.12	2.47

Some of the data used to generate this chart is derived from Baseball Musings' Day-by-day database.

Rk.: The author's ranking of that pitcher for that day only. T: Pitcher throws left-handed or right-handed. Opp: The pitcher's opponent for the day. QR: "Quality Rating," or the starting pitcher's matchup rating -- separate from the author's ranking -- which accounts for past history (three years' worth as well as past 21 days), opponent and ballpark. OPS is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. So, for example, a 10 is a must-start rating, while a 1 should be avoided (if possible); a 1-2 is poor, 3-4 is fair, 5-6 is average, 7-8 is very good and 9-10 is excellent. W-L: Pitcher's win-loss record. ERA: Pitcher's earned run average. WHIP: Pitcher's average number of walks plus hits surrendered per inning.

Mass' Rankings Notes

Even though the New York Mets scored 14 runs in the opener against the Detroit Tigers, chances are Justin Verlander will put a chill on their hot bats. He's 5-0 with an 0.86 ERA in his past five games. … CC Sabathia has given up a few runs (3.68 ERA) but still has won three straight, thanks to a lineup that has scored 30 runs in those contests. That might not change against Randy Wolf, who has a 7.20 ERA in 10 innings against the New York Yankees. … Matt Cain hasn't lost in June (4-0, 1.96 ERA) and is 5-2 with a 2.38 ERA lifetime against the Chicago Cubs. However, his opponent for Thursday, Carlos Zambrano, has an equally impressive back story, 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA facing the San Francisco Giants. … Cole Hamels and Jon Lester should be a compelling pitcher's duel. Both men are in line for their 10th win of the year, and both are unbeaten against the other's team. Hamels (3-0, 1.71 ERA versus Boston) gets the slight nod, thanks to having home-field advantage, and slots in just ahead of Lester (1-0, 0.64 ERA in two starts against Philadelphia). … Question marks: Wandy Rodriguez has had his difficulty with the Texas Rangers, as evidenced by the 6.49 ERA in five starts. … Jake Peavy unexpectedly threw 55 pitches in his first-ever relief outing on Saturday. We're not sure what kind of toll that will take on him, as he's only a week removed from the disabled list. … Possible surprises: Jeff Karstens is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA facing the Toronto Blue Jays and is going up against recently recalled Brett Cecil, who was 8-2 in 12 starts in Triple-A, but with a PCL-enhanced 5.26 ERA. … Jake Westbrook has compiled a 4-2 record against the Baltimore Orioles over the years, but with a not-so-impressive 4.12 ERA.