Fantasy notes for Aug. 3

Starting pitcher rankings for August 3

						2012 Statistics			Past 21 Days
Rk	Team	Name	T	Opp	QR	W-L	ERA	WHIP	W-L	ERA	WHIP
1		R.A. Dickey	R	@SD	9	14-2	2.83	1.03	2-1	4.78	1.48
2		Gio Gonzalez	L	MIA	9	13-5	3.27	1.14	1-2	4.84	1.25
3		CC Sabathia	L	SEA	9	10-3	3.57	1.25	1-0	4.26	1.16
4		Zack Greinke	R	@CHW	7	9-4	3.39	1.20	0-1	3.79	1.05
5		Josh Johnson	R	@WAS	10	6-7	4.04	1.35	1-2	3.97	1.15
6		Mat Latos	R	PIT	9	9-3	4.17	1.24	2-1	4.37	1.41
7		Tim Hudson	R	HOU	9	10-4	3.68	1.22	3-0	4.13	1.38
8		Ryan Vogelsong	R	@COL	8	8-5	2.22	1.13	1-1	1.42	1.16
9		Ian Kennedy	R	@PHI	6	9-8	4.20	1.28	3-1	3.95	1.10
10		Jeff Samardzija	R	@LAD	7	7-8	4.19	1.31	1-0	1.42	1.05
11		Matt Harrison	L	@KC	5	12-6	3.19	1.26	1-2	3.68	1.32
12		Joe Blanton	R	ARI	3	8-9	4.59	1.19	1-1	2.74	0.83
13		Clayton Richard	L	NYM	6	7-11	4.14	1.21	1-2	5.19	1.19
14		Chad Billingsley	R	CHC	6	6-9	3.89	1.35	2-0	0.68	0.90
15		Matt Moore	L	BAL	7	7-7	4.01	1.38	2-1	1.86	0.98
16		Wandy Rodriguez	L	@CIN	5	7-9	3.82	1.30	0-3	6.14	1.64
17		Anibal Sanchez	R	CLE	6	5-8	4.11	1.28	1-2	4.05	1.45
18		Justin Masterson	R	@DET	5	7-9	4.47	1.38	2-1	4.81	1.52
19		Joe Kelly	R	MIL	7	1-4	2.96	1.32	0-3	3.44	1.09
20		Felix Doubront	L	MIN	4	10-5	4.37	1.40	1-1	4.15	1.56
21		Dan Straily	R	TOR	5	--	--	--	--	--	--
22		Philip Humber	R	LAA	6	5-5	5.90	1.46	2-1	5.40	1.33
23		Tommy Hunter	R	@TB	3	4-6	5.72	1.38	1-2	3.98	1.13
24		Kevin Millwood	R	@NYY	2	4-8	3.90	1.36	1-2	4.68	1.56
25		Brian Duensing	L	@BOS	2	2-6	4.53	1.32	1-1	5.93	1.68
26		Brett Cecil	L	@OAK	4	2-4	5.56	1.41	0-3	3.86	1.23
27		John Lannan	L	MIA	4	1-0	2.57	1.00	1-0	2.57	1.00
28		Jonathan Sanchez	L	SF	5	1-8	8.32	2.09	0-3	16.76	2.90
29		Randy Wolf	L	@STL	3	3-7	5.45	1.54	1-1	3.66	1.37
30		Armando Galarraga	R	@ATL	2	0-0	3.60	1.20	0-0	3.60	1.20
31		Jacob Turner	R	@WAS	1	1-1	8.03	1.95	1-1	12.27	2.05
32		Jeremy Guthrie	R	TEX	1	3-11	6.68	1.69	0-3	9.68	1.92

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.

Rankings notes

It's a day full of pitchers taking the mound with their new teams in this first post-trade deadline Friday of action. Zack Greinke, with a 3.98 career ERA against the Chicago White Sox, is far and away the best bet of that group. Pittsburgh's Wandy Rodriguez is 8-10 with a 4.42 ERA when facing the Cincinnati Reds. The A's Dan Straily adds to the day's intrigue as he will make his major league debut versus the Blue Jays. Straily, 23, was buried in prospect lists to start the season but pitched his way through Double-A and Triple-A, striking out a combined 175 batters in 138 1/3 innings. [Editor's Note: Straily will be added to the ESPN fantasy baseball player pool overnight. He will be on waivers for leagues who use them (24 hours in ESPN standard leagues) and available for the next bidding period in leagues that use FAAB.]

Ryan Vogelsong has never lost to the Colorado Rockies. He's 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA against his Friday opponent, and even though the game is taking place at Coors Field, where the Rockies are hitting .288 on the season, any time you square off against Jonathan Sanchez, the odds are in your favor.

Miami and Washington are scheduled to play a doubleheader. John Lannan will get the call for the Nationals in one game. Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez are swapping spots in the rotation to give Zimmermann a little extra rest to combat some right-shoulder soreness. As for the Marlins, with Carlos Zambrano having been moved to the 'pen, expect new acquisition Jacob Turner to get called up to make his South Florida debut.

Solid track records: Mat Latos is a perfect 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA when facing the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ian Kennedy typically does the job versus the Philadelphia Phillies, with a 2.25 career ERA against the club. Tim Hudson is 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA in games battling the Houston Astros, who are sending Armando Galarraga to the mound for just his second big league start of the season.

Jeff Samardzija has a 1.91 ERA in his past five starts with a .181 batting average against and the Chicago Cubs went 4-1 in those games. With the Los Angeles Dodgers still getting used to their new-look lineup, this Shark may have some bite.

Clayton Richard is significantly better at home than on the road, with a 3.71 ERA and 1.14 WHIP at the pitcher's paradise that is Petco. Richard did struggle in July, posting a 5.09 ERA, but four of his six starts were on the road. Friday might be a day to take a chance on him again.

Matt Moore has faced the Baltimore Orioles twice this season and though he's been touched for six runs, only two of them were earned. Even if his defense doesn't let him down again, he's a somewhat risky start, as the O's are hitting .275 over the past two weeks and 22 points higher against southpaws than versus righties.

Brett Cecil is 0-3 with a 5.48 ERA in his past four starts, including a 7-2 loss against the same Oakland Athletics team he faces on Friday. In each one of those starts, he allowed a home run and on the season, he's served up a total of nine gopher balls in just 45⅓ innings.