Fantasy notes for Aug. 11-12

Starting pitcher rankings for Aug. 11

						2012 Statistics			Past 21 Days
Rk	Team	Name	T	Opp	QR	W-L	ERA	WHIP	W-L	ERA	WHIP
1		Justin Verlander	R	@TEX	8	12-7	2.51	0.98	2-2	2.89	1.25
2		David Price	L	@MIN	10	14-4	2.49	1.13	1-0	1.64	0.86
3		Matt Cain	R	COL	8	10-5	3.01	1.03	0-2	5.26	1.40
4		Wade Miley	L	WAS	7	12-7	2.85	1.09	2-2	1.71	0.99
5		A.J. Burnett	R	SD	6	14-3	3.19	1.15	4-0	1.38	0.70
6		Cliff Lee	L	STL	7	2-6	3.78	1.17	1-0	4.09	1.23
7		Dan Haren	R	SEA	8	8-8	4.44	1.35	2-0	2.00	1.00
8		Tommy Milone	L	@CHW	6	9-9	3.91	1.22	0-3	5.54	1.23
9		Johan Santana	L	ATL	7	6-7	3.98	1.27	0-1	18.00	3.33
10		Jake Westbrook	R	@PHI	4	11-8	3.76	1.32	4-0	3.46	1.27
11		Kris Medlen	R	@NYM	7	2-1	2.37	1.10	1-0	1.04	0.92
12		Joe Blanton	R	@MIA	4	8-9	4.52	1.20	0-1	3.00	1.00
13		Chris Tillman	R	KC	2	5-1	2.38	1.21	4-0	2.88	1.20
14		Francisco Liriano	L	OAK	7	3-10	5.03	1.41	0-1	6.59	1.54
15		Bronson Arroyo	R	@CHC	5	7-7	4.05	1.26	3-1	4.13	1.33
16		Franklin Morales	L	@CLE	6	3-2	3.14	1.16	1-0	3.38	1.31
17		Ricky Nolasco	R	LAD	4	8-11	4.95	1.44	0-4	7.25	1.84
18		Edwin Jackson	R	@ARI	3	6-7	3.56	1.18	1-2	2.16	1.28
19		Ivan Nova	R	@TOR	3	10-6	4.81	1.47	0-2	8.18	1.82
20		Marco Estrada	R	@HOU	5	0-5	4.13	1.14	0-2	4.13	1.38
21		Derek Holland	L	DET	2	7-6	5.18	1.28	1-2	7.00	1.30
22		Jason Marquis	R	@PIT	3	7-10	5.47	1.50	3-1	5.04	1.12
23		Luis Mendoza	R	@BAL	3	5-8	4.36	1.44	2-2	4.50	1.31
24		Hisashi Iwakuma	R	@LAA	3	2-3	4.20	1.41	1-1	2.63	1.33
25		Travis Wood	L	CIN	4	4-8	4.77	1.29	0-4	7.36	1.55
26		Drew Pomeranz	L	@SF	4	1-6	4.76	1.48	0-2	7.16	1.78
27		Zach McAllister	R	BOS	1	4-4	3.60	1.31	0-3	4.57	1.43
28		Aaron Laffey	L	NYY	1	3-2	4.39	1.28	2-1	5.79	1.46
29		Nick Blackburn	R	TB	1	4-7	7.42	1.66	0-2	5.63	1.38
30		Dallas Keuchel	L	MIL	1	1-4	5.60	1.73	0-3	9.78	2.28

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 and the 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. 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.

Saturday rankings notes

Justin Verlander takes the top spot Saturday even with a tough Texas lineup prepared to try to take him down. He is 7-2 with a 2.10 ERA in his career against the Rangers. David Price (1-2, 2.63 versus Minnesota) is no slouch either, and he gets the silver with Matt Cain (13-7. 3.23 versus Colorado) earning the bronze.

A.J. Burnett had one bad start right after the All-Star Break, but even with that slip-up, he is 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA in the second half of 2012 with a .181 batting average against. Burnett is a perfect 7-0 at home this season.

Tommy Milone has struggled lately, with a 2-4 record in his past eight starts and a .294 BAA. Still, with a 12.3 K/BB rate over that same stretch, it's just a matter of time before he straightens it all out. His road ERA is 5.77 this season as opposed to 2.13 at home.

Jake Westbrook hasn't lost since July 15, but he has a poor track record against the Philadelphia Phillies. He is 1-1 with a 5.68 ERA in his career against a team countering with Cliff Lee (3-1, 1.93 versus St. Louis). Saturday might not be his day.

Ivan Nova has been much better away from Yankee Stadium this season, with a 7-2 road record with a 3.87 ERA. Still, he has yet to win in the second half of the season with an ERA of 8.36, so perhaps it's best to stay away until he shows he can get through at least six innings again.

Chris Tillman has won four straight starts and continues to get tons of run support (5.88 per game), which should put him in good standing for a win against a Kansas City Royals team that is hitting .255 on the road, 26 points lower than it does at home.

Francisco Liriano left his last start after only 72 pitches, the result of being hit by a hard ground ball in the right quad. It shouldn't be an issue in this next start, and Liriano has struck out 24 Oakland batters in 14 innings this season.

Franklin Morales did well in a spot start when Josh Beckett couldn't go on Sunday, and the outing (6 IP, 1 ER) has earned him this trip to the mound. As a starter this season, Morales is 3-1 with a 3.06 ERA, so he could be a nice streaming option against a Cleveland Indians team that has lost 11 of its past 13 games.

Starting pitcher rankings for Aug. 12

						2012 Statistics			Past 21 Days
Rk	Team	Name	T	Opp	QR	W-L	ERA	WHIP	W-L	ERA	WHIP
1		Jered Weaver	R	SEA	10	15-1	2.13	0.92	4-0	1.65	0.80
2		Johnny Cueto	R	@CHC	7	14-6	2.58	1.19	3-1	3.95	1.32
3		Chris Sale	L	OAK	9	13-3	2.59	1.02	2-1	5.06	1.27
4		James Shields	R	@MIN	6	10-7	4.08	1.33	2-1	2.64	0.75
5		Jason Vargas	L	@LAA	7	12-8	3.69	1.14	3-1	1.86	0.97
6		Yovani Gallardo	R	@HOU	7	10-8	3.79	1.31	2-2	4.74	1.26
7		Lance Lynn	R	@PHI	6	13-5	3.52	1.29	2-1	4.70	1.70
8		Jarrod Parker	R	@CHW	7	7-6	3.55	1.29	1-2	4.91	1.40
9		Chris Capuano	L	@MIA	5	10-8	3.29	1.23	1-3	5.92	1.64
10		Scott Diamond	L	TB	6	10-5	2.91	1.17	2-2	2.76	1.06
11		Erik Bedard	L	SD	8	6-12	4.53	1.40	1-2	4.42	0.82
12		Jonathon Niese	L	ATL	6	8-6	3.82	1.19	1-2	4.85	1.23
13		Jon Lester	L	@CLE	6	5-10	5.36	1.40	0-3	8.03	1.42
14		Patrick Corbin	L	WAS	8	3-4	3.53	1.29	1-0	1.50	1.08
15		Ben Sheets	R	@NYM	3	4-1	1.41	1.19	3-1	1.73	1.35
16		Phil Hughes	R	@TOR	4	11-9	4.10	1.28	2-2	3.60	1.24
17		Yu Darvish	R	DET	4	11-8	4.57	1.46	1-2	7.20	1.72
18		Ross Detwiler	L	@ARI	6	6-4	2.99	1.18	2-1	2.45	1.01
19		Eric Stults	L	@PIT	7	2-2	2.72	1.28	1-0	1.50	1.33
20		Bruce Chen	L	@BAL	3	8-9	5.51	1.40	1-1	5.23	1.50
21		Barry Zito	L	COL	4	9-8	4.19	1.36	1-2	6.17	1.33
22		Vance Worley	R	STL	4	6-7	3.83	1.43	1-2	5.32	1.64
23		Rick Porcello	R	@TEX	2	9-6	4.62	1.51	3-1	4.44	1.18
24		Wade LeBlanc	L	LAD	5	1-1	1.50	1.17	0-1	2.63	1.39
25		Tommy Hunter	R	KC	2	4-7	5.55	1.37	0-3	4.82	1.29
26		J.A. Happ	L	NYY	1	7-10	4.98	1.46	0-1	6.35	1.59
27		Brooks Raley	L	CIN	3	0-1	15.75	2.75	0-1	15.75	2.75
28		Jordan Lyles	R	MIL	1	2-8	5.69	1.49	0-2	6.85	1.44
29		Alex White	R	@SF	1	2-6	5.75	1.61	0-0	1.93	1.29
30		Corey Kluber	R	BOS	1	0-0	6.10	1.84	0-0	6.10	1.84

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 and the 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. 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.

Sunday rankings notes

Jered Weaver is the clear No. 1 pitcher on the mound Sunday. Not only is he a perfect 9-0 in his past nine starts with a 1.60 ERA, but the Cy Young favorite is also 12-4 with a 3.08 ERA in his career when facing the Seattle Mariners.

Yovani Gallardo has been solid since the start of July. Despite a few shaky outings, he is 4-2 with a 3.05 ERA in his past seven starts. Historically, he has handled Houston quite nicely. He is 12-2 with a 2.61 ERA against the Astros in his career.

The San Diego Padres roster is hitting .158 lifetime against Erik Bedard, who comes into this weekend's contest having thrown three quality starts in his past four outings.

Jon Lester is 4-1 with a 3.53 ERA against the Cleveland Indians in his career. Although he is 0-5 with a 7.49 ERA since the start of July, he is going up against Corey Kluber, who is making his third major league start. Stream away.

Yu Darvish is throwing way too many pitches. In his last start, he got the hook in the seventh after 123 deliveries to the plate. The strikeouts are there (48 in 38 1/3 innings since July 1), but so are the free passes (24 over that same span). He has beaten the Detroit Tigers twice this season, but the potential reward may not outweigh the risk.

Ben Sheets continues his amazing comeback Sunday, facing the same team against which he began his 2012 journey. Sheets shut out the New York Mets for six innings on July 15, and he has continued to mow down his National League East opponents ever since, with a 4-1 record and 1.41 ERA in his five starts back from the brink of retirement.

Be wary of Tommy Hunter on Sunday. The Baltimore pitcher had to miss his scheduled Wednesday start when Tuesday's game went 14 innings and he had to warm up for a possible appearance that never came to light. He has a 5.10 ERA in his career when starting on six or more days of rest.

Brooks Raley says he got the nerves out in his debut against the San Diego Padres, a 7-4 loss. With Matt Garza sidelined, Raley gets a second chance to make a first impression versus the Cincinnati Reds, but wish him luck from afar.