Week 4 Two Start Pitchers

Rankings always feel more positive when Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner are pitching and ranking the Week 4 two start pitchers was no exception. There is a clear tier of four guys heading the rankings followed by another four man tier right behind them. Then we have a group of 12-14 pitchers who are really interesting and there will be tough some decisions this week who to pick up and who to leave out on the waiver wire.

At this stage of the season we are starting to get a feel for whether pitchers are truly struggling or if they have just had a couple of bad starts and actually they could be fairly decent. Two good examples are Masahiro Tanaka and Jeff Samardzija. Tanaka had two bad starts to open the season but the bounce back since then tells us it is probably just a start of season blip whereas Samardzija’s struggles seem to indicate that maybe he just isn’t the same pitcher anymore. In addition, we also have pitchers emerging from the 50-150 jumble and showing themselves to be a potential gem or at the very least a decent streaming option.

 

Tune in each week to hear the team discuss the previous week and take a look forward at what we can hope to expect in the coming week. We will be discussing waiver wire, start sit along with all the major topics surrounding the world of fantasy baseball.

Player	Date 1	Vs 1	Pitcher 1	Date 2	Vs 2	Pitcher 2
Clayton Kershaw LAD	(04/25)	@ SF	Madison Bumgarner	(04/30)	vs. PHI	Vince Velasquez
Madison Bumgarner SF	(04/25)	vs. LAD	Clayton Kershaw	(04/30)	vs. SD	Clayton Richard
Chris Archer TB	(04/24)	@ BAL	Ubaldo Jimenez	(04/30)	@ TOR	Aaron Sanchez
Stephen Strasburg WAS	(04/25)	@ COL	Tyler Anderson	(04/30)	vs. NYM	Robert Gsellman
Felix Hernandez SEA	(04/25)	@ DET	Jordan Zimmermann	(04/30)	@ CLE	Trevor Bauer
Zack Greinke ARI	(04/24)	vs. SD	Jhoulys Chacin	(04/29)	vs. COL	TBA
Dallas Keuchel HOU	(04/25)	@ CLE	Trevor Bauer	(04/30)	vs. OAK	Jesse Hahn
Julio Teheran ATL	(04/25)	@ NYM	Robert Gsellman	(04/30)	@ MIL	Tommy Milone
Michael Wacha STL	(04/25)	vs. TOR	Aaron Sanchez	(04/30)	vs. CIN	Amir Garrett
Rick Porcello BOS	(04/25)	vs. NYY	Luis Severino	(04/30)	vs. CHC	Brett Anderson
Joe Ross WSH	(04/24)	@ COL	TBA	(04/29)	vs. NYM	Zack Wheeler
Francisco Liriano TOR	(04/24)	@ LAA	JC Ramirez	(04/29)	vs. TB	Matt Andriese
Vince Velasquez PHI	(04/25)	vs. MIA	Wei-Yin Chen	(04/30)	@ LAD	Clayton Kershaw
Luis Severino NYY	(04/25)	@ BOS	Rick Porcello	(04/30)	vs. BAL	Wade Miley
Jason Vargas KC	(04/24)	@ CHW	Miguel Gonzalez	(04/30)	vs. MIN	Adalberto Mejia
Wei-Yin Chen MIA	(04/25)	@ PHI	Vince Velasquez	(04/30)	vs. PIT	Chad Kuhl
Amir Garrett CIN	(04/24)	@ MIL	Tommy Milone	(04/30)	@ STL	Michael Wacha
Hyun-Jin Ryu LAD	(04/24)	@ SF	Matt Cain	(04/29)	vs. PHI	Zach Eflin
Matt Shoemaker LAA	(04/25)	vs. OAK	Jesse Hahn	(04/30)	@ TEX	Martin Perez
Robert Gsellman NYM	(04/25)	vs. ATL	Julio Teheran	(04/30)	@ WAS	Stephen Strasburg
Chad Kuhl PIT	(04/24)	vs. CHC	Brett Anderson	(04/30)	@ MIA	Wei-Yin Chen
Jordan Zimmermann DET	(04/25)	vs. SEA	Felix Hernandez	(04/30)	vs. CHW	Dylan Covey
Patrick Corbin ARI	(04/25)	vs. SD	Clayton Richard	(04/30)	vs. COL	Tyler Anderson
Ubaldo Jimenez BAL	(04/24)	vs. TB	Chris Archer	(04/29)	@ NYY	Jordan Montgomery
Jesse Hahn OAK	(04/25)	@ LAA	Matt Shoemaker	(04/30)	@ HOU	Dallas Keuchel
Marco Estrada TOR	(04/25)	@ STL	Michael Wacha	(04/30)	vs. TB	Chris Archer
Matt Cain SF	(04/24)	vs. LAD	Hyun-Jin Ryu	(04/29)	vs. SD	Jhoulys Chacin
Trevor Bauer CLE	(04/25)	vs. HOU	Dallas Keuchel	(04/30)	vs. SEA	Felix Hernandez
Tyler Anderson COL	(04/25)	vs. WAS	Stephen Strasburg	(04/30)	@ ARI	Patrick Corbin
Martin Perez TEX	(04/24)	vs. MIN	Adalberto Mejia	(04/30)	vs. LAA	Matt Shoemaker
Brett Anderson CHC	(04/24)	@ PIT	Chad Kuhl	(04/30)	@ BOS	Rick Porcello
Clayton Richard SD	(04/25)	@ ARI	Patrick Corbin	(04/30)	@ SF	Madison Bumgarner
Dylan Covey CHW	(04/25)	vs. KC	Danny Duffy	(04/30)	@ DET	Jordan Zimmermann
Miguel Gonzalez CHW	(04/24)	vs. KC	Jason Vargas	(04/29)	@ DET	Michael Fulmer
Wade Miley BAL	(04/25)	vs. TB	Erasmo Ramirez	(04/30)	@ NYY	Luis Severino
Tommy Milone MIL	(04/24)	vs. CIN	Amir Garrett	(04/30)	vs. ATL	Julio Teheran
JC Ramirez LAA	(04/24)	vs. TOR	Francisco Liriano	(04/29)	@ TEX	Yu Darvish
Phil Hughes MIN	(04/24)	@ TEX	Martin Perez	(04/30)	@ KC	Jason Vargas
Jhoulys Chacin SD	(04/24)	@ ARI	Zack Greinke	(04/29)	@ SF	Matt Cain

Notes:

• Felix Hernandez struggled a little against Miami but the damage was mostly done on singles in the early stages of the outing. The approach Miami took is something I am interested to see if other teams copy but for now I am going with the thought that some good slap hitting combined with a bit of bad BABIP luck for King Felix contributed to his worst outing of the season.
• Julio Teheran also struggled in his last start but the Nationals can be so hot at times that I am willing to look over it and say he is the good pitcher we thought. He has already shown this season he can stifle the Mets on the road and whilst a trip to Milwaukee has its concerns I think he is good enough to get through it.
• Michael Wacha has looked good so far this season and Toronto are truly awful right now.
• Aaron Sanchez against the equally poor Cardinals and then getting to face Tampa Bay should mean he has at least one really good start this week.
• I like the two matchups for Francisco Liriano especially being on the road at the Angels.
• Urgh Vince Velasquez is really causing me a headache. One start he strikes out 10 but gives up a handful of earned runs and then he strikes out two but doesn’t give up many runs. I think the Miami start could be a good enough to hide any damage the Dodgers might do.
• Luis Severino is the high upside guy of this group and genuinely this time next year could considered along with that second tier of pitchers (Greinke through Teheran) but these matchups do scare me a little and hence he slipped in behind Velasquez.
• Jason Vargas has started the year hot but a run of starts against meh teams has really helped him. Luckily that continues this week as he get the White Sox and the hot and cold Twins so there is a real chance he could have two more good outings this week. Worth a pick up for this week at the very least because if what he is doing is real he could be a useful piece all season.
• Wei-Yin Chen has two really nice match-ups
• Amir Garrett is a better pitcher than Chen but I fear that match up in Miller Park just enough to slide him in below him
  

  Reinhold Matay – USA TODAY Sports

• Robert Gsellman and Chad Kuhl have one good and one bad match-up each and are my last must start guys in 12 team leagues.
• I want to trust Jordan Zimmermann so badly with one start against the White Sox but there’s just so little upside for the risk it isn’t worth it. The White Sox match-up does mean I will consider him in 12 team leagues but he isn’t a must get for me
• Patrick Corbn gets to face the Padres and Ubaldo Jimenez gets the Rays so there is a glimpse of upside for both
• Jesse Hahn is my last 14 team must start guy because I think he can get enough good out of the Angels start that the Astros one won’t kill you.
• I hate ranking Matt Cain over pretty much anyone but he’s been good lately and he does get to face the Padres at the end of the week. Oh and look at those names behind him and tell me you feel confident starting any of them?
• Clayton Richard is the last guy I’d definitely go with in 16 team mixed leagues.

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