Erik Bedard | Pittsburgh Pirates | (7.1%) – The oft-injured Bedard is a shadow of his former dominance.  Opening week this year can prove to be a glimpse into the past when he faces two teams that he has historically dominated.  His first opponent is the Philadelphia Phillies at home.  In 3 career starts (21 career innings) against the Phillies Bedard has a 1.71 ERA and 1.05 WHIP and a dominant 10.3K/IP ratio.  In 79 at-bats against the southpaw, the Phillies are hitting a combined .241, striking out more than 25% of the time.  His next opponent, the Dodgers, have a combined .172 average and .250 OBP in 58 at-bats.  Last year the Dodgers were ranked 19th against lefties in terms of batting average and OBP.

Jaime Garcia | St. Louis Cardinals | (100%) – Opening week should be a breeze for Jaime Garcia.  He faces two lineups that have given lefties a difficult time in past years, yet he has been the water to their fire.  Garcia starts the year off by facing the Milwaukee Brewers.  Throughout his career Garcia holds a 3.27 ERA against the Brew crew carrying a .243 BAA.  Current Brewers hitters have a collective OBP of .308 against Garcia.  Garcia should look even sharper against the Reds lineup.  His mastery of the new Big Red Machine is beyond explanation.  Last year the Reds were hottest team against left-handed pitching.  Somehow Garcia has been able to hold the Reds’ starting lineup to an astoundingly meager .180 BAA through 100 at-bats.  Only 6 of those hits were for extra bases.  Throughout 7 starts against the Reds, Garcia has a 6-1 career win-loss record.  If these stats can’t convince you maybe his historic April performance can.  In 9 career April starts, Garcia is 5-1 with a 1.60 ERA and a .208 BAA.

Two-Start Pitchers to Sit

Jordan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals | (100%) – Last year Zimmerman showed a glimpse of what made him a second round pick of the Nationals nearly 5 years ago.  Wait for those glimpses to become more consistent before making him a guaranteed starter for your team this year.  He starts off the new season facing two lineups that have historically brought him misery.  His first matchup of the year is against the Chicago Cubs.  In 3 career starts against the Cubs Zimmerman has a 6.00 ERA and has given up 3 HRs in only 18 innings.  Cubs starters are hitting a combined .282 against Zimmerman.  After Chicago Zimmerman flies back home to take on the Reds.  In 47 at-bats against Zimmerman, the Reds lineup is hitting .383 with 3 Hrs.  All 3 of these HRs have come from the heart of the Reds lineup (Bruce, Votto, and Ludwick).

Matt Garza | Chicago Cubs | (100%) – Garza might be the number one starter for the Cubs but he will have the week of a number five starter.  His first start of the week comes against the Washington Nationals at home.  The Nationals roster has a collective .315 batting average and .362 OBP through 54 at-bats against Garza.  Of the 17 hits against Garza, 5 are extra base-hits and 3 are homeruns.  The next opponent, the Brewers, presents just as tough of a challenge for Garza.  The Brewers lineup has a collective batting average of .281 and .344 OBP against Garza in 57 at-bats.  Similar to his stats against the Nationals, nearly one-third of the hits that Garza has yielded to the Brewers have gone for extra bases.

Hitters to Start

Carlos Pena | Tampa Bay Rays | (99.2%) – Carlos Pena and The Tampa Bay Rays start off the year facing three World Series contenders.  Pena can bring a cheap and somewhat available source of power for those of you owners who might have fallen asleep at your draft.  Over the last three seasons against the Yankees he has maintained a his typical low batting average, however he has been able to muscle out 11 HRs in only 99 at-bats.  Penas numbers will improve as the week goes on when he faces the Tigers next.  Pena is hitting .273 against Detroit’s staff, phenomenal for his average.  Pena should turn up the heat at the end of the week when he faces the Red Sox.  Against Red Sox starters Pena is hitting .215 with 11 HRs in only 135 at-bats.  IF you can sacrifice the average points, Pena’s power surge could come in handy.

Jayson Werth | Washington Nationals | (100%) – Against the Chicago Cubs starters he is scheduled to face Werth is hitting .280.  This may seem pedestrian, but it’s really the start of a good week for Werth.  Against his next opponent, the Mets, Werth is hitting .304 with 1/3 of his hits going for extra bases.  The Reds visit Washington next and bring to them a history of defeat at the hands of Werth.  Against the Reds’ staff Werth is hitting a career .326 average and a .404 OBP to match.

Hitters to Sit

Rickie Weeks | Milwaukee Brewers | (100%) – Rickie Weeks is going to have a hard time regaining the form he had last season when he faces a gauntlet of teams this opening week.  Against the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff Weeks is hitting .230 through 122 at-bats with a .324 OBP (30 points lower than career average).  Weeks is going to have an even harder time against his next opponent, the Chicago Cubs.  In 165 career at-bats against the Cubs staff Weeks is hitting .206 with only 6 extra-base hits.  Things will continue to get tougher when Weeks and the Brewers visit the Braves.  The Atlanta pitching staff has held Weeks to an abysmal .192 batting average and .280 OBP through 73 at-bats.

Chase Headley | San Diego Padres | (77.9%) – Headley has never been a true fantasy owner’s dream and those of you in deep leagues should be weary of his opening week.  Headley and the Padres have the luck of playing the Dodgers 7 out of the first 10 games of the season.  This is bad news for Headley owners.  In 116 at-bats against Dodgers pitching, Headley is hitting a meager .224 while sporting an OBP of .302.  Watch out for Headley’s Petco splits as well.  Hitting at home Headley has a .229 career batting average.  Arizona starters have held Headley to a .200 batting average through 50 career at-bats while also holding him to a .286 OBP.

Written by James Bryce exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

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