2011 Fantasy Baseball, Week 13 Sit Em/Start Em: Ryan Vogelsong, J.J. Hardy Get The Nod

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· June 26, 2011

Ryan Vogelsong

Hurlers To Start

Ryan Vogelsong | San Francisco Giants | 96.6% – Ryan Vogelsong has been one of the feel good stories of 2011. This week he is scheduled to take on the Cubs and the Tigers.

His start against the Cubs is against a team he has has success against in his career. Against Cubs hitters, Vogelsong has a .256 BAA and has only given up 2 RBI, both coming off solo home runs.

His next start is against the Tigers. In his career Ryan Vogelsong has only faced 3 Tigers batters but has held them to a .167 BAA without any power numbers. Included in that is the fact the Miguel Cabrerra has yet to get a hit off Vogelsong.

Erik Bedard | Seattle Mariners | 97.6% – Bedard is having resurgence. The Mariners gave a lot up in order to land the former O’s ace and it seems like it is finally paying off. This week Bedard get two teams that are ranked 13th and 16th in the NL in team average.

First up for the southpaw is the Atlanta Braves. The Braves as a team are hitting only .239. Bedard will also have the benefit of the lefty on lefty matchup with the Braves big bats. As long as Bedard can keep the Braves in the yard he has a good chance of putting up solid numbers.

The worst hitting team in the NL is the San Diego Padres. Bedard get to face the forced “former PCL rivals” for the second time this year. In his start against the Pads earlier in the year Bedard pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball. Combine that with the fact that current Padre hitters are hitting only .160 in 46 at-bats against Bedard and I say give him the green light.

Hurlers To Sit

Kyle Loshe | St. Louis Cardinals | 78.5% – Consider me a Kyle Loshe skeptic. I know people like to build up Dave Duncan and how he wants his pitchers to attack hitters but his best pitchers don’t use his 2-Seam method. This week Loshe will head against two Al East foes the Orioles and the Rays.

First Loshe gets Baltimore where he has a career 4.09 ERA at Camden Yards. Against current O’s hitters Loshe is surrendering a .322 BAA and a whopping .962 OPS. O’s hitters have also hit 3 HR’s and 12 RBI against the Red Birds righty.

Next on the dish is the Tampa Bay Rays. In 30 at-bats against Loshe Rays hitters are hitting .333 with 60% of the hits of the extra base variety. Also the Rays have a good .897 OPS against Loshe.

Brett Meyers | Houston Astros | 32.8% – Brett Meyers is a mediocre pitcher on an awful team yet for some reason his own percentage is higher than pitchers have better years such as Randy Wolf, Tim Stauffer, and Jason Marquis. This week the veteran righty gets the tough task for facing two if the AL’s best lineups, the Rangers and the Red Sox.

Against the Rangers starters, Meyers has a BAA of .281 and has given up 2 HR’s and 11 RBI in 57 at-bats. Another red flag for Meyers owners is his home ERA of 5.56 this season. Although this means the Rangers will not be able to utilize the DH in this matchup their lineup still packs a punch with the versatility of Michael Young.

I wouldn’t start anyone facing the Red Sox right now. The Sox are finally hitting on all cylinders and are the most feared team in baseball right now. Although current Red Sox are only hitting .250 against Meyers, which includes over 30 at-bats from Mike Cameron and Jason Varitek who will most likely be held out of the lineup. Again this start for Meyers is at home where as I previously mentioned he’s struggles this year.

JJ Hardy

Sluggers To Start

JJ Hardy |Baltimore Orioles| (98.3%) – Hardy has been as hot as anybody in baseball for the last month. If he’s still available, now is the time to pick him up. His first opponent of the week is the St. Louis Cardinals. Hardy has great career numbers against the three starting pitchers of St. Louis. Against Westbrook, Lohse, and Carpenter, Hardy is 7 for 20 with the majority of his hits being for extra bases. He also has fairly respectable numbers against St. Louis during his career (.286 through 280 at-bats). All three of the Braves starters that Hardy will face against the Braves are righties. Hardy’s splits favor him batting against right-handed pitchers strongly. Hardy is hitting 55 points higher against right-handed pitching and has seven of his nine homeruns against right-handed pitching.

James Loney |Los Angeles Dodgers| (26.8%) – Loney has been quietly sneaking back into his top-hitter form. Over the last 30 days Loney has hit .341 with an OPS of .876. He should be able to continue it this week against the Angels and Twins. Against the three starters for the Angels, Loney is hitting .375 through 24 at-bats. All of Loney’s games this week are away games. For his career, Loney is hitting .303 on the road (34 points higher than his home average). Two of the three Minnesota pitchers that Loney faces are righties. Against righties this year, Loney is hitting .300 (he’s hitting .190 against lefties). Loney’s low percentage of ownership and his current hot streak provides owners with a first base option for those who need to fill a void or need an improved bench.

Sluggers To Sit

Jayson Heyward |Atlanta Braves| (100%) – Heyward is mired in a sophomore slump that saw him hit .098 for the month of May. Don’t look for him to improve anytime soon. Loney’s first opponent of the week is the Mariners. He has to face both King Felix and the rookie-phenom Michael Pineda at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field. If you thought that was the worst of his problems this week, think again. Heyward will also face Bedard and Brian Matusz, two left-handed pitchers. Against lefties, Heyward is hitting an anemic .190. Furthermore, the games against the Orioles are at home. Heyward’s home splits are not much better. He’s hitting only .209 at home this year.

Alex Rios |Chicago White Sox| (74.9%) – Rios has the third-worst away splits among all hitters. He’s hitting .168 away from U.S. Cellular Field. Bad news for all Rios owners, this week all of Rios’ games are away games. Also, all but one of the pitchers that Rios will face are right-handed. Rios also has one of the worst splits against right-handed pitchers. This year against righties, Rios is hitting .192 with a .578 OPS. Give him some more time before making him an everyday player in your outfield.

Written by JJ Omar & James Bryce exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

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Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Baseball News, Fantasy Baseball Tips, Sit Em/Start Em, James Bryce, JJ Omar, Two-Start Pitchers, Alex Rios, Jayson Heyward, James Loney, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Vogelsong, Brett Myers, Kyle Lohse, Erik Bedard

2011 Fantasy Baseball, Week 13 Sit Em/Start Em: Ryan Vogelsong, J.J. Hardy Get The Nod