2011 Fantasy Baseball Weekly Pitching Profile Top 50 Rankings: Jered Weaver Is On Fire

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· April 13, 2011

Unless you are one of my Facebook friends who is reading this to find out what in the hell all those random baseball links I keep posting are, you are probably reading this because you play fantasy baseball. And if that assumption is correct, then you have probably found yourself staring at the live scoring screen on your fantasy website of choice on many a random Tuesday night.

Not sure about you, but when I find myself staring at that screen, I never get too worked up about an AB of one of my guys. Over the course of a week (in H2H leagues) or the course of a season (in Roto leagues), one AB is part of a large sample and will have little effect on my team’s overall production. It is just hard to care about the outcome of one single AB.

But when I have a pitcher going, it is much easier to get invested in the outcome of that start, especially in H2H leagues where you may only have a handful of starts each week.

Moreover, it allows you to watch one game rather than just randomly jumping around checking in on other games. This is just one more reason why I prefer pitchers over hitters. So how about we get to this week’s “Guys to Watch” and the Top 50?

Guys to Watch
Chris Narverson (23% owned) – My boyfriend! Narveson is officially off to a hot start with another solid line in his second start of the year: 7 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 9 K, W. I insist on including Narveson in “Guys to Watch” every single week until he falls off the cliff of which he is certainly standing on the edge or until his ownership percentage reaches 50% on ESPN.

Justin Masterson (12% owned) – In addition to a couple of nice starts early this season, there is a lot to like about Masterson. He has a nice pedigree, produces ground balls at an above-average rate, and has upside in the strikeout department. What has held Masterson back in almost 300 major league innings is a lack of control. With a walk rate just under four per nine, Masterson has just been too big of a WHIP risk for fantasy owners. However, in 13.1 innings over his first two starts this season, Masterson has issued only three walks. If he continues to show improved control, he could become an option in all formats.

Aaron Harang (17.2% owned) – Here is what I wrote about Harang in the preseason:

While it is unlikely that Petco is going to bring back the 2005-2007 version of Harang (ERA in the high threes, 7.00-8.00 K/9, sub-1.30 WHIP), it could bring back the 2008-2009 version (ERA in the mid fours, 7.50ish K/9, 1.40 WHIP). At the very least, hopefully Petco will bring better than the 2010 version of Harang (5.32 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 6.61 K/9).

Harang’s first two starts of the season happened to come in his new home ballpark, and Harang delivered two six inning, one earned run performances while picking up the win in each game. Feel free to roster Harang in NL-only leagues and deeper mixed leagues, and you can spot start him at home in shallow mixed leagues. His next home start will not come until the 25th against the Braves, but he may be safe to use on Friday (the 15th) on the road against Houston.

The Top 50
1. Roy Halladay | Philadelphia Phillies | 100% owned | Last week: 1

2. Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants | 100% owned | Last week: 3

3. Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | 100% owned | Last week: 2

4. Cliff Lee | Philadelphia Phillies | 100% owned | Last week: 4

5. Jon Lester | Boston Red Sox | 100% owned | Last week: 5

6. Jered Weaver | Los Angeles Angels | 100% owned | Last week: 10

I heart Jered Weaver. Many questioned his ability to repeat his 2010 production, but I was not one of those people. Through three starts he has three wins, a sub-1.00 ERA and WHIP, and a K/9 over 11. There is still plenty of time for “them” to be right and for me to be wrong, but so far so good as far as I am concerned.

7. Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | 100% owned | Last week: 6

8. CC Sabathia | New York Yankees | 100% owned | Last week: 7

9. Josh Johnson | Florida Marlins | 100% owned | Last week: 8

10. Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers | 100% owned | Last week: 11

11. Dan Haren | Los Angeles Angels | 100% owned | Last week: 12

12. Matt Cain | San Francisco Giants | 100% owned | Last week: 13

13. Yovani Gallardo | Milwaukee Brewers | 100% owned | Last week: 14

14. Tommy Hanson | Atlanta Braves | 100% owned | Last week: 15

15. Ubaldo Jimenez | Colorado Rockies | 100% owned | Last week: 9

Jimenez is set to return from the DL next Monday with a start at Citi Field against the New York Mets. If he can make it through that start and show he is fully healthy, he should be back in the top ten next week.

16. Francisco Liriano | Minnesota Twins| 100% owned | Last week: 16

17. David Price | Tampa Bay Rays | 100% owned | Last week: 18

18. Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies | 100% owned | Last week: 19

19. Roy Oswalt | Philadelphia Phillies | 100% owned | Last week: 20

20. Mat Latos | San Diego Padres | 100% owned | Last week: 21

21. Shawn Marcum | Milwaukee Brewers | 100% owned | Last week: 22

22. Tim Hudson | Atlanta Braves | 100% owned | Last week: 24

23. Chris Carpenter | St. Louis Cardinals | 100% owned | Last week: 17

24. Hiroki Kuroda | Los Angeles Dodgers | 100% owned | Last week: 31

25. Ricky Romero | Toronto Blue Jays | 100% owned | Last week: 27

21.2 IP, 4 ER, 20 K, sub-1.00 WHIP. It would not surprise me at all if Romero continued to climb this list all season long and ended the year well above #25.

26. Ted Lilly | Los Angeles Dodgers | 100% owned | Last week: 25

27. Wandy Rodriguez | Houston Astros | 97.2% owned | Last week: 28

28. Zack Greinke | Kansas City Royals | 100% owned | Last week: 30

29. Dan Hudson | Arizona Diamondbacks | 100% owned | Last week: 29

30. Jaime Garcia | St. Louis Cardinals | 100% owned | Last week: 33

Damn has Garcia been good in his first two starts: 15 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 18 K. Ultimately, I am still concerned about Garcia throwing 163 innings in 2010 after an injury limited him to less than 40 innings in 2009 (and he only threw 122 innings in 2008). But for now, it is hard to ignore what Jaime is doing.

31. Gio Gonzalez | Oakland Athletics | 96.3% owned | Last week: 32

32. Chad Billingsley | Los Angeles Dodgers | 100% owned | Last week: 23

33. Max Scherzer | Detroit Tigers | 100% owned | Last week: 26

34. John Danks | Chicago White Sox | 100% owned | Last week: 34

35. Josh Beckett | Boston Red Sox | 100% owned| Last week: 40

Welcome back???

36 . Ryan Dempster | Chicago Cubs | 100% owned | Last week: 36

37. Clay Buchholz | Boston Red Sox | 100% owned | Last week: 35

38. Gavin Floyd | Chicago White Sox | 27.4% owned | Last week: 37

39. Jonathan Sanchez | San Francisco Giants | 100% owned | Last week: 39

40. Matt Garza | Chicago Cubs | 100% owned | Last week: 39

41. Ervin Santana | Los Angeles Angels | 55.1% owned | Last week: 45

42. Ricky Nolasco | Florida Marlins | 100% owned | Last week: 42

43. Jhoulys Chacin | Colorado Rockies | 100% owned | Last week: 47

44. Colby Lewis | Texas Rangers | 100% owned | Last week: 42

45. Jorge de la Rosa | Colorado Rockies | 35.7% owned | Last week: 43

46. C.J. Wilson | Texas Rangers | 100% owned | Last week: 44

47. Brett Anderson | Oakland Athletics | 100% owned | Last week: 46

48. Trevor Cahill | Oakland Athletics | 100% owned | Last week: 49

49. James Shields | Tampa Bay Rays | 100% owned | Last week: 50

50. Edwin Jackson | Chicago White Sox | 96.9% owned | Last week: NR

Since last Tuesday, Jackson has turned in a gem and another very Edwin Jackson-like performance.

4/7 TB: 8 IP, 1 ER, 4H, 1 BB, 13 K

4/12 OAK: 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 K, ND

Jackson will likely continue to be erratic all season long. But if you can stand to take the bad with the good, Jackson’s season totals might shake out to be above average. If you can pick your spots with him (play matchups and go heavy on road starts), he might be even better.

Out this week: Anibal Sanchez

All ownership percentages from ESPN.com

Written by Brett Talley exclusively for thefantasyfix.com. Brett is a law student in Dallas who…apparently has no quip this week. You can follow him on Twitter @therealTAL.

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(September 30, 2010 – Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America)

Tags: The Fantasy Fix, 2011 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Advice, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings, Brett Talley, The Pitching Profile

2011 Fantasy Baseball Weekly Pitching Profile Top 50 Rankings: Jered Weaver Is On Fire