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Thoughts
I wasn’t go to have a five star option this week, but I decided that Josh Beckett was the best option available and therefore deserving of the ranking. I know he’s coming off a poor start, but there’s no denying how good he has been this season. You also have to factor in the match-ups, against two weaker offenses in Oakland and Kansas City, and I feel like it’s justified.
I know Jered Weaver has been terrible in two of his last three outings, as well as having tough matchups against a pair of high-powered offenses. If you are in a shallow format with significant other options, then I could see leaving him on the bench, but outside of that, you almost have to use him. You almost have to expect him to redeem himself against the Rangers, who got him for seven earned runs his last time out.
Should Clayton Kershaw be a two or three star option? Well, I can tell you that I am definitely going to be using him in my keeper league, though that’s not to say that I don’t have my concerns for him.
Walks have been a significant issue, with 52 over 87.2 innings. While that has not translated into a poor ERA (3.49) or WHIP (1.31), you have to think it’s going to catch up to him sooner or later. He does have a BABIP of .267, so a regression is likely coming.
The issue that the walks have caused is increased pitch counts, not allowing Kershaw to go deep into games and get victories, despite how well he’s pitching. When a pitcher barely goes past five innings, there certainly is an issue.
I’m sure my ranking of Ricky Romero as a two star option is going to draw some questions. I know how impressive he’s been, allowing three earned runs or less in each of his last six starts; going seven innings or more in all but one of those starts (he went 6.1 innings).
I also must admit that the fact that he faced the Phillies twice in that stretch and was able to pitch well against them both times is very promising. Still, I can’t get over the fact that just a year ago he posted a 4.98 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in Double-A. You also have to factor in that his first start comes in the homer haven known as the new Yankee Stadium.
The fact that he’s a ground ball pitcher is going to help, but still, he’s never shown this type of potential in the past. His career minor league ERA is 4.42 and WHIP is 1.47, does that sound like numbers of a pitcher who can keep up this type of streak? I’m not going to say he’s unusable, but I certainly don’t consider him a must use option quite yet.
Which 2-start pitchers do you like for next week? Which ones are you trying to avoid?
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