MLB Fantasy—Two-Start Pitchers for Week Six: Matt Garza, Barry Zito

Austin Jackson was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Curtis Granderson’s large contract to the New York Yankees. As of Saturday, he is hitting .369/1/9/5, has reached base in 24 consecutive games, and is the odds on favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

He’s hitting at a very high rate, and even though his other numbers aren’t very high, that batting average pace is completely unsustainable. His batting average for batted balls in play (BABIP) is .512. Over time hitters tend to regress to a norm of .300.

If you have him on your squad, sell now because his value will never be higher. If you are thinking of trading for him, consider waiting for his value to dip a little before pulling the trigger.

Now, the projected two-start pitchers for this week. For those of you in leagues who require you to set your lineup at the beginning of the week, these are guys you should strongly consider:

American League BAL David Hernandez BOS John Lackey CWS none CLE Jake Westbrook DET Dontrelle Willis, Rick Porcello KC Brian Bannister LAA Joel Pineiro MIN none NYY Sergio Mitre, Javier Vazquez OAK Vin Mazzaro SEA Cliff Lee TB Matt Garza TEX Colby Lewis TOR Brandon Morrow

National League ARI Rodrigo Lopez ATL Tommy Hanson CHC Ted Lilly CIN Bronson Arroyo COL Greg Smith, Aaron Cook FLA Nate Robertson, Ricky Nolasco HOU Brett Myers LAD Chad Billingsley MIL Doug Davis NYM John Maine, Jon Niese PHI Kyle Kendrick PIT Charlie Morton SD Wade LeBlanc SF Barry Zito STL Brad Penny WAS Luis Atilano, Scott Olsen

Rick’s Picks
Five best bets for double-start pitchers this week

1. Matt Garza, TB—Garza faces a mediocre offense on the road (at LAA) and a weak offense at home (vs SEA). You don’t need to know that much about Garza’s opponents this week to start the hottest pitcher in baseball.

2. Barry Zito, SF—Zito has found his glory days of old and is pitching very well these days. He gets two poor offenses at home (vs SD, vs HOU) and should reward you with a strong week.

3. Brad Penny, STL—Penny is not pitching anywhere near his caliber these days, and St. Louis is very glad about that. He gets two weak offenses (vs HOU, at CIN) and should keep right on rolling.

4. Tommy Hanson, ATL—Hanson faces two of the top three hitting clubs in the league (vs MIL, vs ARI), but two home starts should help Hanson tame his opponents.

5. Colby Lewis, TEX—Lewis is in the top 10 in strikeouts and faces two mediocre offenses (vs OAK, at TOR). Look for the K’s to keep coming and maybe a couple of W’s.

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Rick Milleman is the head fantasy baseball contributor at DraftBuddy.com. Check his annual player projections included in the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy to help draft your championship team.