Week Ahead: Rodon on the Road
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Less than one year after being drafted with the No. 3 overall pick, Carlos Rodon is up in the majors and pitching in the White Sox rotation. He's looked pretty good, too.
The 22-year-old lefty came up in mid-April and made a few appearances out of the bullpen before sliding into a starting role. Since the transition, he's had two good outings -- quality starts at home against the Reds and Indians -- and one dud where he was knocked around for five runs over four innings in Oakland.
Since joining the big-league ranks, Rodon has had some pretty extreme control problems, averaging nearly a walk per inning, but his nasty stuff has helped make up for that. As a starter, he's holding opponents to a .228 average and .316 slugging percentage, with 17 strikeouts across three turns in the rotation.
That tells you all you need to know about the upside Rodon offers once he's able to cut down on the walks, which is going to happen. He may always be an "effectively wild" type, with his heavy reliance on a slider that rarely stays in the zone, but you can bet that he's not going to maintain a 7.7 BB/9 rate.
There's plenty of reason for apprehension about Rodon's match-ups as a two-start pitcher in The Week Ahead. Both come on the road, against good offenses in hitter-friendly parks. But if you're looking for a high-upside gamble, you'll find none better on this week's list.
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* Since being featured here as a recommended add three weeks ago, David Phelps has put up a 3.09 ERA in four starts for Miami. If you missed the boat, he's still out there in 90 percent of Yahoo! leagues and is worth a look this week even with two starts on the road.
* Charlie Morton is expected to make his first start of the season for the Pirates on Tuesday at home against the Marlins, with another coming Sunday in San Diego. It's hard to know just what to expect from a guy who's spent the last two months sidelined with a hip injury, but those are some favorable match-ups and Morton has pitched very well during his rehab stint.
* Brett Anderson in May: Four starts, 1.99 ERA, one homer allowed, 20-to-5 K/BB. He's looking an awful lot like the guy he used to be and he's owned in only 7 percent of Yahoo! leagues. He's a definitive Strong Play this week.
* Tsuyoshi Wada struck out nine hitters over 4 2/3 innings in his return from the DL on Wednesday. He's looking ahead to two home starts.
* He has a terrible 6.06 ERA, owing to some immense early-season struggles, but Drew Hutchison appears to be getting things straightened out. In his last four starts, he has a 3.57 ERA with 20 strikeouts and four walks in 17 2/3 innings. He merits consideration this week against the White Sox and Twins.
* Nearly all of Matt Shoemaker's peripheral stats are directly in line with last year, when he was Rookie of the Year runner-up with 16 wins and 3.04 ERA, except for his home run rate, which has skyrocketed. Incredibly, the righty has allowed a homer on one out of every five fly balls this year. That won't last. He gets the ball twice at home this week.
* Remember Shaun Marcum? The former standout starter for the Blue Jays and Brewers has been derailed by injuries over the past couple seasons, but now he's back pitching in the Cleveland rotation and he's been very good in his two starts. I like his chances to keep it going against the Rangers and Mariners.
Going Twice...
American League
Strong Plays
Jake Odorizzi: SEA, @BAL
J.A. Happ: @TB, CLE
Jesse Chavez: DET, NYY
David Price: @OAK, @LAA
Danny Salazar: TEX, @SEA
Wei-Yin Chen: HOU, TB
Dallas Keuchel: @BAL, CWS
Decent Plays
Drew Hutchison: CWS, @MIN
Wandy Rodriguez: @CLE, BOS
Roenis Elias: @TB, CLE
Jesse Hahn: DET, NYY
Nathan Eovaldi: KC, @OAK
Adam Warren: KC, @OAK
Matt Shoemaker: SD, DET
Jered Weaver: SD, DET
Yordano Ventura: @NYY, @CHC
Shane Greene: @OAK, @LAA ??
Carlos Rodon: @TOR, @HOU
Shaun Marcum: TEX, @SEA
Clay Buchholz: @MIN, @TEX
Joe Kelly: @MIN, @TEX
At Your Own Risk
Phil Klein: @CLE, BOS
Ricky Nolasco: BOS, TOR
John Danks: @TOR, @HOU
Chris Tillman: HOU, TB
National League
Strong Plays
Tim Lincecum: @MIL, ATL
Madison Bumgarner: @MIL, ATL
Tyson Ross: @LAA, PIT
Bartolo Colon: PHI, MIA
David Phelps: @PIT, @NYM
Brett Anderson: ATL, @STL
Chase Anderson: @STL, @MIL
Jordan Zimmermann: @CHC, @CIN
Decent Plays
Carlos Martinez: ARI, LAD
Charlie Morton: MIA, @SD
Kyle Lohse: SF, ARI
Tsuyoshi Wada: WAS, KC
Julio Teheran: @LAD, @SF
At Your Own Risk
Odrisamer Despaigne: @LAA, PIT
Jeff Locke: MIA, @SD
Severino Gonzalez: @NYM, COL
Eddie Butler: @CIN, @PHI
Williams Perez: @LAD, @SF
Jason Marquis: COL, WAS
Streamer City
The following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:
American League
Tuesday, May 26: Scott Feldman @ BAL
Feldman's bloated 5.17 ERA is mostly the result of two bad outings; he has been solid otherwise, with six quality starts. He struck out a season-high 10 Toronto hitters last weekend.
Wednesday, May 27: Chris Young @ NYY
Young has been shockingly effective this year, both in the bullpen and rotation. He held the Yankees to one run over 5 2/3 innings in a victory earlier this month.
Thursday, May 28: Kyle Lobstein @ LAA
The lefty has been quality in four of his last six starts, and the Angels have the worst offense in the American League, averaging just 3.7 runs per game.
National League
Wednesday, May 27: Henderson Alvarez @ PIT
Alvarez struggled in his return from the disabled list this past week, but we expect better things against a Pittsburgh team that has produced a 671 OPS overall.
Wednesday, May 27: Wily Peralta vs. SF
Peralta has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his five starts at Miller Park.
Thursday, May 28: Chris Heston vs. ATL
The rookie right-hander has been very off-and-on, but I'd give him a look in this home tilt against a mediocre Braves lineup.
Total Games
American League
6: HOU, KC, MIN, TB, TOR
7: BAL, BOS, CLE, CWS, DET, LAA, NYY, OAK, SEA, TEX,
National League
6: ARI, CHC, CIN, COL, LAD, MIA, MIL, NYM, PHI, STL, WAS
7: ATL, PIT, SD, SF
The Infirmary
You can get a full listing of injured players at Rotoworld's Injury Page but here's the latest on a few prominent players who have been out of action:
Bud Norris: Returning this week (illness)
Corey Dickerson: Out until June (foot)
Justin Morneau: Out indefinitely (head)
Victor Martinez: Out indefinitely (knee)
Samuel Deduno: Out indefinitely (back)
Jean Segura: Out indefinitely (finger)
Chase Whitley: Out for the season (elbow)
Jacoby Ellsbury: Out indefinitely (knee)
Drew Pomeranz: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Chad Billingsley: Out until late June (back)
Wil Myers: Out indefinitely (wrist)
Jon Jay: Returning this week (wrist)
Drew Smyly: Out until August (shoulder)
Ross Detwiler: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Devon Travis: Out until early June (shoulder)
Jayson Werth: Out until early June (wrist)
