The Baseball Ticker: Week of June 19, 2006

by Bryan Roth
June 19, 2006

Editor's note: I you have any fantasy baseball questions please send Bryan a message at AHPfantasybaseball@hotmail.com

Two-start pitchers worth starting this week:
Randy Johnson (6/19 @ Philadelphia, 6/25 vs. Florida)
Jeremy Bonderman (6/19 @ Milwaukee, 6/25 vs. St. Louis)
Dan Haren (6/19 @ Colorado, 6/25 @ San Francisco)
Mark Redman (6/20 vs. Pittsburgh, 6/25 vs. Milwaukee)
Rodrigo Lopez (6/20 vs. Florida, 6/25 vs. Washington)
Roy Oswalt (6/20 vs. Minnesota, 6/25 @ Chicago White Sox)
Brad Penny (6/20 vs. Seattle, 6/25 vs. Pittsburgh)
Dontrelle Willis (6/20 @ Baltimore, 6/25 @ New York Yankees)
Bronson Arroyo (6/19 vs. New York Mets, 6/24 @ Cleveland)

You make the call:
Greg Maddux (6/19 @ Cleveland, 6.25 @ Minnesota)
Doug Davis (6/19 vs. Detroit, 6/25 @ Kansas City)
Matt Cain (6/19 vs. Los Angeles Angels, 6/25 vs. Oakland)
Zach Duke (6/19 vs. Arizona, 6/24 @ Los Angeles Dodgers)
Brett Myers (6/19 vs. New York Yankees, 6/25 @ Boston)
Orlando Hernandez (6/19 vs. Cincinnati, 6/25 @ Toronto)
Sidney Ponson (6/20 @ Chicago White Sox, 6/25 @ Detroit)
Brad Radke (6/20 @ Houston, 6/25 vs. Chicago Cubs)
Ted Lilly (6/20 @ Atlanta, 6/25 vs. New York Mets)

Other two-start pitchers this week:
Tony Armas Jr. (6/19 @ Boston, 6/25 @ Baltimore)
Byung-Hyun Kim (6/19 vs. Oakland, 6/25 vs. Texas)
Jason Johnson (6/19 vs. Chicago Cubs, 6/25 vs. Cincinnati)
Claudio Vargas (6/19 @ Pittsburgh, 6/24 vs. Los Angeles Angels)
Miguel Batista (6/20 @ Tampa Bay, 6/25 vs. Los Angeles Angels)
Chuck James (6/20 vs. Toronto, 6/25 @ Tampa Bay)
Elizardo Ramirez (6/20 @ New York Mets, 6/25 @ Cleveland)
Mike Thompson (6/20 @ Texas, 6/25 vs. Seattle)
Steve Trachsel (6/20 vs. Cincinnati, 6/25 @ Toronto)
Joel Pineiro (6/20 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 6/25 @ San Diego)
Javier Vazquez (6/20 vs. St. Louis, 6/25 vs. Houston)
Mark Hendrickson (6/20 vs. Arizona, 6/25 vs. Atlanta)
Vincente Padilla (6/20 vs. San Diego, 6/25 @ Colorado)

Playing seven games this week:
Diamondbacks, Pirates, Mets and Reds.

At the hitter’s parks this week:
At Ameriquest Field in Texas: Padres (6/20-22)
At Chase Field in Arizona: Angels (6/23-25)
At Coors Field in Colorado: A’s (6/19-21) and Rangers (6/23-25)
At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia: Yankees (6/19-21)
At US Cellular Field in Chicago (AL): Cardinals (6/20-22) and Astros (6/23-25)

Ratchet them up!

Jason Kubel (OF, Twins): Kubel is getting lots of playing time and producing big numbers. He hit a home run in three straight games over the weekend and is hitting well over .300 in the last two weeks.

Gary Matthews Jr. (OF, Rangers): In addition to making the trip to Colorado this week. Matthews Jr. has been one of many Texas players to have a fantastic hitting streak over the season. With Kevin Mench on the outs in Texas, Matthews Jr. has locked a spot for him in the lineup.

Matt Kemp (OF, Dodgers): The rook has looked great in center field and is already closing in on double digits in home runs after just two weeks of play.

David Ross (C, Reds): Ross has displaced Jason LaRue as the primary catcher in Cincinnati and is a hot pick up because of his 10 home runs this season. He’s also hitting over .400 in his last 13 games.

Justin Morneau (1B, Twins): His bat has finally shown the promise every knew it would. He collected 21 hits in 59 at-bats before the weekend and is moving his season average closer to .300.

Mark Redman (SP, Royals): Yes, there is a Royal worth owning … this week. Redman has been on a mini tear, going 3-0 in his last three starts with a 3.74 ERA. He’s facing a weak Pittsburgh lineup this week and has always been great (.230 BAA) against Milwaukee)

Rodrigo Lopez (SP, Baltimore): Normally, Lopez' last few stats would discourage fantasy players. But, thanks to Interleague play, Lopez is worth picking up for now. In his 11 career starts against NL teams, Lopez owns a 4.13 ERA and batters hit .238 against him.

Dontrelle Willis (SP, Florida): Willis is back on the mend and is starting to flash some good stuff again. He’s always been solid in Interleague play and has gone 2-0 in his last three.

Jeff Weaver (SP, Angels): He kept his job in the majors for now and has lost two of his last three starts with a no decision. So why pick him up? Well, rumors are swirling about Weaver’s return back east, where he would join the Boston rotation. If for wins alone, that’s reason to consider the elder Weaver.

Jared Weaver (SP, Triple-A Salt Lake): Weaver has been sent down by Los Angeles, but his value is moving up because the Angels are trying to open a spot in the rotation for him. Jared has been the better weaver this year and the best pitcher in Los Angeles’ rotation the last two weeks. He’ll be back, soon.

Ratchet them down!

Jhonny Peralta (SS, Indians): If you haven’t already dropped him, it’s worth thinking about. Peralta is on such an outs with the club at this point, he may be platooning the rest of the season if he can’t pick it up.

Chris Shelton (1B, Tigers): What happened to this guy? Projections for him at the start of the season were around 30 HR and maybe a .300 average. Well, he’s stuck on 12 home runs with an otherwise respectable .278 batting average.

Austin Kearns (OF, Reds): While Kearns has been looking like a solid OF option this season with 13 homers, his average has suffered in the last two weeks, as the Cincinnati right fielder has hit below the Mendoza line.

Khalil Greene (SS, Padres): Greene was looking like a pretty legitimate pick for a top-5 ranked season among shortstops, but has hit a snag in the last month. He’s been awful lately and will continue playing because of his solid defense. Too bad put outs aren’t a category in fantasy baseball.

Luis Gonzalez (OF, Diamondbacks): If you have Gonzalez as a starter on your team, my sympathies … you must be in a very deep league. Amid controversy about possible substance use, Gonzalez has fallen on his face, hitting .193 in the last 18 games.

Ambiorix Burgos (RP, Royals): I don’t know which is more amazing, the fact that he’s on this list almost every week or he’s still the closer for Kansas City.

Josh Beckett (SP, Red Sox): Anything that could possibly go wrong with Boston’s rotation has lately, with David Wells and both Matt Clement on the DL. Beckett has been roughed up pretty bad in his last three starts, going 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA.

Todd Jones (RP, Tigers): Age might finally be catching up to Jones, who had lost four games and blew two saves in seven appearances coming into the weekend. Frenando Rodney could start getting some save opportunities soon.

Mark Mulder (SP, St. Louis): I’ve never been too infatuated with any member of the former Big Three in Oakland aside from Barry Zito, and Mulder never really had the pure “stuff” of an ace. In his last three games he’s had an ERA around 10 and isn’t giving the Cardinals much of a chance to give him any wins.

Oliver Perez (SP, Pirates): With Sean Burnett waiting in Triple-A, Perez could lose his rotation spot pretty soon. This season has been a disaster for him.

If you have any fantasy baseball questions please send Bryan a message at AHPfantasybaseball@hotmail.com