What the freak is wrong?
After Buster Posey went down with an injury on May 25 two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is 1-2 with a 7.47 in five starts. Nothing against Eli Whiteside or Chris Stewart (Posey's replacements) but they just don't have the same connection with Lincecum that Posey had. Or perhaps he could be going through a similar slump to the one that plagued him last August (0-5 with a 7.82 ERA in 5 starts). Whatever the case may be, the newest member of the 1000 K club might not be the best option on Thursday, June 23, or going forward into July.
Here are some solid, little-owned starters you may want to use over the weekend.
Wednesday, June 22
Rick Porcello may not have the most experience against the Dodgers, but his matchup on Wednesday is a favorable one. Porcello is 1-0 in his only career start against the Dodgers with just 2 earned runs allowed. He'll be pitching in Dodger Stadium awhich will help him out as well as the momentum from three of his last four starts being quality ones. Porcello is owned in just 13.2 percent of ESPN leagues, but deserves an add this week.
Minnesota's Nick Blackburn is coming off a remarkable 8 IP/o ER performance against the White Sox and is looking good for his start on Wednesday against the Giants in San Francisco. Blackburn is 2-0 in his three June starts and has allowed only 4 earned runs this month in 20.1 innings pitched. San Francisco is fresh off being swept this weekend in Oakland and is 29th in baseball in runs scored. This is a good time for a hot pitcher to face a slumping team. Blackburn is owned in just 5.7 percent of ESPN leagues.
Thursday, June 23
Washington's Jason Marquis gets a good matchup against Seattle and one of the league's worst offenses. Marquis hasn't been lights out this year, but he's still 7-2 with a 3.86 ERA. He has been very good in three of his last four starts and is playing for a very hot Washington team. If he doesn't throw a quality start there is still a good chance he'll get the win and he is owned in only 7.3 percent of ESPN leagues.
Friday, June 24
Scott Baker is coming off his best start of the season and has 3 wins in his last 3 starts. He has pitched well in June against some of the more potent offenses in baseball and sports a 2.40 ERA for the month. He faces Milwaukee on Friday and is a must start. Owned in just 55.4 percent of ESPN leagues, Baker is one of the best available options for the rest of the season.
San Diego's Tim Stauffer is 2-5 this season and is the victim of poor run support from the lowest scoring team in baseball, but every other statistic he provides is worth owning. His 3.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 73 K's in 92 innings are better than average. His next start is at home against Atlanta, a team he success against (3.86 ERA in 14 innings), and looks to be a good matchup. He is owned in just 14.6 percent of ESPN leagues, but that number deserves to be higher.
Sunday, June 26
Dillon Gee lasted just 4 innings in his last start against Oakland, recieving his first loss, and he has to pitch against the hot hitting Texas Rangers on Sunday. Despite the low ERA and and high number of wins, Gee is not a good option this weekend against Texas, especially after getting knocked around by The A's. Stay away from Gee if you can.
