Today's Fantasy Rx

Welcome to our weekly LPR rankings, our primary method to identify highly skilled and/or consistently effective pitchers. While we haven't changed this system since last season, feel free to refer here for a complete description of the codes. We've included the five most recent 2005 QA scores for each starter, along with the 10 most recent QA scores for each reliever, tabulating all data through June 1st. Pitchers with no QA scores have not pitched this year, so don't roster any of them unless you see someone ready to return to the majors.

1
3ACXZ - Roy Halladay(34445)
AX - Bartolo Colon(43343)
AX - Jeremy Bonderman(35542)
AX - Rich Harden(43440)
A - Erik Bedard(55452)
C.C. Sabathia(32434)

2acxyz - Mike Timlin(5324435243)
ax - B.J. Ryan(5344545444)

Halladay and Sabathia both deserve recognition for returning to the top ranking this week, however Timlin and Ryan merit more attention right now as the first AL relievers to reach this level in 2005. I doubt Timlin's appearance here will surprise anyone given his very consistent work since joining the Red Sox, but Ryan now ranks as the best AL closer this year by a shockingly significant degree. Only Joe Nathan approaches Ryan's combination of effectiveness, dominance, and established durability. Ryan's 27.2 IP just rank behind Scot Shields' 31.2 innings among pitchers with at least three saves, yet his 42:9 K:BB vastly exceeds Shields' 38:16 K:BB. I see no one in a better overall situation than Ryan to anchor a fantasy bullpen this summer.

I hope to post the remainder of this ranking later today.

1 - K/9 of 6.0+, BB/9 of 3.0-, H/9 of 9.0-, HR/9 of 1.0-,
     and G-F of 1.0+ in 25+ IP in 2005.
2 - K/9 of 6.0+, BB/9 of 3.0-, H/9 of 9.0-, HR/9 of 1.0-,
     and G-F of 1.0+ in 25+ IP in 2004.
3 - K/9 of 6.0+, BB/9 of 3.0-, H/9 of 9.0-, HR/9 of 1.0-,
     and G-F of 1.0+ in 25+ IP in 2003.

QA score for starts: up to 5 total points, one for each statistical goal, to any starter who pitches at least 5 innings and fulfills any of the following skill qualifications: K>=IP-2, BB<=IP/3, H<=IP, HR<=1, and G-F>=1.00. Any starter who doesn't reach any of the required statistical goals or fails to pitch 5 innings earns a 0 QA score. Scores of 5 and 4 qualify as DOMinant outings, a 3 is DULl, and anything below 3 ranks as a skill DISaster.

QA score for relief outings: up to 5 total points, one for each statistical goal, to any reliever who retires at least one batter and fulfills any of the following skill qualifications: K>=IP, BB=0, H<=IP, HR=0, and G-F>=1.00. Any reliever who doesn't reach any of the required statistical goals or fails to retire a batter earns a 0 QA score. Scores of 5 and 4 qualify as DOMinant outings, a 3 is DULl, and anything below 3 ranks as a skill DISaster.

Note: Starters must pitch in five games before earning any of the following DOM or DIS ratings; relievers must appear in no less than 10 games before earning DOM/DIS consideration. All pitchers are evaluated as relievers aside from those who reached both 5 starts in a given season and qualified for DOM or DIS ratings.

A - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2005 starts
B - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2004 starts
C - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2003 starts

X - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2005 starts
Y - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2004 starts
Z - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2003 starts

a - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2005 relief outings
b - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2004 relief outings
c - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2003 relief outings

x - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2005 relief outings
y - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2004 relief outings
z - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2003 relief outings

We'll continue tomorrow with this week's NL LPR article.

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Roger Clemens: Sun:STL(M.Mulder)
Mark Mulder: Sun:@HOU(R.Clemens)
Jake Peavy: Sun:CHC(C.Zambrano)
A.J. Burnett: Sun:@WAS(J.Patterson)
Josh Beckett: Fri:@WAS(L.Hernandez)
Miguel Batista: 3 Road at OAK.

No starts: Randy, Santana, Pedro, Oswalt, Sheets, Willis.

With a desperate need for wins and no desire to spend more buys, deploying all six of these pitchers seems the best move.

Recent injuries leave us surprisingly few options on offense. Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner will replace Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau while Marcus Giles returns to the lineup for Brian Roberts. The significant cap room afforded us thanks to weekend rests for our top three starters also easily allows us to activate Carl Crawford for Jeremy Reed and returning KRod to the lineup for Brandon Lyon. Jose Reyes obviously stays benched with Colorado at home and the Mets facing the Giants and Mike Matheny.

Rotohelp.com(2nd lg; 59th overall)
Week 9b: May 30-June 2

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	John Buck		390
1B	Albert Pujols		1930 
1B	Travis Hafner		810 
2B	Marcus Giles		950
2B	Tadahito Iguchi		750
3B	Melvin Mora		1270
3B	Troy Glaus		830
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Clint Barmes		400 
OF	Carl Crawford		1560
OF	Jim Edmonds		1250
OF	Adam Dunn		1110
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110 
OF	Scott Podsednik		1090 
OF	Kevin Mench		580 
UT	Mark Teixeira		1310 
UT	Matt Holliday		630

SP	Roger Clemens		1280 
SP	Mark Mulder		1060 
SP	Jake Peavy		1030
SP	A.J. Burnett		830 
SP	Josh Beckett		820 
SP	Miguel Batista		840  
RP	Brad Lidge		1280
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	1250
RP	B.J. Ryan		950 

Total Salary for Week 9b: 	29240

Today's Fantasy Rx: Three top fantasy prospects reached the majors over the past week, and we hope all three receive the chances they so richly deserve. Tampa's Chad Orvella perhaps owns the best odds of accumulating significant fantasy value this year if the Rays deal Danys Baez as expected. Almost more importantly in this Year of the Imploding Reliever, Orvella should not hurt any team due to his outstanding skill set and therefore merits easy double-digit bids.

Two AL first baseman also received promotions from AAA: Dan Johnson replaced the injured Erubiel Durazo in Oakland while Detroit swapped Chris Shelton for Carlos Pena, surprisingly demoting the struggling young veteran. Johnson, the 2004 PCL MVP, merited a starting job this spring far more than Nick Swisher yet returned to Sacramento because Billy Beane couldn't bring himself to move Durazo or Scott Hatteberg. With a .324/.424/.549 line in 182 AB for Sacramento, Johnson easily could Pipp Durazo, making him worthy of a significant FAAB expenditure in any league where he remains available.

Lastly, Shelton's jump from A-ball to the majors as a Rule 5 pick from Pittsburgh last year apparently didn't stunt his development in any way. He demolished the AFL in the fall before posting a .331/.417/.569 line in 181 AB for AAA Toloedo(IL) over the last two months, supporting his power with a very respectable 25:33 BB:K. Although he lacks Johnson's progressive history of statistical accomplishment, the decision to demote Pena supplies Shelton a higher likelihood of playing time over the balance of the year. Contenders shouldn't let him pass for anything lower than the teens, though feel free to blow past that suggestion if you truly need COR help.