As is the case with many Wednesdays, it’s getaway day for some teams, with six afternoon starts today. So Draftstreet has two separate league start times to account for the number of different game times. If you’re looking for some cheap points to fill out your pitching staff with, here are your best bets that will work for either the afternoon or evening starts.
Best Bet
Cesar Ramos – $9,788
Ramos has pitched from both the rotation and the bullpen this season, but has thrown well in both situations. Overall, he is 1-1 with a 2.91 ERA. Opponents are also hitting just .195 against him. In nine games, four of them starts, he has had just one outing in which he’s allowed more than one run. Also going for him is the fact he will be squaring off against Baltimore today. The Orioles have been struggling as of late, and have failed to hit left-handed pitching all year. The O’s are the A.L.’s second-worst team in both scoring and average against southpaws. Meanwhile, over the last week, they have also scored fewer runs than every American League team, with only 17 in five games This is a promising situation for Ramos from all angles.
Double Down
Ricky Nolasco – $8,385
To say this year has been a rough one for Nolasco would be a bit of an understatement. In six starts, he is 2-3 with a 5.82 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. That’s not the guy the Twins were hoping for when they signed him this offseason. Of his six games, he gave up five or more runs in four of them. However, he does have two games in which he went eight innings, including his last start. Even though he took the loss in a 3-0 game, he still went the distance, giving up the three runs on nine hits. He also has a nice matchup tonight, facing an Indians team hitting just .213 over the last week, and one that has scored more than four runs just once in 11 games. One word of caution, however: Nolasco’s two good starts came in his only two home games. He pitches on the road tonight, where he has a 8.72 ERA. At Target Field, that is 2.12.
Roll the Dice
Bud Norris – $11,842
Norris has pitched fairly well this year, but he has had a tough schedule to deal with. Among his five starts, four came against teams in the top half of run-scoring offense. The other was his last start against Pittsburgh last Thursday, and, after a slow start to the season, the Pirates have the second-best offense this month. In this context, his 2-2 record and 3.94 ERA don’t look quite as bad. He’s averaging about six innings and 100 pitches per game. Like Nolasco, though, Norris’s better starts have come at home, and tonight he faces the Rays in Tampa. At Camden Yards, he has a 1-0 record with a 0.73 ERA, while on the road he is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA. For both Norris and Nolasco this is a noticeable trend, though it is bound to break at some point for each of them. It might as well be tonight.
