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As we approach Week 11 of the 2013 Fantasy Baseball season, there aren’t a whole lot of enticing two-start pitching options like in week’s past. There are really only three elite type of pitchers that are slated to take the hill twice this week, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t any strong options whatsoever for fantasy owners to choose from.
R.A. Dickey, Toronto Blue Jays (@CWS, @TEX): Through 13 starts this season, Dickey hasn’t looked like a reigning Cy Young winner. He holds a record of 5-7 with an ugly 4.66 ERA. However, despite his rough start, I think he is a solid two-start option this week, and is also a strong buy-low option for fantasy owners. The problem with Dickey this year has been his walking of batters. His BB/9 sits at 3.69 right now, which is the highest since the 2009 season. Keep in mind, however, that Dickey has been pretty darn inconsistent this season. After he tosses a solid outing, he follow it with a poor one. His last start? A two-hitter through eight innings with five strikeouts. Proceed with caution, but it appears the offense around him is starting to get it going and can only get better. The same goes for Dickey.
Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves (@SD, SF): You couldn’t ask for a better previous start from Teheran. The 22-year old saw a no-hitter into the eighth inning, only to have it ruined by a late single. Still, it was a stellar outing for Teheran, as he struck out an impressive 11 batters en route to his fourth win of the season. There was a lot of hype surrounding the young kid heading into this season, and after a bit of a slow start, it appears he is beginning to live up to it. The walks are down, as Teheran sports a 20:3 K/BB ratio over his last three starts. Between tossing multiple quality outings in a row and seeing a strong matchup against a Padres team that doesn’t have a ton of threats to pitchers. Feel free to roll with him this week.
Bartolo Colon, Oakland Athletics (NYY, SEA): Don’t tell anyone that Colon is 40-years old because heck, he sure hasn’t looked like it this year. Through 12 starts, Colon is 7-2 with an impressive 3.14 ERA and 46 strikeouts. The strikeouts aren’t what you’re going to get out of Colon, but what you will get is control. He has only walked six batters all season long and rarely puts runners on first base, which explains his low ERA. His 0.70 BB/9 is the lowest of his entire career, which speaks volumes considering he has played in the majors for 15 years. Colon may not be tossing the sexy strikeouts, but he is inducing groundballs, throwing strikes and limiting base-runners. As long as he keeps that control in tact and the A’s keep scoring runs behind him (6th in MLB in runs), Colon should continue to be a very viable fantasy option in 2013.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
