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Week 9 lacks a plethora of elite two-start options, but offers a ton of viable under-the-radar arms, which, of course, is the essence of this article.
So thanks, Week 9.
There will be plenty of volume for Week 9, as 20 of the 30 teams in the majors play a full seven-game slate. So sit back, relax, and read this article. Then, in quite the opposite fashion, frantically search your league’s waiver wire in attempts to grab some of these guys.
Phil Hughes, Minnesota Twins (vs TEX, @NYY)- Normally, these two matchups would force me to stay away from Hughes, but the Rangers have been underperforming on offense and continue to suffer injury, as now Prince Fielder is expected to miss the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the Yankees have really struggled as of late, having scored five or more runs in just one of their last nine contests. Hughes has been pitching well, too, allowing just three earned runs in his last four outings, and his control has been impeccable, allowing less than a walk per nine innings. Not to mention he has that extra incentive against the Yankees, seeing as he used to play for the Bronx Bombers. Hughes is still available in 60 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Tanner Roark, Washington Nationals (vs MIA, vs TEX)- There’s Tanner Roark, and then there’s Tanner Roark at home. The young pitcher has had much better success at home this year, sporting an ERA of 1.01 with 19 strikeouts, two wins and has yet to surrender a homer at Nationals Park. Both of his outings will be in the comfy confines of his home venue and he’ll face a Marlins offense that is averaging 3.43 runs per game on the road, compared to 5.88 (2nd-most) at home. He’s only owned in 30 percent of leagues.
Drew Hutchison, Toronto Blue Jays (vs TB, vs KC)- Hutchison isn’t really good at home. Okay, he’s downright terrible, sporting an ERA over seven in his own park. However, the Rays and Royals have been so bad on offense lately. As Garion Thorne points out, both have had sub-100 ISO over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the Royals rank toward the bottom in runs scored, while the Rays aren’t far behind. There isn’t a ton of analysis, but these teams just simply are not hitting the ball, and Hutchison meanwhile, is striking out almost nine batters per nine. I like him a lot this week. His home struggles will disappear– at least for this week.
Adam Pfeifer is a lead fantasy columnist for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
