Opening Day has come and gone while there are lingering questions surrounding a number of veteran pitchers who were typically drafted in late rounds, or not at all. Let’s examine these once-heralded stars and how they can contribute to your fantasy team this season.
Ben Sheets, Oakland A’s – Arm problems held Sheets out of action for the entire 2009 season, but received a fresh start in Oakland after signing a one-year, $10 million contract in the offseason. Sheets, who hasn’t logged 200 innings pitched since 2004 in Milwaukee, has the ability to be a big-time hurler when healthy. Most recently he earned a no-decision after allowing three runs, two of which were earned, on four hits and four free passes to the Seattle Mariners in the first game of the season. Fantasy owners should be happy with the performance and confident that he will be the ace of the staff going forward. The four walks are concerning, but expect him to improve his control as the season goes on.
Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants – Oakland’s former ace hasn’t had the same fortune on the other side of the bay with the Giants since his arrival in 2007 after signing a huge free agent deal. He has failed to record a winning record in each of the last three seasons in orange and black, but looked impressive in his first start this season on Wednesday, throwing six shutout innings and giving up three hits. Zito had all of his pitches working facing the Houston Astros, including his knee-buckling curveball which had been his calling card in Oakland. Don’t expect him to return to his 2002 form when he went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA, but don’t be shocked to see him have a solid year with a winning record, over 200 innings pitched and a sub-4 ERA.
Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs – The Venezuelan native got shelled on Opening Day for eight earned runs on six hits, two of which left the yard, by the Atlanta Braves as he was unable to make it out of the second inning. Zambrano battled through injury last year when he tossed 169.1 innings, his lowest total since 2002, after gaining the reputation as an ‘inning-eater’ over the course of his career. The nine-year veteran will look to get on track in his next start in Cincinnati on Saturday, but temper your expectations until he can get through innings effectively while keeping his pitch count down. The Cubs are relying on him to be the ace of the staff like he’s been in the past, but owners may see roller coaster-type production from Zambrano this season.
Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins – This 26-year-old lefty was a highly-touted prospect in the San Francisco organization before becoming the definition of inconsistency in his five years with the Twins. As the main piece in the trade that sent catcher A.J. Pierzinski to the Giants, Liriano compiled a 12-3 record with a 2.16 ERA while fanning 144 in 121 innings in a dominant 2006 season in which he earned the Rookie of the Year Award. After battling through an elbow issue which made him miss the entire 2007 season, the past two summers have been rough for the Dominican pitcher who has an 11-17 record in that span. This season he was named the Twins’ fifth starter in Spring Training because he has nasty stuff, but will need to locate pitches properly to make it in the Show. If he gets anywhere close to repeating last year’s total of 21 long balls and 65 walks allowed, consider him the second coming of Dontrelle Willis. He is a high risk, high reward player because he has the potential to be brilliant, but can combust at any time. We will examine Liriano’s situation closer after his first scheduled start against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Justin Duchscherer, Oakland A’s – Like Sheets, Duchscherer was on the shelf the entire 2009 season and didn’t factor into the decision in his first start of the season. The two-time American League All-Star allowed five earned runs, including a two-out, two-run home run to Milton Bradley in the fourth inning, on seven hits in five and two-third innings against the Mariners on Wednesday. He didn’t have the command of his pitches that he usually does, especially his above-average curveball which seemed to hang out over the plate instead of biting late and hard out of the strike zone. Duchscherer will improve his control which will allow him to go deeper into games over the course of the next month as he gets into the swing of things. Fantasy owners who take a chance on him now may see substantial results in the long run if he can stay healthy.
Rich Harden, Texas Rangers – In his first start of the season on Wednesday, Harden was yanked after issuing back-to-back, bases loaded walks in the fourth inning after drilling the Toronto Blue Jays’ Vernon Wells to start the inning. Although he struck out eight hitters, control issues and lack of velocity on his fastball, which topped out at 92 mph, should be concerning to his owners. Harden has never been a guy known to go deep into games because of self-sabotaging with walks and high pitch counts. He allowed 23 home runs last year playing home games at Wrigley Field, so playing in Arlington this year where the ball travels well in the hot weather of Texas won’t be good for his numbers and stamina unless he can pinpoint his pitches. Tread lightly with your expectations for Harden, but know that he can deal with the best of them when on his game.
