With 3 weeks in the books, we are starting to get a feel for which teams have good offenses (Texas, Yankees, Cleveland and Toronto) and which do not (Oakland, Kansas City, Seattle and Minnesota). So, for those of you playing the matchups by team, take note.
Here’s the rundown of the AL 2 start pitchers and those with favorable matchups:
Two Start Pitchers
No-Brainers
David Price: 4/24 vs LAA; 4/29 @ TEX – tough matchup against Texas, but he’s still an ace
Derek Holland: 4/23 vs NYY; 4/29 vs TB – quietly becoming one of the best pitchers in the AL
Jon Lester: 4/23 @ MIN; 4/28 @ CHW – quality pitcher against two weak teams
Not too shabby
Josh Beckett: 4/24 @ MIN; 4/29 @ CHW – like Lester, Beckett benefits from facing two weak teams
Jake Peavy: 4/23 @ OAK; 4/28 vs BOS – is he really back? How he does against Boston could provide some answers
Gavin Floyd: 4/24 @ OAK; 4/29 vs BOS – maddingly inconsistent pitcher has good matchup against Oakland
Derek Lowe: 4/24 vs KC; 4/29 vs LAA – benefits from favorable matchup against KC
Max Scherzer: 4/24 vs SEA; 4/29 @ NYY – faces one of the worst and one of the best offenses
Bruce Chen: 4/23 vs TOR; 4/28 @ MIN – has started the season strong and faces a weak Minnesota team
Ervin Santana: 4/24 @ TB; 4/29 @ CLE – a couple tough matchups, but keep the faith
Hiroki Kuroda: 4/23 @ TEX; 4/29 vs DET – he’s better than he’s shown, but has two formidable foes
Bartolo Colon: 4/23 vs CHW; 4/29 @ BAL – it may be all smoke and mirrors, but ride him while you can
Jason Vargas: 4/24 @ DET; 4/29 @ TOR – has pitched well, but has tough matchups
Brandon Morrow: 4/23 @ KC; 4/28 vs SEA – should fare well against light hitting Royals and Mariners
Henderson Alvarez: 4/24 @ BAL; 4/29 vs SEA – Orioles lead AL in strikeouts, Mariners are 13th in average
Risky at best
Jason Marquis: 4/23 vs BOS; 4/29 vs KC – he has a career 4.56 ERA in the (weaker) NL
Tommy Hunter: 4/24 vs TOR; 4/29 vs OAK – unproven and has to face a tough Toronto team
Other Favorable Matchups
C.J. Wilson: 4/25 @ TB
The $77.5 million man is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in career against Tampa
Felix Hernandez: 4/25 vs DET
Detroit can hit, but Felix is 8-2 with a 2.79 career ERA against Detroit
