Today's Fantasy Rx

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Like yesterday, today we'll examine several pitchers in each league that I haven't discussed over the past two weeks and merit comments. This week we're looking strictly at the skill levels of pitchers currently performing among the best in the majors, yet unlike the last two weeks, we've ranked them according to overall effectiveness thus far and not skill.

QA score for starts: up to 5 total points, one for each statistical goal, to any starter who pitches at least 5 innings and fulfills any of the following skill qualifications: K>=IP-2, BB<=IP/3, H<=IP, HR<=1, and G-F>=1.00. Any starter who doesn't reach any of the required statistical goals or fails to pitch 5 innings earns a 0 QA score.

We've listed the five most recent QA scores for each pitcher.

43534
Woody Williams: 4-0 on a 22:6 K:BB in 33 IP over 5 GS with 26 H, 0 HR, and a 36-47 G-F; 1.09 ERA. While he's first in the NL in ERA, second in wins, and third in WHIP, I don't find myself surprised at this performance as he certainly flashed these skills in past seasons. We can't even attribute his success to a low hit rate since the Cardinals' solid defense should help him maintain a hit rate around 7.0. The most shocking part of these stats is that Williams' K:BB now has increased for the fifth straight year, improvement almost entirely due to an ever-diminishing walk rate currently at 1.6 BB/9. He is not an overly dominant pitcher, yet only injuries have limited Williams' effectiveness since joining the Cardinals in 2001. Anyone continuing to own him takes a mild risk, however Williams' upside makes the potential of injury appear rather paltry in comparison.

53435
Matt Morris: 2-2 on a 34:12 K:BB in 42.2 IP over 6 GS with 32 H, 6 HR, and a 68-38 G-F; 2.53 ERA. Morris' skills obviously place him among the top pitchers in the game, and even his homer rate should drop over time if he holds his current 1.79 G-F. St. Louis also still owns the best collection of offensive starters in the league, so I expect Morris to approach 20 wins rather easily, making him one of the best starters to own in the league.

52334
Jason Schmidt: 3-0 on a 40:13 K:BB in 35.2 IP over 5 GS with 27 H, 0 HR, and a 28-35 G-F; 1.77 ERA. Although I don't quite see the desired skill consistency, Schmidt's first and last April starts rank with the best outings of any pitcher this year. PacBell will limit the downside of his .80 G-F, and with San Francisco likely on its way to an NL West title, Schmidt finally should break the elusive 20-win barrier. His ERA will rise since he'll allow a few homers on the road, but Schmidt should continue to contribute excellent qualitative marks to both his fantasy teams and the Giants.

04444
Kip Wells: 1-1 on a 32:21 K:BB in 38.1 IP over 6 GS with 25 H, 3 HR, and a 47-29 G-F; 2.82 ERA. One atrocious start against Milwaukee skews these numbers rather badly as if McClendon had left Wells in for one more inning, he likely would have posted a 4 QA while compensating for the downside of walking seven batters. If we ignore that start altogether, Wells owns a 1-0 record on a 30:14 K:BB in 34.1 IP, a perfectly acceptable set of stats under nearly any circumstances. I don't expect him to win many games as the Pirates look likely to struggle offensively even once Brian Giles returns, however he offers significant qualitative upside and appears particularly valuable in sim leagues.

31443
Tony Armas, Jr.: 2-1 on a 23:8 K:BB in 31 IP over 5 GS with 25 H, 4 HR, and a 29-43 G-F; 2.61 ERA. Armas hit the DL April 24th with a strained right rotator cuff, and while he should return in a couple weeks, he hasn't exactly been a model of health. His skills look fairly solid this year, however I also see no reason to target him right now. Make sure he looks good in AAA rehab starts before seriously considering a move to acquire him.

41344
Brett Myers: 2-2 on a 31:12 K:BB in 32.2 IP over 5 GS with 28 H, 2 HR, and a 47-24 G-F; 2.20 ERA. I wasn't overly enthused upon Myers' call-up last season even though we watched his debut from a couple rows behind the visitor's dugout at Wrigley. He simply didn't demonstrate the dominance I wanted to see from a pitcher promoted so rapidly by the Phillies. These are the stats I wanted to see from him a year ago, and now I can't find any notable fault in his game. Assuming he maintains similar skill levels over the next few weeks, Myers will emerge as the one of the prize acquisitions for any rebuilding team, and he also should remain a valuable contributor this season.

QA score for relief outings: up to 5 total points, one for each statistical goal, to any reliever who retires at least one batter and fulfills any of the following skill qualifications: K>=IP, BB=0, H<=IP, HR=0, and G-F>=1.00. Any reliever who doesn't reach any of the required statistical goals or fails to retire a batter earns a 0 QA score.

We've listed the five most recent QA scores for each pitcher.

42444
Joe Nathan: 2-0 on a 15:8 K:BB in 17.2 IP over 15 G with 8 H, 0 HR, and a 10-25 G-F; 0.00 ERA. While Nathan's performed excellently for the Giants and anyone lucky enough to draft him this spring, I doubt he can maintain his current space. He normally struggles with his command, and while his 7.6 K/9 is solid, his 4.1 BB/9 worries me. Both his hit and homer rates appear artificially low, and since he has the most value as Worrell insurance, see if Worrell's owner will overpay for Nathan.

44235
Brad Lidge: 2-0 and 1 Save on a 19:7 K:BB in 18.2 IP over 13 G with 10 H, 0 HR, and an 18-18 G-F; .96 ERA. We expected Lidge to dominate in the bullpen once Houston realized he lacks the endurance to start right now, and while his walk rate is a little high, he otherwise looks like a worthy successor to Dotel if the Astros decide to reduce their expenditure on middle relievers next year. Lidge's strikeout rate and respectable 1.00 G-F makes him an excellent pitcher to own in any standard league as he possesses no more downside in Minute Maid than similarly skilled pitchers like Dotel.

44543
Mike Koplove: 0-0 on a 15:6 K:BB in 20 IP over 14 G with 15 H, 2 HR, and a 31-14 G-F; 1.35 ERA. Kim's move to the rotation left Koplove as Mantei's primary set-up man, and after Koplove dominated throughout Spring Training, he entered the year as the likely recipient of any extra Arizona save opportunities. While the Diamondbacks' crumbling offense won't give him the chance to vulture many wins, he should hold these great skills throughout the year. Particularly if you own Mantei, Koplove is someone you should seek to add due to both his solid current performance and upside as Arizona's closer.

43252
Oscar Villarreal: 1-2 on a 20:15 K:BB in 22.1 IP over 17 G(1GS) with 18 H, 2 HR, and a 34-17 G-F; 3.22. Although he exited Spring Training as Arizona's fifth starter, Villarreal quickly established himself as the Diamondbacks' only reliable middle reliever. Unfortunately his 6.0 BB/9 makes him far too risky to own in most leagues, so while we still really like Villarreal's long-term upside, he's not someone I want on my team at the moment.

34523
David Weathers: 1-0 on a 15:6 K:BB in 19 IP over 15 G with 16 H, 0 HR, and a 27-16 G-F; 2.37 ERA. While Weathers isn't quite as effective as in some past years, these skills appear quite solid, leaving us no reason why he can't maintain his currently excellent qualitative numbers. Go grab him if he's still available in any standard NL league since he'll earn a few bucks in both ERA and WHIP even if he won't vulture many wins due to the Mets' offensive malaise.

23355
Guillermo Mota: 1-1 on a 19:6 K:BB in 17 IP over 15 G with 14 H, 0 HR, and a 16-14 G-F; 1.59 ERA. Los Angeles owns the best bullpen in the majors, and Mota's joined Gagne, Quantrill, and Shuey to provide the best right-handed relief anywhere in baseball. Mota's skills all look quite solid, so if you need an extremely low-risk middle reliever, you should see if he's still available in your league since I wouldn't be surprised if Mota cruises past double-digit value given his current dominance.

Tomorrow, like every Sunday, we'll post our preview of the coming week's games and our CDM challenge lineups.

Today's Fantasy Rx: If you're trolling for wins, the most prolific offenses include the run-scoring machines of the Yankees, Rockies, Red Sox, and Cardinals. While the Yankees obviously possess exceptional starters, the other three teams' rotations include starters ranging from Pedro to Darren Oliver. We see good opportunities for vulture wins in each team's bullpen, so look for skilled relievers on Boston and St. Louis in particular if you need cheap wins.