Today's Fantasy Rx

Welcome to our weekly LPR rankings, our primary method to identify highly skilled and/or consistently effective pitchers. While we haven't changed this system since last season, feel free to refer here for a complete description of the codes. We've included the five most recent 2005 QA scores for each starter, along with the 10 most recent QA scores for each reliever, tabulating all data through the end of the first half on July 20th. Pitchers with no QA scores have not pitched this year, so don't roster any of them unless you see someone ready to return to the majors.

1
2ABY - Freddy Garcia(45331)
3ACXZ - Roy Halladay(44555)
3A - Kevin Millwood(42353)
AX - Bartolo Colon(24221)
AX - Jeremy Bonderman(05434)
AX - Rich Harden(35354)
A - Dan Haren(44343)
A - Erik Bedard(55452)

23abcxyz - Mariano Rivera(4543554355)
3ax - Arthur Rhodes(4432531443)
abcxyz - Brian Shouse(2420324041)
abcxy - B.J. Ryan(4554525332)
The relative consistency demonstrated by the pitchers in this ranking should reinforce their usefulness to you. This week we see Bonderman, Millwood, and Harden all return to the top spot, displacing Matt Clement and Justin Duchscherer, who both seem likely to rebound here before the season ends. Investing in any of the starters listed here looks like a wise move as the trade deadlines for most leagues rapidly approach.

I hope to post the remainder of this ranking soon.

1 - K/9 of 6.0+, BB/9 of 3.0-, H/9 of 9.0-, HR/9 of 1.0-,
     and G-F of 1.0+ in 25+ IP in 2005.
2 - K/9 of 6.0+, BB/9 of 3.0-, H/9 of 9.0-, HR/9 of 1.0-,
     and G-F of 1.0+ in 25+ IP in 2004.
3 - K/9 of 6.0+, BB/9 of 3.0-, H/9 of 9.0-, HR/9 of 1.0-,
     and G-F of 1.0+ in 25+ IP in 2003.

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. Scores of 5 and 4 qualify as DOMinant outings, a 3 is DULl, and anything below 3 ranks as a skill DISaster.

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. Scores of 5 and 4 qualify as DOMinant outings, a 3 is DULl, and anything below 3 ranks as a skill DISaster.

Note: Starters must pitch in five games before earning any of the following DOM or DIS ratings; relievers must appear in no less than 10 games before earning DOM/DIS consideration. All pitchers are evaluated as relievers aside from those who reached both 5 starts in a given season and qualified for DOM or DIS ratings.

A - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2005 starts
B - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2004 starts
C - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2003 starts

X - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2005 starts
Y - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2004 starts
Z - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2003 starts

a - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2005 relief outings
b - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2004 relief outings
c - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2003 relief outings

x - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2005 relief outings
y - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2004 relief outings
z - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2003 relief outings

We'll continue tomorrow with this week's NL LPR article.

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: No start.
Johan Santana: No start.
Pedro Martinez: Sat:LAD(D.Houlton)
Roy Oswalt: No start.
Roger Clemens: Fri:@WAS(R.Drese).
Ben Sheets: No start.
Mark Mulder: No start.
Jake Peavy: No start.
Dontrelle Willis: Fri:@SF(B.Tomko)
A.J. Burnett: Sun:@SF(K.Correia)
Josh Beckett: Sat:@SF(B.Hennessey)
Miguel Batista: 3 Road vs. KC.

Hopefully the Marlins' weekend in San Francisco will help us rebound from Peavy's disaster yesterday. Taking the six available starts also nearly maximizes available cap room for offense.

With Colorado in Pittsburgh, Morneau and Buck still slumping, and Travis Hafner still hurting, only deploying Carl Crawford for Hafner makes much sense here.

Rotohelp.com(6th lg; 123rd overall)
Week 16b: July 18-July 21

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	Joe Mauer		440
1B	Albert Pujols		1930 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310
2B	Brian Roberts		960
2B	Marcus Giles		950
3B	Melvin Mora		1270
3B	Troy Glaus		830
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Jose Reyes		850 
OF	Jim Edmonds		1250
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110
OF	Adam Dunn		1110 
OF	Scott Podsednik		1090
OF	Kevin Mench		580 
OF	Jeremy Reed		400 
OF	Carl Crawford		1560
UT	Tadahito Iguchi		750

SP	Pedro Martinez		1450 
SP	Roger Clemens		1280 
SP	Dontrelle Willis	870
SP	Josh Beckett		820
SP	A.J. Burnett		830 
SP	Miguel Batista		840  
RP	Brad Lidge		1280
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	1250
RP	B.J. Ryan		950 

Total Salary for Week 16b: 	29890

Today's Fantasy Rx: While James Baldwin finally began demonstrating decent skills in Baltimore over the last two months, nothing in the soft-tosser's skills suggests he'll remain successful in Texas. Anyone caring concerned about their team's qualitative stats needs to avoid new Rangers Baldwin and Kevin Gryboski.