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 September 14th. 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
3ACXZ - Roy Halladay(44555)
3A - Kevin Millwood(25234)
ABC - Matt Clement(33444)
AX - Felix Hernandez(54354)
AX - Bartolo Colon(43443)
A - C.C. Sabathia(44443)

23abcxyz - Mariano Rivera(43444344534)
3ax - Arthur Rhodes(4433443435)
ax - Justin Duchscherer(3444144353)

Millwood replaces the briefly slumping Ryan as this ranking largely solidifies for the year. Halladay, Hernandez, Rivera, and Rhodes seem untouchable, and Clement, Colon, and Sabathia also should coast to strong finishes, presenting a strong group of AL starters to target next spring.

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: Fri:@TOR(D.Bush)
Johan Santana: Sat:CHW(O.Hernandez)
Pedro Martinez: Sat:ATL(T.Hudson).
Roy Oswalt: Fri:MIL(R.Helling)
Roger Clemens: No start.
Matt Clement: Sun:OAK(K.Saarloos)
Jake Peavy: Fri:WAS(J.Patterson)
Chris Carpenter: Sat:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Dontrelle Willis: Sat:PHI(V.Padilla)
A.J. Burnett: No start.
Josh Beckett: Sun:PHI(E.Brito)
Miguel Batista: 3 Home vs. NYY.

Deploying Clement, Peavy, Willis, and Beckett looks automatic, and then we'll opt for Carpenter and Oswalt over Santana and Batista.

Our bench remains intact with Morneau, Giles, Iguchi, Atkins, Wright, Holliday, and Edmonds staying out of our lineup.

Rotohelp.com(6th lg; 186th overall)
Week 24b: September 16-September 18

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	Joe Mauer		440
1B	Albert Pujols		1930 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310 
2B	Brian Roberts		960 
2B	Chase Utley		480
3B	Melvin Mora		1270
3B	Troy Glaus		830
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Jose Reyes		850 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110
OF	Adam Dunn		1110 
OF	Scott Podsednik		1090
OF	Jason Bay		820 
OF	Kevin Mench		580 
UT	Carl Crawford		1560
UT	Travis Hafner		810  

SP	Roy Oswalt		1320 
SP	Matt Clement		1030 
SP	Jake Peavy		1030
SP	Chris Carpenter	930
SP	Dontrelle Willis	870 
SP	Josh Beckett		820 
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	1250
RP	B.J. Ryan		950 
RP	Todd Jones		510

Total Salary for Week 24b: 	29650

Today's Fantasy Rx: Nearly no youngster of relevance received a promotion to an AL club this week, but Jason Botts' return to Texas offers a great opportunity in keeper leagues. His relative domination of the PCL this year suggests he deserves a spot in the Rangers' lineup over Adrian Gonzalez or even David Dellucci, so take advantage of any chance to grab him at a good price for next season.