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 21st. 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(52344)
ABC - Matt Clement(34440)
AX - Bartolo Colon(44324)
AX - Felix Hernandez(43540)
A - C.C. Sabathia(44435)

23abcxyz - Mariano Rivera(4453434445)
3ax - Arthur Rhodes(4433443435)
abcxy - B.J. Ryan(5555443444)
ax - Justin Duchscherer(4414435355)
ax - Huston Street(3355213543)

Even a dramatically awful start by Clement doesn't push him off his perch here, although the returns of Ryan and Street provide more heartening news here, likely securing the preeminent skill status of two of baseball's top young closers.

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: No start.
Roy Oswalt: No start.
Roger Clemens: Sat:@CHC(G.Rusch)
Matt Clement: Sat:@BAL(E.Bedard)
Jake Peavy: No start.
Chris Carpenter: Fri:@MIL(C.Capuano)
Dontrelle Willis: No start.
A.J. Burnett: Sun:@ATL(Jor.Sosa)
Josh Beckett: Fri:@ATL(J.Thomson)
Andy Pettitte: Sun:@CHC(Jer.Williams)
Miguel Batista: 3 Road at NYY.

Pressing wins offers the most upside, so we'll risk running the six starters while sitting Batista.

Swapping Giles for Roberts is mandatory with Roberts done for the year, and then Edmonds will also replace Podsednik. Morneau, Mora, Wright, and Mench stay benched due to a lack of lineup spots even though we possess plenty of extra cap room thanks to a lack of expensive starters.

Rotohelp.com(5th lg; 185th overall)
Week 25a: September 19-September 22

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	Joe Mauer		440
1B	Albert Pujols		1930 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310 
2B	Marcus Giles		950
2B	Chase Utley		480
3B	Troy Glaus		830
3B	Garrett Atkins		400
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Jose Reyes		850 
OF	Jim Edmonds		1250
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110
OF	Adam Dunn		1110 
OF	Jason Bay		820 
OF	Matt Holliday		630
UT	Carl Crawford		1560
UT	Travis Hafner		810  

SP	Roger Clemens		1280 
SP	Matt Clement		1030 
SP	Chris Carpenter	930
SP	A.J. Burnett		830 
SP	Andy Pettitte		800 
SP	Josh Beckett		820
RP	Brad Lidge		1280
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	1250 
RP	Todd Jones		510

Total Salary for Week 25b: 	28670

Today's Fantasy Rx: Losing Brian Roberts for the season opens up a starting job for Bernie Castro, who should receive the chance to emerge as a leading lineup candidate for 2006 in Baltimore. With an impressive history of plate discipline and speed skills, he easily could post one of the most valuable stat lines over the balance of the year, so take advantage of any chance to add him to your roster.