Today's Fantasy Rx

Welcome to our weekly LPR rankings, our primary method of identifying highly skilled and consistently effective pitchers. While we have not changed this system since last season, feel free to refer to this key for a complete description of the codes. We have included the five most recent 2007 QA scores for each starter, along with the 10 most recent QA scores for each reliever, tabulating all data through May 30th. Pitchers with no QA scores have not pitched this year, so do not roster any of them unless you see someone ready to return to the majors from the minors or the DL.

1
3ACXZ - Jake Peavy(45455)
A - Ian Snell(44214)
X - Randy Wolf(24435)
X - Aaron Harang(23435)
Sergio Mitre(33440)

Though Smoltz slipped from this level, Mitre's continued effectiveness elevated him to the top ranking for the first time. Harang also makes his first appearance here this year thanks to a very solid recent stretch of pitching.

abcxz - Heath Bell(4522343555)
ay - Saul Rivera(4442441345)

Rivera completely unexpectedly joins Bell atop the list of low-risk relievers, though considering his development to date, his performance doesn't really shock me. Consider him a deep sleeper in keeper leagues if the Nationals deal both Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch to restock the farm system this summer.

2
3ABCXYZ - Roy Oswalt(44533)
3ABXY - John Smoltz(45450)
3BCYZ - Chris Carpenter(3)
BCXYZ - Brandon Webb(35335)
by - Adam Wainwright(34044)

While his skill set for the year still worries me, Wainwright's at least making progress. Don't give up hope of his ERA soon descending toward an acceptable level.

3abcxyz - Billy Wagner(4543534133)
3Cbcyz - Aaron Heilman(4334424323)
abcxyz - Bob Wickman(4432234435)
abxy - Pedro Feliciano(5345542444)
abxy - Cla Meredith(4444355352)
Doug Brocail(4343431123)

3
C - Dontrelle Willis(24323)
Zach Duke(33302)

abcxyz - Chad Qualls(4453442244)
abcxyz - Trevor Hoffman(4553433523)
cx - Ryan Madson(3334535334)

A
BCZ - Derek Lowe(32445)
BXZ - Greg Maddux(44403)
BC - Carlos Zambrano(44344)
BX - David Bush(34335)
CX - Randy Johnson(34444)
Xz - Jay Bergmann(43434)
cz - Braden Looper(45042)
B - Cole Hamels(44543)
X - Shawn Hill(44434)
X - Orlando Hernandez(42545)
X - Wandy Rodriguez(34442)
X - Tim Lincecum(05443)
X - Tim Hudson(44024)
X - Ted Lilly(34403)
X - Jason Marquis(32443)
Chris Young(51444)
Rich Hill(52244)
Taylor Buchholz(04035)
Tom Glavine(52342)

We heavily touted David Bush prior to the season and still expect his final numbers to look quite solid, but if we don't stop seeing those seeing-eye hits, he may remain too risky to use in mixed leagues.

B
CYZ - Ben Sheets(45552)
CZ - Pedro Martinez
X - Brad Penny(44234)
Josh Johnson

Cax - Brett Myers(5455434443)
Y - Hong-chih Kuo(23)
Carlos Villanueva(4323424322)

C
Xc - Matt Belisle(53135)
X - Jon Lieber(33433)
X - Doug Davis(30034)
Z - Paul Maholm(32244)
Barry Zito(42035)

X
Jeff Francis(34534)
Aaron Cook(33433)
Anthony Reyes(34333)
Oliver Perez(03343)
Russ Ortiz(34330)
Jason Simontacchi(32343)
Jeff Suppan(33323)

Y
Edgar Gonzalez(334)

Z
abcxyz - Ryan Dempster(5324144344)

a
y - Micah Bowie(02)

bcxyz - Francisco Cordero(3344455554)
bcxyz - Mike Gonzalez(4554443542)
bcxyz - Scott Linebrink(4334453454)
bcxyz - Dan Wheeler(3233344454)
bcyz - Brad Lidge(5444544445)
bcyz - Will Ohman(4452552405)
bcyz - Brian Fuentes(3254425343)
bxyz - Jonathan Broxton(3344534534)
bxy - Takashi Saito(3434445454)
cxz - Jason Isringhausen(5445334525)
cxz - Derrick Turnbow(5144324442)
bx - Damaso Marte(5354443233)
by - Salomon Torres(5445553335)
cx - Randy Flores(5324443425)
cz - Rudy Seanez(2342344415)
xy - Manuel Corpas(3255144554)
xy - Clay Condrey(5334441304)
b - Renyel Pinto(4525044023)
x - Joe Smith(4424555554)
x - Rafael Soriano(5354344444)
x - Kevin Cameron(4444533424)
x - Kirk Saarloos(4404443452)
x - Matt Lindstrom(5515554253)
x - Brad Hennessey(2444444135)
x - Ramon Ramirez(5335403554)
x - Tony Pena(4454523422)
x - Oscar Villarreal(4324433443)
x - Armando Benitez(4435345331)
x - Chin-hui Tsao(4334234442)
y - Juan Cruz(4325445235)
z - Neal Cotts(2043453410)
Kelvin Jimenez(4353224444)
Zach McClellan(4442445213)
Antonio Alfonseca(4334235435)
Kevin Correia(3324444433)
Tyler Yates(3544355122)
LaTroy Hawkins(5543022434)
Jonathan Sanchez(0444424332)
Henry Owens(4221445253)
Winston Abreu(3454242251)
Jon Rauch(3534542310)

b
cyz - Brad Thompson(3233)
y - Brett Tomko(30402)
Kyle Lohse(30004)

cxyz - Jose Valverde(3545354423)
cyz - Mike Wuertz(0533344333)
xyz - Chad Cordero(5245533334)
cx - John Grabow(3444413433)
cy - Duaner Sanchez
cz - Tom Gordon(325351544)
cz - Scott Schoeneweis(3342111332)
xy - Peter Moylan(3553334423)
yz - Bob Howry(3214413035)
x - Tyler Johnson(4444434313)
x - Elmer Dessens(5234335435)
x - Matt Capps(3543432433)
x - Geoff Geary(3323415543)
y - Jorge Julio(3254044054)
y - Greg Aquino(14551223)
y - Gary Majewski(44)
y - Matt Smith(423220033)
y - Josh Kinney
z - Eddie Guardado
Taylor Tankersley(3522443320)
Todd Coffey(4324232332)
Royce Ring(45)
Josh Sharpless(22)
Tim Hamulack
Scott Cassidy
Chris Booker

c
z - Clay Hensley(01230)

xz - David Weathers(2443543313)
yz - Macay McBride(4224213403)
yz - Brian Shackelford
y - Russ Springer(3422252504)
z - Brandon Medders(4344225343)
z - Jonah Bayliss(4331434310)
Ambiorix Burgos(3334134142)
Scott Eyre(3343350102)
Yhency Brazoban(405)
Ryan Wagner(3224313133)
Blaine Boyer
Roberto Novoa
Franquelis Osoria

x
Shawn Chacon(0)

Kevin Gregg(5543434345)
Ryan Franklin(5524434343)
Doug Slaten(3243544103)

Though Gregg remains a solid option in NL leagues, especially since he should remain Florida's top set-up man, keep an eye on his performance to see if his demotion leads to any erosion of his current level of effectiveness.

y
Trever Miller(5345423430)
Vinnie Chulk(2424053244)
Brandon Lyon(2533342432)
Joe Beimel(4223243234)
Chad Paronto(4432301323)
Rick White(4533323220)
Fabio Castro(30034)
Joey Devine

z
Jeremy Affeldt(4352552305)
Ryan Speier(441)
Guillermo Mota(5)
Scott Munter(3)
Jose Capellan

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 2007.
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 2006.
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 2005.

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 the following skill qualifications: K>=IP-2, BB<=IP/3, H<=IP, HR<=1, and G-F>=1.00. Any starter who does not reach at least one 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 the following skill qualifications: K>=IP, BB=0, H<=IP, HR=0, and G-F>=1.00. Any reliever who does not reach at least one 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.

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.

A - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2007 starts
B - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2006 starts
C - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2005 starts

X - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2007 starts
Y - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2006 starts
Z - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2005 starts

a - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2007 relief outings
b - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2006 relief outings
c - QA score of 4 or 5 in at least 50% of 2005 relief outings

x - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2007 relief outings
y - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2006 relief outings
z - QA score below 3 in no more than 20% of 2005 relief outings

Today's Fantasy Rx: Thursday's trade of Armando Benitez for Randy Messenger once again remakes the Florida bullpen with a veteran closer while resulting in a promotion for the deserving Brad Hennessey in San Francisco. Though he lacks the strikeouts of Kevin Correia, he owns better overall skills and certainly could hold the job for a while. My biggest concern is the possibility that the vacancy at the end of the bullpen will prompt the Giants to follow the recommendation of much of the scouting community by shifting Tim Lincecum to relief. I consider that possibility a logical disaster for the organization given his massively higher upside in his current role. However, unless Bruce Bochy either grows comfortable with the relatively soft-tossing Hennessey or experiments with a veteran like Russ Ortiz, Lincecum's current roto owners may luck into a superb closer sometime in the next couple of months.

The evolving Pirates' bullpen offers a different story as Pittsburgh again failed to take the proper course by employing a former starting prospect as a closer, developing him into an established endgame force, and then dealing him to any team desperately seeking relief. Instead, yesterday the Pirates shifted to Matt Capps, who now gains significant roto value but deprives Pittsburgh of a needed contributor in middle relief. The move also obviously halves the trade value of Salomon Torres, who remains a perfectly decent pitcher. Hopefully both pitchers will adapt to their new roles, and I certainly see no reason Capps shouldn't qualify as a $20 player immediately. However, Torres owners also shouldn't rush to dump him in any format other than shallow mixed leagues since I suspect that, by virtue of either injury or trade, he still will see several more save opportunities at some point this year, most likely after the Pirates accept a suitable A-ball prospect in exchange for someone who might have netted them a long-term starting outfielder a month or two ago.