Things appeared to be headed in the wrong direction early on Thursday afternoon for the New York Yankees and James Paxton. At Camden Yards playing the Baltimore Orioles, Paxton allowed three runs in the first, throwing nearly 30 pitches in the process. After that, however, he pitched better, allowing just one more run and striking out nine batters. After his offense put him ahead in the sixth, he emerged once more for one additional out, capping off his day with 5 1/3 innings pitched. The perfo[...]

In every season there are teams who initially appear so bad that we give up all hope of fantasy value. In 2019 one of those teams was the Baltimore Orioles, who had a very different lineup to last year. 2018 saw the Orioles move on from Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop, and Adam Jones followed them out of the door in the offseason. [...]

New York Yankees left-hander James Paxton was an unlucky loser Saturday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. The 30-year-old threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, one unearned, while giving up four hits and a walk. Paxton also struck out five batters, suffering from lack of offensive help. Regardless, it was an encouraging debut as he had a strong performance, regardless of the loss. The Big Maple's next start is scheduled for next weekend, once again versus the Orioles, but this time at [...]

Opening Day is finally here! Welcome back everyone to our starts/sits column for Week 1. We are back again this year with our weekly starting pitcher matchups and recommendations. In case you missed it, this is our sixth year now writing this weekly column, helping fantasy baseball managers pick the best pitchers weekly.Below are the projected starting pitching matchups for Week 1,which will be updated as rotations are inevitably announced and tweaked.For head-to-head leagues, [...]

Its no secret that teams are relying more and more heavily on young hitters and pitchers to not only fill out the 25-man rosters but to be key, impactful members of the club. That, in turn, means that prospect watching and analysis plays an increasingly important part of fantasy baseball. Jumping on the promising, raw power hitter or strong-armed starting pitcher at just the right moment can make or break a fantasy baseball season. Did you know there were 11 rookie hitters in 2018 that produced [...]

We are continuing our updated analysis of points league tiered rankings with a final look at starting pitchers. In H2H points leagues, starting pitchers are the lifeblood of a fantasy team. The more innings and strikeouts a starter can rack up, the further it carries your team toward a championship.There is a solid core of SP at the top that are sure to fly off draft boards much earlier than in roto leagues. [...]

To some fantasy owners, theres nothing more frustrating than the good but oft-injured starting pitcher. It makes owners just want to wash their hands entirely of pitchers like Rich Hill, James Paxton, and Stephen Strasburg in favor of sub-par innings-eatersand often pushes these fragile hurlers down draft boards.However, in certain league formats, targeting these pitchers at their discounted prices can actually be a solid strategy in building an outstanding pitching staff on a budget. [...]

Researching elite starters has taught me a number of things about pitcher development. One of the most valuable has been the reminder that progress is never linear.Blake Snell and Justin Verlander present recent examples of that. Verlander has been in obvious decline on two occasions now, and both times hes bounced back. 2016 Blake Snell displayed impressive talent but limited control. He was then relegated to AAA for portions of 2017, lost strikeouts, and saw his ERA increase, but we all know w[...]

As he readies to embark on his first season with the New York Yankees, Canadian left-hander James Paxton finished off his spring with his third victory. The 30-year-old went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out five against the Minnesota Twins. Considering the potency of his offense, this is the kind of performance that will net him plenty of victories during the regular season. [...]

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