Matt Shoemaker broke a lot of hearts, and fantasy team ratios, last week. Taylor Jungmann and Shelby Miller each turned in uninspiring efforts early in the week before dominating on Sunday. Mike Fiers was solid. But Hisashi Iwakuma threw a no-hitter, so who cares about any of that? Swish!

Before we tackle this week's recommendations, a programming note: The passage of trade deadlines in many leagues will necessitate more of a focus on lesser-known assets on the buy side.

As for sells, recent trends and matchups will become much more of a factor. Depending on how things shake out, some surprising names could make an appearance on that list.

 

Starting Pitchers to Buy

R.A. Dickey, Toronto Blue Jays

Dickey was a dumpster fire for the first two months of the season. Since Memorial Day, however, the geriatric knuckleballer has posted a 2.70 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Only once in that 15-game span has he failed to log a quality start. Since the All-Star break, he's been even better, going 4-0 with a 1.49 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Dickey won't get you many whiffs, but if you could use some help on the ratio front, few pitchers have been better of late. He's free to add in over 40 percent of Yahoo leagues right now and has a date with the Phillies on Tuesday.

 

Jimmy Nelson, Milwaukee Brewers

Nelson's overall numbers are unspectacular, but that's in large part due to two blowups in June. Strip out those games and you're left with a 3.03 ERA and 1.15 WHIP that will play in most leagues. Nelson has also been quietly excellent over the last six weeks, putting together a 1.70 ERA and 1.01 WHIP while striking out nearly a batter per inning. It's a coin flip as to whether he's on the wire in your league (51% ownership rate). He'll look to keep the momentum going on Thursday against the suddenly reeling Nationals.

 

Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks

Corbin has been pretty impressive in his return from Tommy John surgery, essentially picking up where he left off with his 2013 breakout. Though he's only averaging a bit over five innings per start, those innings have for the most part been of high quality. He's currently sitting on a 3.43 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, with an excellent 43:11 K/BB ratio in 42 frames. Corbin is there for the taking in almost three-quarters of Yahoo leagues and draws the Reds on the road this week.

 

Starting Pitchers to Sell

Jake Odorizzi, Tampa Bay Rays

Odorizzi missed five weeks at the end of the first half after straining his oblique, and he hasn't quite regained the form he showed in the season's first two months. In 34 innings since the break, he's logged a disappointing 5.03 ERA and 1.41 WHIP and allowed as many homers (five) as he did in his first 82 frames. The 25 year old still boasts strong overall numbers and has a bright future, but it may not be wise to count on him down the stretch.

 

Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

This isn't solely in reaction to King Felix's royal meltdown in Boston. Regular readers will recall that I suggested his owners explore a trade last month. Including Saturday's implosion, he's now allowed double-digit hits in three of his last four starts, with a hideous 9.13 ERA over that span. Overall, his walks and homers are up, while his strikeouts are down. It's possible that he's hiding an injury; his breaking pitches in particular just don't seem right at the moment. Either way, despite the track record, it's difficult to trust him.

 

Anibal Sanchez, Detroit Tigers

After holding for the first half of the season, I finally cut the cord on Sanchez in the two leagues where I had him rostered. His performance since the break (6.00 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 2.25 HR/9) hasn't inspired regret. After posting the lowest home run rate of any pitcher with at least 300 innings over the past two seasons, Sanchez has allowed an eye-popping 28 homers this year. Among qualified starters, only Phil Hughes, Kyle Lohse, and CC Sabathia have been worse at keeping the ball in the yard. It's hard to say why this is happening, as his peripherals and velocity haven't changed much. Whatever the cause, the end result is that he's getting hammered.

 

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