Let’s see how the ‘bargain bin’ hurlers did last week:

2-3 record, 42 2/3 inn., 17 K’s, 3.16 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 22.15 Rotohog point average.

Although last week’s pitchers failed to meet my 25.19 predicted point average, they still outperformed their price. Since the average price for the 7 pitchers last week was $5.01, they needed to average more than 15.18 points to outperform their price. Their 22.15 point average is worth $13.27…not a bad investment.

Here are this week’s bargains:

Prediction: a rough estimate of the number of Rotohog points I feel the pitcher will put up.
Break Even #: the number of points the pitcher will need to put up in order to exceed his price.
Value: how much the pitcher is worth, based on my predicted number of points.

Mon. 6/30 – Ted Lilly ($8.52), CHC @ SF – Lilly has some filthy stuff. I consider him to be a poor man’s Erik Bedard. His lack of consistency is the reason his price is hovering just below $10, but I feel that his start here (against the Giants) will be well worth the $8.52 price tag that comes with it.   Prediction: 28.94 points - Break Even #: 18.14 points – Value: $21.31

Tue. 7/1 – Aaron Cook ($9.30), Col vs. SD – Let’s keep things going with the ‘poor man’ comparison here…Aaron Cook is a poor man’s Brandon Webb. Prepare to watch Aaron ‘Cook’ up a ton of groundballs against the Padres as his heavy sinker + the humidor-stored baseball at Coors Field makes the opposing hitter feel like he’s trying to hit a 14 lb. bowling ball.    Prediction: 21.40 points - Break Even #: 18.80 – Value: $12.38

Wed. 7/2 – Dana Eveland ($7.52), Oak @ LAA – Eveland excelled in his ‘Bargain Bin’ start last week (56.23 points to be exact), so I’m going to roll with him here. Don’t be scared by his 10.13 lifetime ERA against the Angels, he should do well here. Prediction: 20.53 points - Break Even #: 17.29 points – Value: $11.35

Thur. 7/3 – Chad Billingsley ($9.73), LAD @ Hou – I’m still amazed that Billingsley qualifies as a ‘Bargain Bin’ candidate. He has electric stuff and will only get better as his command gets better. In his young career, Billingsley has pitched much better on the road (15-9, 2.99 ERA) then at home (11-7, 4.04 ERA). I find that unusual, considering his ‘home’ is one more ‘pitcher-friendly ballparks (Dodger Stadium). Prediction: 24.75 points - Break Even #: 19.16 points – Value: $16.34

Fri. 7/4 – Jonathan Sanchez ($5.53), SF vs. LAD – I’m excited to make Sanchez’s ‘Bargain Bin’ debut in this start. I haven’t been able to really to feature him due to not-so-great matchups (in my opinion) or because there were better options. This young southpaw can deal and has been getting some healthy run support lately from the Giants anemic offense. Roll with him here against the ‘Doyers’. Prediction: 22.64 points - Break Even #: 15.61 points – Value: $5.53

Sat. 7/5 – Armando Galarraga ($6.33), Det @ Sea – Armando came back down to earth in his last start (-7.45 points), but I think you can’t beat this matchup or his cheap price tag for this start against the Mariners. Prediction: 24.01 points - Break Even #: 16.29 points – Value: $15.47

Sun. 7/6 – Matt Cain ($8.17), SF vs. LAD – Cain is making his record-setting 3rd appearance in my ‘Bargain Bin’ and should continue to be a regular on here as long as his price stays below $10. Considering Cain is one of the unluckiest pitchers in baseball (as far as run support goes) I wouldn’t be surprised if he pitches a no-hitter here and still loses (a la Jered Weaver) Prediction: 28.19 points - Break Even #: 17.84 points – Value: $20.41