Available Starting Pitchers

A brief list of available starting pitchers that I would probably stash away on my bench, if my bench wasn't already full of AAA and AARP prospects.

Brandon Morrow (SP,RP Blue Jays):  I spot-started him against Baltimore at the beginning of the season, eating his five earned runs and then quickly tossing him back.  His next start was even worse.  However, since then, over his past four games:  2-1, 2.96 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 12.6 K/9.  His high BABIP means he might be able to continue trending towards servicable numbers in the future, despite his AL East opponents.  3.81 xFIP.  If he fixes his BB/9 problems, he's a must-add.

Mike Leake (SP, Reds):  On the season, 2-0, 2.94 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 5.88 K/9.  Those numbers could keep him in the league and Chapman on my bench for another month or two.  He's also apparently developing some better control, issuing only four walks over his last twenty innings.  A word of caution, four of his five starts were against the Cubs, Pirates, Astros, and Mets.

Jonathon Niese (SP, Mets):  I'm wary of any Mets player, since Citi Field is where talent goes to die, but his line over the last four starts is:  1-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 9.0 K/9.  His .382 BABIP should come down, and a 4.06 xFIP is interesting enough for a seventh starter to hang onto until we see whether he can stop giving up 12 hits a game.

Jason Vargas (SP, RP Mariners):  Last four starts:  2-1, 2.73 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 7.52 K/9.  He's been very lucky over that span, giving up only sixteen hits over 26 1/3 innings, and that's probably not sustainable for a guy with weak stuff like Vargas and his 87 MPH fastball.  He's worth picking up to monitor his success, however, and the RP eligibility is huge.

Kris Medlen (SP, RP Braves):  I really don't want to use Medlen's reliever stats to make a starter projection, but now that Jurrjens is hitting the DL he's going to have a second chance at the Atlanta rotation.  He was a mid-season callup last year, even before Tommy Hanson, and was afforded four starts, of which three were awful, and two didn't get past four innings.  However, the 9.32 K/9 was consistent with his strikeout rates as a reliever that year and next.  In his AAA stint in 2009, he was 5-0, 1.19 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 10.51 K/9.  In AA 2008:  7-8, 3.52 ERA (2.87 FIP), 1.23 WHIP, 8.98 K/9.  If he can keep himself from blowing up, and actually pitch through the 5th inning of his starts, he could be a season-altering asset.