I am a day later then I had planned, but I need to spend some serious time on my two teams that are in the championship battle. So I will give you two days worth of pitch-and-ditch options.

For Tuesday September 25th

Homer Bailey - CIN vs HOU - Even though Houston exploded for some runs over the weekend, they are still a weak offense at this point in the season. The Reds uber-prospect pitched well in his last outing, but was limited to a strict 80 pitch-pitch-count. Bailey in capable of going longer, but the limited pitch count will force him to be efficient if he wants to stay in the game long enough. Felipe Paulino is one of the Astro’s prospects that has not faired well as of late. He doesn’t walk many, but has allowed 12 hits and 10 earned runs in only 8 innings pitched. It may be an expensive win, but Homer Bailey has the edge in the matchup.

Jose Contreras - CWS vs KC - Contreras has been absolutely amazing as of late. He has won four out of his last five starts, which included a complete game against the Royals. They key to his success are the number of walks allowed in his recent starts. Kansas City still has an offense that is struggling at the end of the year, and Contreras is trying to end the season on a high note.

If either one of these players are gone, then I would go with Aaron Laffey. The Mariners have a good batting average against lefties as a team, but lack in power against them. The tough part for Laffey is that he is facing King Felix, who is trying to prove he is as dominate as he was in the beginning of the year.

For Wednesday September 26th

Jon Lester - BOS vs OAK - Lester pitched very well in his last outing and is now facing one of the worst offensive teams. Oakland has a miserable .257 batting average against lefties, and the game is at a home run suppressing ballpark. His opponent is Joe Blanton who has been pitching better as of late, but the run support has not been there.

Carlos Villanueva - MIL vs STL - Villanueva has been pitching pretty well as of late, and is facing a Cardinals lineup that is missing Scott Rolen, Yadier Molina, Jim Edmonds, and Albert Pujols from their everyday lineup. The Brewers are in a must win situation, and need another solid performance. Villanueva has two weakness; walks and flyballs. Unfortunately, the walks will most likely still happen, but the flyballs should stay in the ballpark since the Cardinals have only hit 17 homeruns in the month of September.

Another pitcher of great interest for Wednesday is Phillip Humber, who is the Mets’ top pitching prospect. This kid can really throw the ball with velocity and movement. I don’t think that I would take him for his first start if there are other options, but he is pitching at home against the Nationals. If everyone else has taken the decent pitchers, Humber is a great sleeper pick.