Using Quality Starts When Choosing Daily Fantasy Pitchers
by Adam, DFBB Handicapper, RotoPicks.com
A starting pitcher earns a quality start in any outing in which he goes at least 6 innings and allows no more than 3 earned runs. It is a very simple, yet useful measurement of how consistent a pitcher is when you see how many quality starts the pitcher has thrown. When constructing head to head or double up lineups, I argue that quality start percentage is one of the most important factors to consider.
We've said it before and we need to say it again: double ups and H2H matches only require just enough points to beat out half the competition so you just want points from every position, and you do not need a tremendous amount of them. For pitchers, a quality start is usually good enough out of your pitcher slot if you want a winning team, especially if the salary was low. Guaranteed prize pools and league games that pay out only a small percentage need more than just a quality start; you would need plenty of K as well to score enough to place in the top 10% of the league. This is why quality starts are best used in the more conservative games of double ups, 50/50s, and head to heads.
Listed below is a list of all qualifying pitchers from 2014 in order of highest quality start percentage, listed along with the number of quality starts:
Rank | Player | Team | QS % | Quality Starts |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers | 86.2% | 13 |
2 | Johnny Cueto | Cincinnati Reds | 85.3% | 29 |
3 | Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies | 83.3% | 25 |
4 | Jon Lester | Boston Red Sox | 81.8% | 27 |
5 | Chris Sale | Chicago White Sox | 80.8% | 21 |
6 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | 79.4% | 27 |
7 | Alex Wood | Atlanta Braves | 79.2% | 19 |
8 | Sonny Gray | Oakland Athletics | 78.8% | 26 |
9 | Corey Kluber | Cleveland Indians | 76.5% | 26 |
10 | Aaron Harang | Cleveland Indians | 75.8% | 25 |
10 | Jordan Zimmermann | Washington Nationals | 75.8% | 25 |
10 | Julio Teheran | Atlanta Braves | 75.8% | 25 |
13 | Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | 74.3% | 26 |
14 | Doug Fister | Washington Nationals | 73.1% | 19 |
14 | Garrett Richards | Los Angeles Angels | 73.1% | 19 |
16 | Dallas Keuchel | Houston Astros | 72.4% | 21 |
17 | David Price | Tampa Bay Rays | 71.4% | 25 |
17 | Lance Lynn | St. Louis Cardinals | 71.4% | 25 |
19 | Tyson Ross | San Diego Padres | 71.0% | 22 |
20 | Yordano Ventura | Kansas City Royals | 70.6% | 24 |
21 | Jon Niese | New York Mets | 70.0% | 21 |
22 | Jeff Samardzija | Oakland Athletics | 69.7% | 23 |
22 | John Lackey | Boston Red Sox | 69.7% | 23 |
24 | Madison Bumgarner | San Francisco Giants | 69.2% | 27 |
25 | Scott Feldman | Houston Astros | 69.0% | 20 |
26 | Alfredo Simon | Cincinnati Reds | 68.8% | 22 |
26 | Wily Peralta | Milwaukee Brewers | 68.8% | 22 |
28 | Stephen Strasburg | Washington Nationals | 68.6% | 24 |
29 | Kyle Lohse | Milwaukee Brewers | 67.7% | 21 |
29 | Rick Porcello | Detroit Tigers | 67.7% | 21 |
29 | Tanner Roark | Washington Nationals | 67.7% | 21 |
32 | R.A. Dickey | Toronto Blue Jays | 67.6% | 23 |
33 | James Shields | Kansas City Royals | 66.7% | 26 |
33 | Zack Greinke | Los Angeles Dodgers | 66.7% | 22 |
35 | Jered Weaver | Los Angeles Angels | 65.7% | 23 |
36 | Hiroki Kuroda | New York Yankees | 65.6% | 21 |
36 | Jose Quintana | Chicago White Sox | 65.6% | 21 |
36 | Zack Wheeler | New York Mets | 65.6% | 21 |
39 | Max Scherzer | Detroit Tigers | 64.7% | 22 |
40 | Bartolo Colon | New York Mets | 64.5% | 20 |
41 | Jarred Cosart | Houston Astros | 63.3% | 19 |
42 | Alex Cobb | Tampa Bay Rays | 63.0% | 17 |
42 | Matt Garza | Milwaukee Brewers | 63.0% | 17 |
44 | Chris Archer | Tampa Bay Rays | 62.5% | 20 |
44 | John Danks | Chicago White Sox | 62.5% | 20 |
44 | Phil Hughes | Minnesota Twins | 62.5% | 20 |
44 | Scott Kazmir | Oakland Athletics | 62.5% | 20 |
44 | Yovani Gallardo | Milwaukee Brewers | 62.5% | 20 |
49 | Ervin Santana | Atlanta Braves | 61.3% | 19 |
50 | Gio Gonzalez | Washington Nationals | 60.7% | 17 |
50 | Hisashi Iwakuma | Seattle Mariners | 60.7% | 17 |
52 | Mike Leake | Cincinnati Reds | 60.6% | 20 |
52 | Nathan Eovaldi | Miami Marlins | 60.6% | 20 |
54 | Henderson Alvarez | Miami Marlins | 60.0% | 18 |
55 | Edinson Volquez | Pittsburgh Pirates | 59.4% | 19 |
55 | Mark Buehrle | Toronto Blue Jays | 59.4% | 19 |
55 | Tom Koehler | Miami Marlins | 59.4% | 19 |
58 | Miguel Gonzalez | Baltimore Orioles | 59.3% | 16 |
59 | Jason Hammel | Chicago Cubs | 58.6% | 17 |
60 | Chris Tillman | Baltimore Orioles | 58.3% | 21 |
61 | Ian Kennedy | San Diego Padres | 57.6% | 19 |
61 | Jason Vargas | Kansas City Royals | 57.6% | 19 |
61 | Wade Miley | Arizona Diamondbacks | 57.6% | 19 |
64 | Dan Haren | Los Angeles Dodgers | 56.2% | 18 |
65 | Hector Noesi | Texas Rangers | 55.6% | 15 |
65 | Jake Peavy | Boston Red Sox | 55.6% | 20 |
67 | Chris Young | Washington Nationals | 55.2% | 16 |
68 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | 54.5% | 18 |
69 | Tim Hudson | San Francisco Giants | 54.3% | 19 |
70 | Jorge De La Rosa | Colorado Rockies | 53.1% | 17 |
71 | Brandon McCarthy | Arizona Diamondbacks | 50.0% | 16 |
72 | Kyle Gibson | Minnesota Twins | 48.4% | 15 |
73 | Francisco Liriano | Pittsburgh Pirates | 48.3% | 14 |
74 | C.J. Wilson | Los Angeles Angels | 46.9% | 15 |
75 | Clay Buchholz | Boston Red Sox | 46.4% | 25 |
76 | Jeremy Guthrie | Kansas City Royals | 45.7% | 16 |
77 | Wei-Yin Chen | Baltimore Orioles | 45.5% | 15 |
78 | Jake Odorizzi | Tampa Bay Rays | 45.2% | 14 |
79 | A.J. Burnett | Philadelphia Phillies | 44.1% | 15 |
80 | Eric Stults | San Diego Padres | 43.8% | 14 |
81 | Ryan Vogelsong | San Francisco Giants | 42.9% | 15 |
82 | Shelby Miller | St. Louis Cardinals | 42.4% | 14 |
83 | Kyle Kendrick | Philadelphia Phillies | 40.6% | 13 |
84 | Bud Norris | Baltimore Orioles | 40.0% | 12 |
85 | Roberto Hernandez | Philadelphia Phillies | 37.9% | 11 |
86 | Colby Lewis | Texas Rangers | 27.6% | 8 |
86 | Roenis Elias | Seattle Mariners | 27.6% | 8 |
88 | Drew Hutchison | Toronto Blue Jays | 0.0% | 12 |
88 | Josh Collmenter | Arizona Diamondbacks | 0.0% | 14 |
88 | Travis Wood | Chicago Cubs | 0.0% | 13 |
Since quality starts do not include wins, here is the list of qualifying pitchers from 2014, ranked by winning percentage:
Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 0.808 |
2 | Garrett Richards | Los Angeles Angels | SP | 0.765 |
3 | Max Scherzer | Detroit Tigers | SP | 0.750 |
3 | Chris Sale | Chicago White Sox | SP | 0.750 |
5 | Doug Fister | Washington Nationals | SP | 0.739 |
6 | Jordan Zimmermann | Washington Nationals | SP | 0.737 |
7 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | SP | 0.714 |
8 | Chris Tillman | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 0.700 |
9 | Wei-Yin Chen | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 0.696 |
10 | Johnny Cueto | Cincinnati Reds | SP | 0.690 |
11 | Zack Greinke | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 0.680 |
12 | Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | SP | 0.667 |
12 | Madison Bumgarner | San Francisco Giants | SP | 0.667 |
12 | Corey Kluber | Cleveland Indians | SP | 0.667 |
12 | Jered Weaver | Los Angeles Angels | SP | 0.667 |
12 | Bud Norris | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 0.667 |
17 | Henderson Alvarez | Miami Marlins | SP | 0.632 |
18 | Scott Kazmir | Oakland Athletics | SP | 0.625 |
18 | Hisashi Iwakuma | Seattle Mariners | SP | 0.625 |
20 | Edinson Volquez | Pittsburgh Pirates | SP | 0.619 |
21 | Phil Hughes | Minnesota Twins | SP | 0.615 |
22 | Wily Peralta | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 0.607 |
23 | James Shields | Kansas City Royals | SP | 0.600 |
23 | Yordano Ventura | Kansas City Royals | SP | 0.600 |
23 | John Lackey | Boston Red Sox | SP | 0.600 |
23 | Lance Lynn | St. Louis Cardinals | SP | 0.600 |
23 | Alfredo Simon | Cincinnati Reds | SP | 0.600 |
28 | Jon Lester | Boston Red Sox | SP | 0.593 |
29 | Kyle Lohse | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 0.591 |
30 | Sonny Gray | Oakland Athletics | SP | 0.583 |
30 | Ervin Santana | Atlanta Braves | SP | 0.583 |
32 | Tanner Roark | Washington Nationals | SP | 0.577 |
33 | Dallas Keuchel | Houston Astros | SP | 0.571 |
33 | Chris Young | Washington Nationals | SP | 0.571 |
35 | Mark Buehrle | Toronto Blue Jays | SP | 0.565 |
36 | Jorge De La Rosa | Colorado Rockies | SP | 0.560 |
37 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | SP | 0.556 |
38 | Josh Collmenter | Arizona Diamondbacks | SP | 0.550 |
38 | Hiroki Kuroda | New York Yankees | SP | 0.550 |
40 | Jason Vargas | Kansas City Royals | SP | 0.545 |
41 | Jarred Cosart | Houston Astros | SP | 0.542 |
41 | Dan Haren | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 0.542 |
41 | C.J. Wilson | Los Angeles Angels | SP | 0.542 |
44 | Stephen Strasburg | Washington Nationals | SP | 0.538 |
44 | Jeremy Guthrie | Kansas City Royals | SP | 0.538 |
46 | David Price | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 0.536 |
46 | Bartolo Colon | New York Mets | SP | 0.536 |
46 | Rick Porcello | Detroit Tigers | SP | 0.536 |
49 | Chris Archer | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 0.526 |
49 | Shelby Miller | St. Louis Cardinals | SP | 0.526 |
49 | Alex Cobb | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 0.526 |
52 | Kyle Gibson | Minnesota Twins | SP | 0.520 |
53 | Julio Teheran | Atlanta Braves | SP | 0.518 |
53 | R.A. Dickey | Toronto Blue Jays | SP | 0.518 |
55 | Alex Wood | Atlanta Braves | SP | 0.500 |
55 | John Danks | Chicago White Sox | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Matt Garza | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Miguel Gonzalez | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Ian Kennedy | San Diego Padres | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Tom Koehler | Miami Marlins | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Aaron Harang | Cleveland Indians | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Zack Wheeler | New York Mets | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 0.500 |
55 | Gio Gonzalez | Washington Nationals | SP | 0.500 |
65 | Tyson Ross | San Diego Padres | SP | 0.481 |
66 | Jason Hammel | Chicago Cubs | SP | 0.476 |
67 | Mike Leake | Cincinnati Reds | SP | 0.458 |
67 | Drew Hutchison | Toronto Blue Jays | SP | 0.458 |
67 | Jake Odorizzi | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 0.458 |
70 | Roenis Elias | Seattle Mariners | SP | 0.455 |
71 | Jon Niese | New York Mets | SP | 0.450 |
71 | Jose Quintana | Chicago White Sox | SP | 0.450 |
73 | Kyle Kendrick | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 0.435 |
74 | Clay Buchholz | Boston Red Sox | SP | 0.421 |
74 | Roberto Hernandez | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 0.421 |
74 | Yovani Gallardo | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 0.421 |
77 | Colby Lewis | Texas Rangers | SP | 0.417 |
78 | Francisco Liriano | Pittsburgh Pirates | SP | 0.412 |
79 | Brandon McCarthy | Arizona Diamondbacks | SP | 0.400 |
79 | Scott Feldman | Houston Astros | SP | 0.400 |
79 | Hector Noesi | Texas Rangers | RP | 0.400 |
79 | Wade Miley | Arizona Diamondbacks | SP | 0.400 |
83 | Tim Hudson | San Francisco Giants | SP | 0.391 |
84 | Ryan Vogelsong | San Francisco Giants | SP | 0.381 |
84 | Travis Wood | Chicago Cubs | SP | 0.381 |
86 | Jeff Samardzija | Oakland Athletics | SP | 0.350 |
87 | Jake Peavy | Boston Red Sox | SP | 0.348 |
88 | Eric Stults | San Diego Padres | SP | 0.320 |
89 | A.J. Burnett | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 0.308 |
90 | Nathan Eovaldi | Miami Marlins | SP | 0.300 |
Last but not least, quality starts do not factor in strikeouts, so here are all the qualifying pitchers from 2014, ranked in order by K%, for your viewing pleasure:
Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 32.2% |
2 | Chris Sale | Chicago White Sox | SP | 30.4% |
3 | Corey Kluber | Cleveland Indians | SP | 28.3% |
4 | Max Scherzer | Detroit Tigers | SP | 27.7% |
5 | Stephen Strasburg | Washington Nationals | SP | 27.3% |
6 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | SP | 27.2% |
7 | David Price | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 26.6% |
8 | Francisco Liriano | Pittsburgh Pirates | SP | 25.3% |
9 | Zack Greinke | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 25.3% |
10 | Johnny Cueto | Cincinnati Reds | SP | 25.2% |
11 | Madison Bumgarner | San Francisco Giants | SP | 24.7% |
12 | Jon Lester | Boston Red Sox | SP | 24.6% |
13 | Alex Wood | Atlanta Braves | SP | 24.5% |
14 | Ian Kennedy | San Diego Padres | SP | 24.5% |
15 | Gio Gonzalez | Washington Nationals | SP | 24.3% |
16 | Jake Odorizzi | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 24.2% |
17 | Garrett Richards | Los Angeles Angels | SP | 24.2% |
18 | Tyson Ross | San Diego Padres | SP | 24.0% |
19 | Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 23.9% |
20 | Zack Wheeler | New York Mets | SP | 23.5% |
21 | Drew Hutchison | Toronto Blue Jays | SP | 23.4% |
22 | Jeff Samardzija | Oakland Athletics | SP | 23.0% |
23 | Jordan Zimmermann | Washington Nationals | SP | 22.7% |
24 | Jason Hammel | Chicago Cubs | SP | 22.1% |
25 | Ervin Santana | Atlanta Braves | SP | 21.9% |
26 | Alex Cobb | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 21.9% |
27 | Phil Hughes | Minnesota Twins | SP | 21.8% |
28 | Hisashi Iwakuma | Seattle Mariners | SP | 21.7% |
29 | Jose Quintana | Chicago White Sox | SP | 21.4% |
30 | Wade Miley | Arizona Diamondbacks | SP | 21.1% |
31 | Scott Kazmir | Oakland Athletics | SP | 21.1% |
32 | Chris Archer | Tampa Bay Rays | SP | 21.1% |
33 | Julio Teheran | Atlanta Braves | SP | 21.0% |
34 | Lance Lynn | St. Louis Cardinals | SP | 21.0% |
35 | Brandon McCarthy | Arizona Diamondbacks | SP | 20.9% |
36 | Roenis Elias | Seattle Mariners | SP | 20.6% |
37 | Sonny Gray | Oakland Athletics | SP | 20.4% |
38 | A.J. Burnett | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 20.3% |
39 | Bud Norris | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 20.2% |
40 | Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | SP | 19.8% |
40 | C.J. Wilson | Los Angeles Angels | SP | 19.8% |
42 | John Lackey | Boston Red Sox | SP | 19.8% |
43 | Yordano Ventura | Kansas City Royals | SP | 19.5% |
44 | Jered Weaver | Los Angeles Angels | SP | 19.2% |
45 | Tom Koehler | Miami Marlins | SP | 19.1% |
46 | Ryan Vogelsong | San Francisco Giants | SP | 19.0% |
47 | James Shields | Kansas City Royals | SP | 18.9% |
48 | R.A. Dickey | Toronto Blue Jays | SP | 18.9% |
49 | Dan Haren | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 18.7% |
49 | Travis Wood | Chicago Cubs | SP | 18.7% |
51 | Matt Garza | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 18.5% |
52 | Aaron Harang | Cleveland Indians | SP | 18.4% |
52 | Wily Peralta | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 18.4% |
54 | Mike Leake | Cincinnati Reds | SP | 18.2% |
55 | Jorge De La Rosa | Colorado Rockies | SP | 18.1% |
56 | Dallas Keuchel | Houston Astros | SP | 18.1% |
57 | Jake Peavy | Boston Red Sox | SP | 17.9% |
58 | Clay Buchholz | Boston Red Sox | SP | 17.9% |
59 | Yovani Gallardo | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 17.9% |
60 | Bartolo Colon | New York Mets | SP | 17.8% |
61 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | SP | 17.8% |
62 | Hiroki Kuroda | New York Yankees | SP | 17.8% |
63 | Wei-Yin Chen | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 17.6% |
64 | Jon Niese | New York Mets | SP | 17.6% |
65 | Colby Lewis | Texas Rangers | SP | 17.4% |
66 | Chris Tillman | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 17.4% |
67 | Tanner Roark | Washington Nationals | SP | 17.4% |
68 | Kyle Lohse | Milwaukee Brewers | SP | 17.3% |
69 | Edinson Volquez | Pittsburgh Pirates | SP | 17.2% |
70 | Hector Noesi | Texas Rangers | RP | 16.8% |
71 | Shelby Miller | St. Louis Cardinals | SP | 16.6% |
71 | Nathan Eovaldi | Miami Marlins | SP | 16.6% |
73 | Miguel Gonzalez | Baltimore Orioles | SP | 16.5% |
74 | Jason Vargas | Kansas City Royals | SP | 16.3% |
75 | Josh Collmenter | Arizona Diamondbacks | SP | 16.0% |
76 | Chris Young | Washington Nationals | SP | 15.7% |
77 | Tim Hudson | San Francisco Giants | SP | 15.5% |
78 | Alfredo Simon | Cincinnati Reds | SP | 15.5% |
79 | Rick Porcello | Detroit Tigers | SP | 15.4% |
80 | John Danks | Chicago White Sox | SP | 15.1% |
81 | Jarred Cosart | Houston Astros | SP | 15.0% |
82 | Doug Fister | Washington Nationals | SP | 14.7% |
83 | Eric Stults | San Diego Padres | SP | 14.5% |
84 | Roberto Hernandez | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 14.5% |
85 | Henderson Alvarez | Miami Marlins | SP | 14.4% |
86 | Kyle Gibson | Minnesota Twins | SP | 14.1% |
87 | Jeremy Guthrie | Kansas City Royals | SP | 14.1% |
88 | Kyle Kendrick | Philadelphia Phillies | SP | 14.0% |
88 | Scott Feldman | Houston Astros | SP | 14.0% |
90 | Mark Buehrle | Toronto Blue Jays | SP | 13.9% |
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