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Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks head to enemy territory with three games at the Philadelphia Phillies and three at the New York Mets and Dan Haren has two this week. Haren hasn’t been pitching well lately (4.76 ERA in four July starts) although if you need strikeouts he is getting them at the rate of better than one per inning lately. NEUTRAL.

Atlanta Braves – The Braves go to Washington for three against the Nationals and then Cincinnati for three against the Reds. Tommy Hanson toes the rubber twice for the Braves. He’s only won once in July but has a 2.67 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with better than a strikeout per inning. He has clearly been better in July than he was in June and is an advisable UP for this week.

Baltimore Orioles – The Orioles play seven this week on the road – three at the Toronto Blue Jays and four at the Kansas City Royals. Brad Bergesen and Kevin Millwood get the call for two starts each. Bergesen has allowed 16 earned runs in 25 innings over his last four starts while Millwood has allowed five earned runs in each of his last two starts (with a DL stint sandwiched between them). Nothing here – DOWN.

Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox play three at the Los Angeles Angels then a day off before heading back to Fenway for three against the Detroit Tigers. Clay Buchholz gets the double dip but is coming off a very unimpressive start (five earned runs in four innings) against the Oakland A’s after returning from the DL. It may still take him time to get back on track so caution is required against these teams that have more potent offenses than the A’s. NEUTRAL.

Chicago White Sox – The White Sox are home this week for four games against the Seattle Mariners and three against the Oakland A’s. John Danks and Gavin Floyd get the ball twice each. Danks has allowed six earned runs each in two of his last five starts but a total of two in the other three while Floyd has allowed five earned runs in his last five starts and averaging six innings per start. Both are advisable starts this week – UP.

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs are away from Chicago and in hitter friendly Houston and Colorado for three each against the Astros and Rockies. Carlos Silva takes the ball for a start against each of them. He has lost his last two starts allowing 11 earned runs in only 2 1/3 innings pitched. His WHIP in July is 2.12 and is clearly not the pitcher he was earlier in the year. He is not advisable until when and if he turns things around. DOWN.

Cincinnati Reds – The Reds have three games at the Milwaukee Brewers before taking on the Atlanta Braves back in Cincinnati. Bronson Arroyo has two this week. He won three in a row allowing just three earned runs in 21 innings before laying an egg against the Washington Nationals with seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. If you have better options use them. NEUTRAL.

Cleveland Indians – The Indians are home for four against the New York Yankees before hitting the road for three against the Toronto Blue Jays. Jake Westbrook will be one of the double dippers while the other is still to be determined. Westbrook has surrendered 13 earned runs over his last four starts in the month of July. He’s not someone you want to be trotting out there – DOWN.

Colorado Rockies – The Rockies have a strange schedule with one game in Philadelphia before heading home for three each against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. Jason Hammel and Jorge De La Rosa each have the double dip. Hammel has pitched fairly well in July with a 3.95 ERA and better than a strikeout per inning. De La Rosa had his best outing since returning from the DL against Florida his last start allowing just two earned runs in six innings with eight strikeouts. However, both are too risky at this point. DOWN.

Detroit Tigers – Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander each get two starts as the Tigers face the Tampa Bay Rays for four and Boston Red Sox for three – all road games for the Tigers. Scherzer has had one bad game in his last six – a four earned run effort against the Cleveland Indians. In the other five he’s allowed a total of three earned runs in 34 2/3 innings pitched. In the six games he’s also struck out better than a batter per inning. Verlander has a 2.74 ERA over his last four games and has won three of them. As good as these pitchers are you might want to tread lightly against the two best offenses in the AL. NEUTRAL.

Florida Marlins – Florida has four against the San Francisco Giants and three against the San Diego Padres, all road games for the Marlins. Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson each get a start in these pitcher friendly stadiums. Nolasco has three wins in four July starts and has pitched very well in three of them with a 2.45 ERA. Johnson has been outstanding with a 0.68 ERA in four July starts but only has two wins to show for it (wins are fickle). He struck out 34 batters in 26 1/3 innings. Both are a go this week – UP.

Houston Astros – The Astros are home for three games each against the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. Wesley Wright gets the double dip after his first start after being converted from a reliever. He can strikeout hitters but not many pitchers can be recommended for the anemic Astros. DOWN.

Kansas City Royals –The Royals are home in Kansas City for three games against the Minnesota Twins and four with the Baltimore Orioles. Zack Greinke and Bruce Chen get two starts each. Since a start against the White Sox in which he allowed six earned runs, Greinke has allowed a total of four earned 21 innings over three starts, winning two of them. He has struck out 21 batters in those games. Chen has allowed 13 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings over his last four starts, winning only once. Greinke is UP while Chen is DOWN.

Los Angeles Angels – The Angels only have six games this week but they are against very tough competition with three each against the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers although they are in Anaheim. Joel Pineiro gets the nod for one start against each. He had three good starts then allowed six earned runs in six innings against the Yankees his last time out. If you have better options you might want to go with them this week -  NEUTRAL.

Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers hit the road with three each against the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. Chad Billingsley has the double dip in these pitcher paradises. Chad pitched a shutout against the Giants his last start but only struck out three. That was better than the previous start when he allowed seven earned runs in only four innings against the Cardinals. These parks are good venues to run him out there. UP.

Milwaukee Brewers – The Brewers have three at home versus the Cincinnati Reds before going to Houston for three against the Astros. Randy Wolf gets this week’s double dips. Wolf allowed 12 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates his last time out. He wasn’t pitching well the two starts before that either. Cincinnati’s not a good opponent but the Astros might be. That makes him NEUTRAL at best this week.

Minnesota Twins – The Twins have three at the Kansas City Royals then head back to Target Field for three against the Seattle Mariners. Francisco Liriano gets this week’s double dip. Liriano had one very bad start in July (seven earned runs in 1 2/3 innings at Detroit) and three very good games in which he only allowed a total of three earned runs in 21 2/3 innings with 26 strikeouts. He’s a go this week – UP.

New York Yankees – The Yankees have seven this week, all on the road. The Cleveland Indians get them for four games then they head to Tampa for three against the Rays. Javier Vazquez and CC Sabathia each get two starts. Vazquez continued his renaissance in July with a 2.84 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in three starts, winning two of them. Sabathia is coming into his time of the year as evidenced by a 2.25 ERA although he has allowed runners to the tune of a 1.41 WHIP in July. But both are recommended – UP.

New York Mets – The Mets take on the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks three times each at CitiField this week. Jonathon Niese draws a start against each team. He’s alternated first one earned run allowed then three his last four starts and is 1-2 during that span. His pitching deserved a better record than that but, alas, the fickle finger of major league wins. There are worse options this week and he’s a NEUTRAL but could be a borderline UP.

Oakland A’s – Dallas Braden gets two starts as the A’s hit the road for three each at the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox. In his only start since coming off the DL, Braden allowed only 1 earned run in 4 2/3 innings against the Red Sox but gave up ten hits and walked one. I wouldn’t trust him yet. DOWN.

Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies have seven games – first one then three at home against the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks respectively before three at the Washington Nationals. Joe Blanton and Cole Hamels each get two starts. Blanton gets the Rockies and Nationals while Hamels gets the D’Backs and Nationals. Blanton has pitched better in July than earlier in the year but still has a 5.63 ERA for the month with only one victory in four starts. Hamels has an outstanding 1.72 ERA in five July starts and is limiting base runners with a 1.03 WHIP and has struck out 32 in 36 2/3 innings. Blanton is DOWN while Hamels is UP.

Pittsburgh Pirates – The Pirates head back out of town for three against the Colorado Rockies and three against the St. Louis Cardinals. Zach Duke heads to the mound for a start against each of them. In two starts since coming back from the DL, he is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and eight strikeouts in 11 innings. Even still, you don’t want to use him unless you really have to against these teams in their ballparks. DOWN.

San Diego Padres – The Padres are home and face the Los Angeles Dodgers and Florida Marlins for three games each. Jon Garland takes to the mound for a start against each team. He has regressed in July with a 1-1 record and 5.73 ERA in four starts. He also allowed base runners to the tune of a 1.55 WHIP during the month. Garland rates as a NEUTRAL this week until we see if he can turn things around.

Seattle Mariners – The Mariners go to Chicago for four with the White Sox and then Minnesota for three against the Twins. Felix Hernandez gets two starts for the week as does Ryan Rowland-Smith. King Felix only has a 1-1 record in July but has pitched extremely well with a 1.69 ERA and 1.00 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 32 innings. On the other hand, Rowland-Smith has an ERA of 6.50 and 1.58 WHIP in the month of July with only nine strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings. Hernandez is a must start UP while Rowland-Smith is a must sit DOWN.

San Francisco Giants – The Giants are home for four against the Florida Marlins and three against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barry Zito and Matt Cain each get a double dip. Zito had one poor start, one outstanding and two pretty good in the month. He also struck out almost eight hitters per nine innings. Cain had the same kind of breakdown for his four July starts as Zito did while striking out 7.5 hitters per nine innings. Both are advisable UP starts for this week.

St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals finish their road trip with three against the New York Mets before heading home to face the Pittsburgh Pirates in three games. Jaime Garcia has this week’s double dip. He’s continued his fantastic season with two victories in July against no losses with a 1.98 ERA for the month. He also had 20 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings. Garcia is a must start again this week. UP.

Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays are home in Florida for four against the Detroit Tigers and three against the division leading New York Yankees. Matt Garza and James Shields will be the double dippers this week. Garza had two bad starts in July that were bookends for one good start in between. The last one he allowed seven earned runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Orioles of all teams. Shields also had a rough outing against the O’s with four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. He hasn’t allowed fewer than three earned runs in any start during July while never pitching more than 6 1/3 innings. Both are not the best or worst choices this week. NEUTRAL.

Texas Rangers – The Rangers have three at home against the Oakland A’s before going to Los Angeles and three against the Angels. Colby Lewis will be the Rangers pitcher who gets two starts. He has slowed down a bit with a 5.40 ERA in four July starts but the strikeout rate is still better than 8.5/9 so he isn’t showing many signs of wearing down. He rates out as an UP option this week.

Toronto Blue Jays – Toronto is home in Rogers Centre for three games each against the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians – the easiest schedule in the American League this week. Brandon Morrow gets the benefit of the schedule with two starts. He’s allowed 11 earned runs in three July starts but nine of those were against the Red Sox and Yankees with only two against the Orioles. If you’re not going to use him against these teams coming up you shouldn’t use him at all. UP.

Washington Nationals – The Nationals are home for three each against the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies and Stephen Strasburg gets the nod for a double dip. He’s won three in a row with four earned runs and 22 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings and is a no-brainer UP for the coming week.