FanHouse Gil Meche

Not that it has any impact atop the standings for 2009, but Gil Meche -- No. 2 starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals -- will likely be shut down for the rest of the season with shoulder inflammation. He hadn't made a start since Aug. 29, when he was abused by the Mariners to the tune of eight hits and seven earned runs in just four innings.

After going 23-24 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in his first two seasons for the Royals, Meche has taken a huge step back in 2009. He's 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.

As was reported by FanHouse's Ed Price last week, the Kansas City Royals are set to announce a contract extension for general manager Dayton Moore, possibly as soon as Monday night. The tentative agreement would keep Moore in Kansas City through 2014.

The news of Moore's extension is bound to get mixed reviews from Royals fans who have watched the team suffer through another losing season, but it's apparent that team owner David Glass still believes that Moore is the right man to help turn the franchise around.

There is a pretty even distribution of talent this week as 43 pitchers will be two-start pitchers for the week.

Of the 11 "Must Start" options I really like Yovani Gallardo who gets the enviable task of facing the Nationals and the Pirates. Roy Halladay has it the worst of the bunch as not only does he have to face the Rays and the Red Sox, but he has to face two starting pitchers with sub-four ERA's.

Fifteen of the 43 two-start pitchers are "Solid Starts". Dan Haren has it rough facing Matt Cain and Wandy Rodriguez while Gil Meche faces two very beatable opposing pitchers in Jeremy Sowers and Ian Snell.

The other 17 pitchers are "Risky Business". You should only be considering these guys if you're in super-deep leagues or just massively desperate for strikeouts. None of these are viable options.

Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.

A solid string of successes was abruptly halted by Nick Blackburn last night. Failing to make it out of the second inning, Blackburn allowed six runs (four earned) and put eight runners on base. This knocked the Team's post-All Star Break ERA up 20 points, although our numbers are still very good on the whole. Today, we'll be looking for a great start from Tommy Hunter.

There are 47 pitchers in fantasy Week 14 getting two starts. In an unusual turn of events, they are pretty evenly partitioned between "must starts," "solid starts" and "risky business".

Mike Pelfrey has it really tough, having to face Clayton Kershaw and Aaron Harang. Johnny Cueto doesn't have it much better having to face the Phillies and the Mets while getting their aces to boot in Cole Hamels and Johan Santana.

I love Matt Cain this week. He gets two home starts and gets very, very favorable pitching matchups. If he doesn't get two wins and put up impressive strikeout totals and a low ERA, I'll answer questions every Friday afternoon from here on out in a live chat.

First pitch on Monday is at 1:05 PM ET. Make sure you get your rosters set early.

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

So, quick apology on my part: the Power Rankings were supposed to go live Wednesday, but things happened, I'm a jerkstore, excuses, etc., and here we are. It's not Wednesday! So please note that the records reflect Wednesday -- not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday. Don't freak out in the comments and call me names. Please. I can't take that in my fragile emotional state right now. I might turn into Raul Ibanez, at which point I would yell at you and then strain my groin. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.

Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Tuesday was an interesting night for pitchers. Heck, I was just giddy that there were more than two games being played.

It took Justin Verlander a little over a month to convince baseball pundits that he was the "real deal". Going into Tuesday night's start Verlander was the hottest pitcher in baseball. He was touched up for five earned runs in four innings and it'll be interesting to see how the fantasy baseball world reacts. The only correct reaction is to throw him back into your lineup for his next start. One bad outing in ten is a great run at things.

We also saw some gems Tuesday night. King Felix Hernandez threw a complete game shutout and allowed only two hits. If he pitched in New York or Boston we'd all be talking Cy Young.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
The "Silver Boot" will stay in Arlington, Texas.

It ain't the Axe, or the Old Oaken Bucket, but the Silver Boot is an attempt to add college football flavor to interleague play, as it goes to the winner of the Texas-Houston six-game series.

By winning 6-1 on Tuesday, the Rangers went up 4-0 in the series and clinched the boot for the third straight year.

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Unless you've been hiding under a rock or are just too far away from San Diego to hear their collective screams of agony, you probably already know that Jake Peavy has been placed on the disabled list.

When the story broke we were thinking that Peavy would be out for about a month, but the news has gotten worse. It could be longer.

Peavy is going on the disabled list with a partially torn tendon in the right ankle that has bothered the ace right-hander since May 22.

Optimistically, the Padres are hoping Peavy – the subject of trade rumors and attempts since the end of last season – will be ready to pitch shortly after next month's All-Star break.

But Padres trainer Todd Hutcheson said Friday night that it could be eight to 12 weeks before Peavy is fit to pitch again.

From a fantasy perspective there isn't too much you can do about this situation. Whether it's a month or three months you need to stash him on your disabled list and go find another pitching option.

Here are a few ideas:

With only two games on the schedule for Monday, the two-start pitchers for week 11 of the fantasy baseball season aren't plentiful.

The hottest pitcher on the planet goes twice for the Tigers this week. Justin Verlander gets tested as he's going to have to face some big-time sluggers in Albert Pujols on Tuesday and Prince Fiedler and Ryan Braun on Sunday. However, there's no way you can sit Verlander and his 4-and-0 record over the last month.

In all, there are 31 pitchers throwing twice. The first game on Monday doesn't start until 7:05 PM ET. So, put some extra thought into those lineups before they lock tomorrow night.

Must Start
Felix Hernandez, Mariners - Tuesday at SD (K. Correia) and Sunday vs ARZ (D. Davis)
Justin Verlander, Tigers - Tuesday at STL (A. Wainwright) and Sunday vs MLW (Y. Gallardo)
Kevin Millwood, Rangers - Tuesday vs HOU (W. Rodriguez) and Sunday at SF (B. Zito)
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs - Tuesday vs CWS (J. Danks) and Sunday vs CLE (C. Pavano)
Gil Meche, Royals - Tuesday vs ARZ (D. Davis) and Sunday vs STL (A. Wainwright)
CC Sabathia, Yankees - Tuesday vs WAS (S. Martis) and Sunday at FLA (C. Volstad)
Yovani Gallardo, Brewers - Tuesday at CLE (J. Sowers) and Sunday at DET (J. Verlander)