Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Friday
Here are the picks to get your fantasy weekend headed in the right direction. As is the custom, Each has an ESPN league rostership level below 50%.
Cody Poteet (R), rostered in 28% of ESPN leagues, Miami Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates: Poteet was initially schedule to open the Marlins-Pirates series on Thursday but the return of Elieser Hernandez pushed what Poteet to Friday. Here is what colleague Mike Sheets had to say for Thursday’s Daily Notes: “After being an easy avoid for his last start against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Poteet is back in the streaming conversation with a bout against Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old doesn’t have over-powering stuff, but he still has decent fastball velocity (93.6 mph) from the left side and has done a great job limiting walks (1.7 BB/9). Aside from the start against Boston, Poteet has allowed just two runs over his other three starts, spanning 17 innings. The Pirates’ offense, which is among the worst in baseball, doesn’t pose much of a threat.
Josh Fleming (L), 13%, Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers: While Tyler Glasnow and Shane McClanahan are drawing most of the attention, Fleming has posted a 2.98 ERA and 1.04 WHIP working as a starter and bulk reliever. The lefty has only fanned 28 in 45 1/3 innings so he’s likely in store for an ERA correction, but Tampa Bay does a great job protecting their hurlers from disaster outings. The Rangers are in the bottom third in terms of offensive production with an above average strikeout rate.
Spencer Turnbull (R), 42%, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox: The White Sox are a potent team, especially at home but Turnbull’s last four starts have been solid, so he deserves a look despite the challenging matchup. Buoyed by his no-hitter in Seattle, Turnbull has posted a 1.67 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over his last 27 frames, fanning 25 with just seven walks and no homers.
Matt Shoemaker (R), 4%, Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals: Shoemaker has been maddeningly inconsistent. Look no further than his last outing where Friday’s opponent the Royals put up a five-spot in just 4 1/3 frames. Prior to that contest, Shoemaker had posted a 3.13 in the previous four outings, the last two being quality starts. Even though the rematch is in Kansas City, Shoemaker should rebound.
Since being acquired in the Willy Adames deal, J.P. Feyereisen has become the Rays primary ninth-inning option. He’s collected a win and four saves over his last five appearances yet remains available in over 80% of ESPN leagues.
For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.
Calculating Bill James game scores: A pitcher starts with 50 points, gets a point for each out, two points for each innings completed after the fourth inning, and one point for a strikeout. He is docked two points for each hit, four points for each earned run allowed, two points for each unearned run allowed and one point for each walk.Note: In 2019 and 2020, the average game score was 50.
Catcher — James McCann (R), 33%, New York Mets at San Diego Padres (LHP Blake Snell): There’s no sense in messing around here. McCann continues to be in a zone, especially against lefty pitching. Meanwhile, Snell has allowed a dozen earned runs over his last two starts, working just 6 2/3 total innings.
First Base — Mitch Moreland (L), 2%, Oakland Athletics at Colorado Rockies (RHP Jon Gray): Moreland was hitless in his first start after coming off the IL, then collected at least one knock in the next four. The veteran now gets to swing in Coors Field, a huge park upgrade from RingCentral Coliseum.
Second Base — Rougned Odor (L), 2%, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox (RHP Nathan Eovaldi): With Luke Voit returning to the IL, DJ LeMahieu has been bringing his first baseman’s mitt to work, clearing the keystone for Odor. The former Ranger has been taking advantage, posting a .333/.364/.524 line over the past week.
Third Base — Jonathan India (R), 11%, Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals (LHP Kwang Hyun Kim): India is an excellent example of a player whose average exit velocity is misleading. He’s only 7th percentile, but it’s due to hitting a bunch of weak grounders which aren’t all that detrimental to a guy with 91st percentile sprint speed. His 94.9 mph average exit velocity on fly balls is well above average and is a harbinger for more power.
Shortstop — Amed Rosario (R), 18%, Cleveland Indians at Baltimore Orioles (LHP Keegan Akin): Rosario’s defense at shortstop remains below average though he is exhibiting a bit more range than previous seasons. His offense is also a bit below average as evidenced by a 93 wRC+ but he’s running again as he’s perfect in five attempts after collecting no steals last season. After a sluggish April, Rosario put up a .307/.365/.443 May then opened June with a 2-for-4 effort.
Corner Infield — Jonathan Schoop (R), 23%, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox (LHP Dallas Keuchel): A midweek rainout shuffled the White Sox pitching. Schoop was initially slated to face Keuchel in Thursday’s series opener. Let’s tag Mike Sheets back in as he had this to say in yesterday’s notes: “If more people were aware of what he’s been doing at the plate lately, Schoop would surely be on more rosters. Over the last 20 games, Schoop is hitting .329/.398/.506 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He also gets a huge park upgrade, as Guaranteed Rate Field is much more homer friendly than Comerica Park.”
Middle Infield — Willy Adames (R), 19%, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Matt Peacock): Lefty, righty, it doesn’t matter who is on the hill as Adames has been a spark for the Brewers since being acquired from the Rays. The shortstop has slashed .289/.386/.500 for Milwaukee as he’s cut his strikeouts down to a still high but more palatable 27% clip.
Outfield — Josh Reddick (L), 6%, Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Freddy Peralta): Reddick accepted the fact to get back to the majors, he needed to sign a minor league contract and earn his chance. The veteran posted an .843 OPS for Triple-A Reno, which was enough to get the call. Since being promoted on May 19, Reddick has recorded a .362/.362/.511 line with most of the production coming against righthanders.
Outfield — Steven Duggar (L), 2%, San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs (RHP Jake Arrieta): Injuries offered Duggar an opportunity and he responded with a .322/.365/.576 May. Duggar began June with a 2-for-3 effort and now has a chance to keep the momentum facing one of the lowest ranked hurlers on Friday’s docket.
Outfield — Gregory Polanco (L), 4%, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Miami Marlins (RHP Cody Poteet): Polanco continues to whiff at an elevated level but he is also still hitting the ball with authority when he makes contact. It’s also encouraging steals are again part of his game as Polanco hasn’t been caught in four tries.
Hitter ratings account for the opposing starting pitcher’s past history (three years’ worth as well as past 21 days) as well as ballpark factors. “LH” and “RH” ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively. Weighted on-base average (wOBA) is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. So, for example, a 10 is a must-start rating, while a 1 should be avoided (if possible); a 1-2 is poor, 3-4 is fair, 5-6 is average, 7-8 is very good and 9-10 is excellent. A “*” means that the pitcher lacks requisite career major league data to produce an accurate hitter rating; these are the author’s ratings.