Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Friday’s games
To be fair, the daily schedule has been subject to change all season long. However, it’s necessary to pay even more attention on Friday as several pitching spots are currently undecided. As always, there will be an update posted in the morning reflecting any necessary alterations. Earlier in the week, we had a day where the combined ERA of all projected starters was a nifty 2.85 with a 1.06 WHIP. On Friday, that total leaps to 4.56 and 1.25! With several teams yet to announce their starter, it could get even worse. As such, expect a lot of runs to be scored.
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Reynaldo Lopez (R), rostered in 29% of ESPN leagues, Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals: This matchup is a great illustration of one of the main conundrums when it comes to streaming pitching. Do you take the better pitcher facing the better lineup or run with the lesser pitcher facing the lesser lineup? In this case, both Lopez and mound foe Danny Duffy will get our seal of approval, with Lopez being slightly favored. Granted, he may not throw a full five innings, but if he pitches well, he should be stretched out enough for the necessary 75-or-so pitches he’ll need to qualify for the win. The Royals are a bottom-10 team offensively, with one of the lowest walk rates.
Danny Duffy (L), 19%, Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox: Duffy has drawn the Minnesota Twins in each of his last three times on the hill, so he’s accustomed to facing tough lineups. In the latter two meetings, Duffy worked a total of 10 innings, allowing just two earned runs with 14 strikeouts and three walks. The southpaw’s repertoire looks to be the same and he doesn’t seem to have added any appreciable spin or velocity. The success is derived from better control and command. He’ll need every bit of that as the White Sox have been the best offense against southpaws so far this season.
Tyler Anderson (L), 5%, San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks: It’s surprising that Anderson wasn’t picked up by more teams after his complete game against the Diamondbacks his last time out. In that contest, the southpaw allowed just three hits and an unearned run. Perhaps some are worried the Diamondbacks have the advantage in the rematch, but there’s no evidence showing that an offense has the edge over a pitcher in the second game of back-to-back outings. The Diamondbacks are the third-worst offense with a left-hander on the hill, though they don’t whiff much.
Nick Margevicius (L), 2%, Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels: Margevicius may have given up four runs to the Rangers in his last start, but he also fanned seven with just one walk in five frames. In his previous effort, the left-hander spun a quality start against the Astros. The Angels offense has sputtered all season long, sitting fifth from the bottom against lefties, with a 24% strikeout rate.
Bullpen
The Mets and Yankees are scheduled to play a pair, so looking at their bullpens makes sense. For the Mets, Edwin Diaz has turned it around in August, but left Wednesday’s game with cramps. If he’s unable to go, Jeurys Familia would likely get the call. Aroldis Chapman is back with the Yankees. With Zack Britton on the shelf, the left-hander should reclaim his old job. However, if Bret Boone doesn’t want to reinsert Chapman just yet, or if he opts to spread those closing duties around, Adam Ottavino and Chad Green would be next in line. The two clubs play another pair on Sunday, so don’t drop whatever reliever you pick up right away.
For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.
Note: W-L, ERA and WHIP are 2020 statistics
Catcher — Jose Trevino (R), 4%, Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (RHP Dustin May): An injury to Robinson Chirinos cleared the path for some playing time here, and a change in approach has helped Trevino take advantage. The backstop worked on adding loft to his swing with a positive side benefit being that he’s actually chasing fewer pitches.
First Base — Brandon Belt (L), 11%, San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Luke Weaver): Belt is dialed in, with nine hits in last dozen at-bats. Weaver has pitched better of late but, for the season, he’s sporting an unsightly 7.77 ERA and an ugly 1.60 WHIP.
Second Base — Niko Goodrum (S), 17%, Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins (LHP Randy Dobnak): Steals obviously require speed and timing, but they also need desire. It’s apparent Goodrum wants to run with five swiped bags since August 14.
Third Base — Alec Bohm (R), 29%, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves (LHP Robbie Erlin): Bohm continues to show he belongs in the bigs, going five straight games without striking out, drawing three walks along the way. Erlin has held his own while helping out in the Braves rotation, but he has mediocre stuff with a fastball averaging just 90 mph.
Shortstop — Danny Mendick (R), 1%, Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals (LHP Danny Duffy): Considered more of a contact guy, hitting line drives to the gaps, Mendick has already muscled up three times. Duffy has pitched well, though he has surrendered four homers in 29 1/3 innings.
Corner Infield — Joey Wendle (L), 8%, Tampa Bay Rays at Miami Marlins (RHP Humberto Mejia): Wendle has visited this space a few times lately — and for good reason as he keeps producing, carrying a six-game hitting streak into Thursday’s action. Over that stretch, Wendle has slashed .364/.391/.455.
Middle Infield — Sam Haggerty (S), 5%, Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels (LHP Andrew Heaney): Like Wendle, Hagerty is riding a six-game hitting streak and, like Goodrum, he wants to run, swiping three bases since becoming a regular one week ago.
Outfield — Avisail Garcia (R), 41%, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (LHP Derek Holland): Overall, Garcia is off to a sluggish start. However, he’s posted a 1.055 OPS against left-handers. He’s worth rolling out against Holland and his 6.17 ERA and 1.41 WHIP.
Outfield — Raimel Tapia (L), 8%, Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres (RHP Zach Davies): Tapia has not only regained his job, he’s hitting atop the Rockies order on the strength of a .397 OBP. He’s also a sneaky add for points leagues since he also runs (4 SB) and should begin crossing the plate more.
Outfield — Josh Naylor (L), 1%, San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies (RHP Antonio Senzatela): Naylor comes with a warning as he’s likely to be lifted for a pinch-hitter if the Padres bring in a left-handed reliever. However, even though Naylor is a groundball hitter, he has the power to leave Coors Field if he can get one or two balls up in the air.
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.