Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Sunday
Sunday offers the usual parade of matinees, topped off by Cleveland visiting the Los Angeles Angels in the ESPN primetime affair.
Good luck on the last day of this transaction period. Here are the suggestions to help get the job done. Admittedly, a couple of pitchers are a tad over the usual 50% rostership limit, but a few bonus arms are shared to make up for it.
Luis Gil (R), rostered in 36% of ESPN leagues, New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins: The Yankees (like the Red Sox have done with Tanner Houck) have taken advantage of the 27-man rule for doubleheaders and shuttled Gil to and from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre so they can keep an extra reliever on board in between his starts. This has cost Gil and Houck some service time, not to mention salary, but both have taken it in stride and not allowed it to affect their performance. Speaking of which, Gil as excelled in his three starts as he’s yet to yield an earned run in 15 2/3 innings, fanning 18 along the way.
Cal Quantrill (R), 60%, Cleveland vs. Los Angeles Angels: Quantrill is the first of the two hurlers to tip the 50% barrier but is worth mentioning for those in shallow leagues, especially in formats where the lineup locks as each game starts since he’s available in the last game of the day for those needing a bit more to win. Since the break, Quantrill has boasted a sparkling 1.76 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with a playable 37 punch outs in 41 frames.
Vladimir Gutierrez (R), 55%, Cincinnati Reds vs. Miami Marlins: Count Gutierrez as the other exception to the 50% rule. On such an important day, he’s in play for those in shallower leagues. The righty will be aiming for his sixth straight quality start. Early on, Gutierrez was outpitching his peripherals, but in this stretch, he’s ramped his whiffs up to a respectable 28 in 31 2/3 innings, with 19 coming over his last 18 1/3 stanzas.
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Steven Brault (L), 3%, Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals: If Brault began the season by recording a 1.84 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in his first three starts, his rostership would be much higher. But alas, it’s mid-August and between some shifting their focus to football and Brault pitching in relative obscurity in Pittsburgh, he’s almost universally available. The lefty has a dozen whiffs with only two free passes in 14 2/3 innings. The Cardinals hit southpaws well, but they also fan at an elevate clip with a lefty on the hill. This renders Brault riskier for those in tight ratio battles, but in play for fantasy managers needed some strikeouts or wins, not to mention those in points leagues formats.
David Price (L), 33%, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets: Price has not lasted the requisite five frames to be eligible for the victory in his prior two outings. Even so, the Mets have been one of the least productive lineups with a lefty on the bump over the second half, so the veteran southpaw is in play.
Touki Toussaint (R), 39%, Atlanta Braves at Baltimore Orioles: Using a young arm in Camden Yards may appear risky, but Truist Park has the same runs index so other than losing the intrinsic skills bump from working at home, it isn’t as egregious a move as some may intuit. Since joining the Braves rotation after the break, Toussaint has fanned an impressive 35 with just 11 free passes in 33 2/3 stanzas, though seven homers allowed is worrisome.
Carlos Hernandez (R), 11%, Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs: Saying everyone is in play facing the Cubs is extreme. However, recommending Hernandez is viable as he’s been pitching well. Prior to his last start, the 25-year-old righty fanned 13 in the prior 17 2/3 innings but punched out just one Astros batter in six frames last time out. The Cubs are fanning at a 28% clip against righthanders over the second half so Hernandez should complete more whiffs on Sunday.
Bullpen:
Trusting the Cincinnati Reds to rely on one closer is a tenuous proposition. However, Mychal Givens (22% rostership) has collected four saves since August 5 and seemingly has a grasp on ninth inning duties.
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 inning completed after the fourth, and one point for each 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 — Alejandro Kirk (R), 11%, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers (RHP Drew Hutchison): The bottom like is you want as many Blue Jays batters as you can muster against Hutchison and Kirk is one of the few readily available. That said, Kirk is more than a token recommendation. He doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify among the league leaders, but his 117 wRC+ is 11th among backstops with at least 90 trips to the dish.
First Base — Bobby Dalbec (R), 11%, Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers (LHP Kolby Allard): Dalbec has cooled a bit, but he’s still a threat whenever a lefty is on the hill, especially in Fenway Park.
Second Base — Aledmys Diaz (R), 30%, Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners (LHP Tyler Anderson): Diaz has another week or so before Alex Bregman will reclaim his spot at the hot corner. Expect Diaz’s playing time to remain more than a typical reserve, especially against lefthanded pitching. It’s out of line with his career mark, and due for a correction, but a .328/.375/.582 slash with the platoon edge warrants attention.
Third Base — J.D. Davis (R), 19%, New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers (LHP David Price): Overall, Davis’ injury-riddled season has been a disappointment, but he is looking to salvage his campaign with a strong finish. He’s slashing .316/.364/.421 since August 11 and is always dangerous with a southpaw toeing the rubber.
Shortstop — Ronald Torreyes (R), 2%, Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres (LHP Ryan Weathers): With Alec Bohm continuing to struggle, Torreyes continues to see most of the time at the hot corner. As expected Torreyes produces more with the platoon edge. Meanwhile, Weathers has pitched poorly lately, registering an unsightly 14.36 ERA and 2.23 WHIP over his last four starts, featuring a whopping eight long balls in those 15 2/3 innings.
Corner Infield — Frank Schwindel (L), 24%, Chicago Cubs vs. Kansas City Royals (RHP Carlos Hernandez): Trust me, I wanted to find someone else as Schwindel has received a lot of attention lately, but there is no messing around on the last day of the scoring period. Anthony Rizzo’s replacement continues to thrive, pounding six two-baggers and three round-trippers in his prior eight games heading into Saturday’s action.
Middle Infield — Rougned Odor (L), 5%, New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins (RHP Griffin Jax): Once viewed as an emerging fantasy friendly power-speed threat so, Odor has become a one-trick pony, that being power. On Sunday, he draws a raw righthander who has served up 11 homers in 44 frames.
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Outfield — Sam Hilliard (L), 5%, Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Taylor Widener): Call it a hunch, but with managers often playing their reserves on Sunday, Hilliard is a good bet to play. A 37% strikeout rate has Hilliard on the bench most days, but he does have some pop. Widener misses bats, but he also is generous with the long ball, authoring 12 in just 51 stanzas.
Outfield — David Peralta (L), 43%, Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies (RHP Jon Gray): Several Diamondbacks have rotated through this spot, namely Pavin Smith and the injured Kole Calhoun. This time, it’s Peralta’s turn as he’s been making solid, and frequent contact lately, fanning just 12% of the time
Outfield — Lorenzo Cain (R), 23%, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Washington Nationals (LHP Sean Nolin): Flip a coin between Hutchison and Nolin as the worst starter on Sunday’s card. Luis Urias is still below the 50% threshold and in player, though this time we’ll highlight his veteran teammate. Cain has yet to find his stroke in between injuries but the juicy matchup is worth hoping Sunday is the day.
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.