Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Tuesday
Here are Tuesday’s choices to bolster your fantasy squad, with everyone available in at least half of all ESPN leagues.
Nick Neidert (R), rostered in fewer than 1% of ESPN leagues, Miami Marlins vs. Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles lose a DH and take a big park downgrade going into loanDepot park today. And, of course, they’re the Orioles. Facing Matt Harvey should also help Neidert with his chances of taking home a W.
Brad Keller (R), 6%, Kansas City Royals vs. Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays are a good offense, but they are also an extremely strikeout-prone offense. Kauffman Stadium should help suppress Tampa’s power, and 46 degree temperatures are perfect for pitching, giving Keller a chance at some upside in this spot.
Taijuan Walker (R), 28%, New York Mets at Chicago Cubs: There’s still plenty of name value attached to the Cubs, but the truth is this is merely an average offense with a high strikeout rate.
Matt Shoemaker (R), 21%, Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics: The A’s are another offense that is something of a shell of its former self, merely average despite a reputation as something more. Shoemaker has a much better offense supporting him for run support, and RingCentral Coliseum is one of baseball’s better park for pitchers.
Bullpen: With a double-header on tap between the Twins and the A’s, snagging a reliever from one of these teams is a good way to double your chances of having your reliever pitch today. There are several high qualities ones among these two teams, so take a look at Taylor Rogers, Jake Diekman, Delois Guerra, and Caleb Thielbar.
For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.
Note: W-L, ERA and WHIP are 2021 statistics
Catcher — Wilson Ramos (R), 52%, Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (LHP Tyler Anderson): Ramos has just been raking this year, and while hot streaks never smart to chase, Ramos has simply always been an underrated hitter with some of the best catcher-position power in baseball. Park downgrade for Anderson, and platoon advantage for Ramos.
First Base — Joey Votto (L), 37%, Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Zac Gallen): THE BAT X loves Votto given the Statcast upgrades he made last year, and after a slow start to 2021, he’s finally begun picking it up. He ought to be universally owned, so even though Gallen is a good pitcher, the park and platoon advantage combined with his underlying talent is more than enough to make him one of the best pickups today. Hold onto him afterwards, because he’s almost certainly better than whoever you’re starting at CI or UT.
Second Base — Starlin Castro (R), 12%, Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals (RHP Adam Wainwright): Castro is old and boring, but he’s better than people believe. Wainwright has a small platoon split and gets a sizeable park downgrade, plus this game has the best hitting weather of the day.
Third Base — Brian Anderson (R), 39%, Miami Marlins vs. Baltimore Orioles (RHP Matt Harvey): Whether the roof is open or closed, this will be the hottest game of the day, and well, it’s Matt Harvey. That’s enough to make all of the Marlins best hitters among the top streaming options. Adam Duvall is elite, and Garrett Cooper and Jesus Aguilar are also worthy of consideration.
Shortstop — Jorge Polanco (S), 51%, Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics (LHP Jesus Luzardo): With a double-header today, loading up on regulars from these teams makes sense, regardless of who the opposing pitchers are. Most are fairly high owned, but there’s a solid chance Polanco is both available in your league and plays both games today.
Corner Infield — Brandon Belt (L), 7%, San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies (RHP Zack Wheeler): Like Votto, Belt is a better hitter than people realize and is too low-rostered across the fantasy landscape this season. He gets a big park upgrade into an elite park for power, and that alone makes him a worthy play today.
Middle Infield — Elvis Andrus (R), 17%, Oakland Athletics vs. Minnesota Twins (RHP Matt Shoemaker): Andrus has started every game at shortstop for Oakland this year, and while it’s possible they use a double-header to give him a day off, you’ll be getting at least one solid start here regardless with the possibility of bonus value. Shoemaker makes for a good stolen base matchup as well.
Outfield — Justin Upton (R), 19%, Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers (RHP Jordan Lyles): Lyles is one of the weaker pitchers on the slate, and while you prefer to use Upton against lefties, Lyles’s small platoon split will help. Plus there are 10 mph winds to left field.
Outfield — Myles Straw (R), 13%, Houston Astros at Colorado Rockies (RHP Jon Gray): The Astros are in Coors today, and as long as half the team is out with COVID issues, Straw stands a solid chance of playing and perhaps even leading off. Gray is a fairly easy pitcher to steal on, making this a good spot for both an overall offense boost and a cheap steal.
Outfield – Hunter Renfroe (R), 8%, Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays (LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu): Renfroe will hold both the platoon advantage and the flyball-vs-groundball advantage today, plus he’ll be home in the best non-Coors park in baseball.
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.