Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Wednesday’s games
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Nathan Eovaldi (R), rostered in 49% of ESPN leagues, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays: Through Monday’s action, Eovaldi started in four of Boston’s nine wins. If he was slotted into the third spot in the Red Sox’s rotation as planned, things wouldn’t be so bleak. But alas, he’s the de facto ace, and Red Sox Nation is enduring a long couple of months. Eovaldi hasn’t been all that sharp himself, allowing seven homers in 34 1/3 innings, but he has fanned 33 with just six walks. If the wind is blowing in off the lake, Sahlen Field plays big, helping Eovaldi keep the ball in the yard.
Elieser Hernandez (R), 39%, Miami Marlins at New York Mets: Hernandez caught a bad break when deGrom had his start pushed to Wednesday as he was unable to get a bullpen session in over the weekend. Still, expect the 25-year-old righty to do his part in making it hard for his mound foe to chalk up a victory. The Mets’ offense has quietly been one of the best in the league, though it does more damage facing southpaws. With 25 strikeouts and only three free passes in 19 2/3 innings, Hernandez has earned the right to be used, even in tougher matchups.
Dakota Hudson (R), 24%, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals: The Royals are on the opposite end of the spectrum, toting one of the weakest lineups versus right-handers across the state. Hudson isn’t known for piling up the whiffs, but so far, he has punched out 13 in his 13 frames.
Taijuan Walker (R), 15%, Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres: Like Hernandez, Walker is facing a tough opponent, but a good showing could mean a trade to a team competing for a playoff berth. The oft-injured righty is drawing the interest of contenders with a pair of quality starts, including against the prolific Dodgers lineup last time out, whiffing eight with one walk in seven stanzas, albeit with three homers surrendered.
Not only do the Cardinals have a winnable game Wednesday against the Royals, they play a pair against the Pirates on Thursday. Giovanny Gallego and Andrew Miller will be popular adds prior to the twin bill so the astute play is grabbing them a day sooner, especially since a save is in play on Wednesday.
For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.
Projected game scores
Note: W-L, ERA and WHIP are 2020 statistics
Catcher — Austin Romine (R), 10%, Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago Cubs (LHP Jon Lester): Romine has been up to the task in his first test as the regular backstop. He’s been particularly productive with a lefty on the hill, posting a .917 OPS, albeit in just 12 at bats.
First base — Mitch Moreland (L), 35%, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays (Undecided): It hasn’t been announced, but the Blue Jays are expected to use right-hander Shun Yamaguchi to start or work as the bulk reliever, putting Moreland in play. The veteran is crushing with a 1.236 OPS, with most of the production coming with a righty on the hill.
Second base — Garrett Hampson (R), 35%, Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks (LHP Robbie Ray): Ray has been nothing short of horrible. Sure, 35 strikeouts in 27 innings is great, but 25 walks and nine homers allowed completely undoes the benefit. Hampson has been slow out of the gate, especially against lefties, but with Ray on the hill, everyone is in a good spot.
Third Base — Brad Miller (L), 7%, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals (Undecided): The Royals are likely going to send right-hander Jake Junis to the hill. Like Moreland above, Miller has made a career of taking advantage of the platoon edge. So far this season, the veteran is slashing .367/.500/.633 and the Cardinals have the flexibility to keep his hot bat in the lineup.
Shortstop — Joey Wendle (L), 8%, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles (RHP Asher Wojciechowski): A five-game hitting streak through Monday’s action has earned Wendle playing time against righty pitching, at the expense of Hunter Renfroe. After giving up 17 homers in just 82 1/3 innings last season, he has already administered six in 22 1/3 this summer.
Corner Infield — Alec Bohm (R), 27%, Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals (LHP Patrick Corbin): Normally, it’s wise to shy away from a rookie facing a quality veteran, but Corbin hasn’t been as sharp with his command, allowing 31 hits with four homers in 29 1/3 innings. Bohm has walked an impressive seven times while fanning just six in his initial 30 plate appearances.
Middle Infield — Sam Haggerty (S), 2%, Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres (RHP Dinelson Lamet): Lamet isn’t the ideal matchup, but Haggerty deserves some attention. In five games, the 26-year old rookie has a homer and a pair of steals. The Mariners are not shy about running this season with a league leading 30 bags through Monday.
Outfield — Nomar Mazara (L), 17%, Chicago White Sox vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (RHP Trevor Williams): Mazara might not have developed as hoped, but he’s still a cog in a potent lineup, facing one of the weaker arms on the card. To his credit, Mazara is 9-for-28 in his past seven starts.
Outfield — Stephen Piscotty (R), 23%, Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers (LHP Kolby Allard): It’s been a productive August for Piscotty, slashing .297/.336/.554 with five homers this month.
Outfield — Cedric Mullins (S), 1%, Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays (Undecided): The Rays are looking at a bullpen game in which they cleverly flip-flop handedness with the opener and primary pitcher. A switch-hitter such as Mullins combats that nicely. Even better, Mullins has been batting leadoff lately.
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.