Fantasy notes for June 28
Click through for information on specific matchups and injuries for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for June 28
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Johnny Cueto | R | @SF | 8 | 9-3 | 2.21 | 1.11 | 4-0 | 1.47 | 0.78 |
| 2 |  | Madison Bumgarner | L | CIN | 7 | 9-4 | 3.10 | 1.12 | 3-0 | 3.25 | 1.19 |
| 3 |  | Felix Hernandez | R | BOS | 7 | 5-5 | 3.36 | 1.27 | 1-1 | 3.15 | 1.30 |
| 4 |  | Franklin Morales | L | @SEA | 8 | 1-1 | 3.12 | 1.18 | 1-0 | 2.57 | 0.86 |
| 5 |  | Chris Capuano | L | NYM | 5 | 9-2 | 2.60 | 1.13 | 2-0 | 2.88 | 1.24 |
| 6 |  | Ivan Nova | R | CHW | 5 | 9-2 | 4.25 | 1.38 | 3-0 | 1.27 | 0.95 |
| 7 |  | Dan Haren | R | @TOR | 5 | 5-7 | 4.24 | 1.37 | 2-1 | 7.56 | 1.98 |
| 8 |  | Chris Young | R | @LAD | 10 | 1-1 | 3.42 | 1.52 | 1-1 | 3.38 | 1.55 |
| 9 |  | Wei-Yin Chen | L | CLE | 6 | 7-3 | 3.38 | 1.31 | 3-1 | 2.49 | 1.26 |
| 10 |  | James Shields | R | DET | 4 | 7-4 | 3.99 | 1.36 | 1-0 | 2.84 | 1.32 |
| 11 |  | Dallas Keuchel | L | SD | 8 | 1-0 | 1.29 | 1.07 | 1-0 | 1.29 | 1.07 |
| 11 |  | Trevor Bauer | R | @ATL | 7 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 12 |  | Max Scherzer | R | @TB | 4 | 6-5 | 5.12 | 1.46 | 1-2 | 4.07 | 1.27 |
| 13 |  | Andrew Cashner | R | @HOU | 6 | 3-3 | 3.81 | 1.52 | 0-0 | 3.86 | 1.71 |
| 14 |  | Edwin Jackson | R | @COL | 4 | 4-4 | 2.91 | 1.04 | 3-1 | 2.30 | 1.06 |
| 16 |  | A.J. Burnett | R | @PHI | 4 | 8-2 | 3.24 | 1.24 | 3-0 | 1.80 | 1.10 |
| 17 |  | Jair Jurrjens | R | ARI | 5 | 1-2 | 6.75 | 1.83 | 1-0 | 1.17 | 0.52 |
| 18 |  | Scott Feldman | R | OAK | 5 | 1-6 | 6.00 | 1.48 | 1-2 | 4.41 | 1.22 |
| 19 |  | Kyle Kendrick | R | PIT | 4 | 2-7 | 5.24 | 1.58 | 0-3 | 8.10 | 1.90 |
| 20 |  | Zach McAllister | R | @BAL | 3 | 1-1 | 3.96 | 1.24 | -- | -- | -- |
| 21 |  | Brett Cecil | L | LAA | 4 | 1-0 | 2.45 | 1.27 | 1-0 | 2.45 | 1.27 |
| 22 |  | Josh Outman | L | WAS | 4 | 0-3 | 8.64 | 1.68 | 0-2 | 10.06 | 1.88 |
| 23 |  | Tyson Ross | R | @TEX | 2 | 2-7 | 6.02 | 1.71 | 0-1 | 3.97 | 1.15 |
| 24 |  | Dylan Axelrod | R | @NYY | 3 | 0-1 | 4.85 | 1.38 | 0-0 | 6.75 | 1.13 |
Rk.: The author's ranking of that pitcher for that day only. T: Pitcher throws left-handed or right-handed. Opp: The pitcher's opponent for the day. QR: "Quality Rating," or the starting pitcher's matchup rating -- separate from the author's ranking -- which accounts for past history (three years' worth as well as past 21 days), opponent and ballpark. OPS 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. W-L: Pitcher's win-loss record. ERA: Pitcher's earned run average. WHIP: Pitcher's average number of walks plus hits surrendered per inning.
Rankings Notes
Johnny Cueto is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA when facing the San Francisco Giants and has had a perfect June. His opponent for the day, Madison Bumgarner, is also 4-0 this month, but has an 8.56 ERA when battling the Cincinnati Reds. Cueto gets the nod.
Franklin Morales has done well in his two starts for Boston, with 17 strikeouts in just 11 innings of work. Considering the Seattle Mariners whiff at a rate of 7.75 per game, we like his chances to continue his dominance on Thursday.
James Shields is 5-0 for his career against Detroit, but the current lineup of Tigers is hitting .299 against him. That's reason for exercising some caution, as is Chris Capuano's 0-4 mark with a 6.35 ERA lifetime versus the New York Mets.
In his first two starts, Dallas Keuchel has been very effective despite a 1.0 K/BB ratio. He'll stay in the Houston Astros rotation for the time being, and against the San Diego Padres (.232 BA) makes almost as much sense as much-ballyhooed Trevor Bauer does on this day.
Scott Feldman gets the start for the Texas Rangers with Colby Lewis on the disabled list with a forearm injury. With a 3-6 record and 6.58 ERA lifetime against the Oakland Athletics, though, we're not all that excited with the news.
Andrew Cashner was sent to the minors in order to make the transition from a reliever to a starter. Today's the day he returns, bringing with him the stellar 7.3 K/BB ratio he compiled while he was away .
Josh Outman had his start pushed back to Thursday to allow for Edwar Cabrera to make the leap from Double-A on Wednesday. Considering he's yet to pitch deeper than the fifth inning as a starter, the extra day of rest may help some. Still, that 8.41 ERA as a starter is gruesome.
Hitter matchup ratings for June 28
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 7 | 6 | 8 | 4 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 8 | 10 | 5 | 5 | | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4 | |
| | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 8 | 5 | 10 | 5 | ||||
| | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 | |
| | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | | 9 | 10 | 5 | 5 | |
| | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 8 | 8 | 6 | 1 | | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
| | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | | 5 | 1 | 6 | 6 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 7 | 8 | 4 | 6 | ||||
| | 8 | 2 | 9 | 5 | | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | |
| | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||
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. "LHB" and "RHB" ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively. OPS 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.
• Entering Wednesday, Will Middlebrooks is 13-for-35 (.371 BA) with 7 XBH and 13 RBIs over his past 12 games.
• Jhonny Peralta is 9-for-19 (.474 BA) with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs lifetime against James Shields.
• Entering Wednesday, Dan Uggla is 5-for-45 (.111) with 18 strikeouts over his past 13 games.
• Todd Helton has hit well in his career against Edwin Jackson, going 5-for-12 (.417 BA) while drawing three walks and striking out just once.
• Entering Wednesday, Ryan Theriot is 30-for-99 (.303 BA) against right-handed pitchers this season. Theriot is also 13-for-40 (.325 BA) career against righty Johnny Cueto.
• Ivan Nova has a 1.27 ERA with a .204 opponents' BA in four starts this June. Nova had a 5.60 ERA and a .313 opponents' BA in 10 starts combined in April and May.
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Cubs: Rejoice! He was officially recalled from Triple-A Iowa to play first base, with Bryan LaHair moving to the outfield.
Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros: Remains day-to-day with a strained right hamstring that has already caused him to miss two games.
Chris Young, OF, Diamondbacks: Benched for two straight games. Kirk Gibson says he wants to "slow him down a bit" in his return from a shoulder injury. Consider him day-to-day for now.
Daniel Hudson, P, Diamondbacks: Left Tuesday's start with a sore right elbow and is scheduled to undergo an MRI to assess the extent of the injury. Patrick Corbin may be called up from Triple-A to take Hudson's next turn.
Justin Maxwell, OF, Astros: Placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left ankle injury that required surgery. Utility player Scott Moore was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.
Brian Schneider, C, Phillies: Will miss about a month with a severe sprain of his right ankle. Erik Kratz will back up Carlos Ruiz in the interim.
Travis d'Arnaud, C, Blue Jays: The hot prospect tore a ligament in his knee and will miss the next 6-8 weeks. He is expected to make a full recovery, but it certainly puts a damper on any call-up hopes for now.
- AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
- Author; How Fantasy Sports Explains the World.
