Fantasy notes for July 17
Click through for information on specific matchups and injuries for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for July 17
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jon Lester | L | CHW | 7 | 5-6 | 4.49 | 1.35 | 1-1 | 4.50 | 1.28 |
| 2 |  | Roy Halladay | R | @LAD | 9 | 4-5 | 3.98 | 1.15 | -- | -- | -- |
| 3 |  | Johnny Cueto | R | ARI | 6 | 10-5 | 2.39 | 1.16 | 1-2 | 3.38 | 1.39 |
| 4 |  | CC Sabathia | L | TOR | 7 | 9-3 | 3.45 | 1.27 | -- | -- | -- |
| 5 |  | Jair Jurrjens | R | SF | 7 | 3-2 | 4.97 | 1.66 | 2-0 | 2.55 | 1.42 |
| 6 |  | Travis Wood | L | MIA | 7 | 4-3 | 3.05 | 1.13 | 3-0 | 0.87 | 0.87 |
| 7 |  | Ross Detwiler | L | NYM | 6 | 4-3 | 3.43 | 1.27 | 0-0 | 5.40 | 1.63 |
| 8 |  | Matt Moore | L | CLE | 4 | 5-6 | 4.42 | 1.45 | 1-1 | 5.68 | 1.79 |
| 9 |  | Roy Oswalt | R | @OAK | 7 | 2-1 | 6.26 | 2.00 | 1-1 | 8.27 | 2.20 |
| 10 |  | Trevor Bauer | R | @CIN | 2 | 1-1 | 5.40 | 1.58 | 1-1 | 5.40 | 1.58 |
| 11 |  | Joe Kelly | R | @MIL | 6 | 1-1 | 2.70 | 1.44 | 0-1 | 2.00 | 1.28 |
| 12 |  | Jonathon Niese | L | @WAS | 5 | 7-4 | 3.73 | 1.23 | 2-1 | 3.68 | 1.05 |
| 13 |  | Bartolo Colon | R | TEX | 4 | 6-7 | 3.80 | 1.25 | 0-0 | 1.23 | 0.89 |
| 14 |  | Anibal Sanchez | R | @CHC | 6 | 4-6 | 4.12 | 1.25 | 1-0 | 5.00 | 1.44 |
| 15 |  | Zach Britton | L | @MIN | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 16 |  | Josh Tomlin | R | @TB | 4 | 5-5 | 5.45 | 1.37 | 2-1 | 6.75 | 1.25 |
| 17 |  | Jacob Turner | R | LAA | 1 | 0-0 | 1.80 | 1.80 | -- | -- | -- |
| 18 |  | Christian Friedrich | L | PIT | 1 | 5-6 | 5.60 | 1.56 | 1-2 | 5.49 | 1.42 |
| 19 |  | Jordan Lyles | R | @SD | 3 | 2-5 | 5.08 | 1.45 | 1-1 | 5.19 | 1.50 |
| 20 |  | Philip Humber | R | @BOS | 4 | 3-4 | 6.01 | 1.49 | -- | -- | -- |
| 21 |  | Garrett Richards | R | @DET | 1 | 2-1 | 4.21 | 1.65 | 0-1 | 12.46 | 2.88 |
| 22 |  | Barry Zito | L | @ATL | 6 | 7-6 | 4.01 | 1.43 | 2-1 | 2.50 | 1.50 |
| 23 |  | Randy Wolf | L | STL | 3 | 2-6 | 5.80 | 1.57 | 0-1 | 9.00 | 1.62 |
| 24 |  | Doug Davis | L | SEA | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 25 |  | Erik Bedard | L | @COL | 4 | 4-10 | 4.80 | 1.49 | 0-3 | 8.16 | 1.88 |
| 26 |  | Ross Ohlendorf | R | HOU | 2 | 2-0 | 7.41 | 2.12 | 1-0 | 11.57 | 2.86 |
| 27 |  | Blake Beavan | R | @KC | 2 | 3-6 | 5.92 | 1.41 | -- | -- | -- |
| 28 |  | Stephen Fife | R | PHI | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 29 |  | Samuel Deduno | R | BAL | 1 | 0-0 | 5.06 | 1.69 | 0-0 | 5.06 | 1.69 |
| 30 |  | Brett Cecil | L | @NYY | 1 | 2-1 | 6.75 | 1.54 | 1-1 | 9.77 | 1.72 |
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
Tuesday marks a day of comebacks, as four starters will come off the DL to take the hill for their respective teams -- aces Roy Halladay (shoulder) and CC Sabathia (groin), as well as Philip Humber (elbow) and Zach Britton (shoulder). Halladay and Sabathia may not pitch their typical eight innings, but both are no-brainer starts, especially Tuesday, when there are not many quality arms. Only three other pitchers are owned in three-quarters of ESPN.com fantasy leagues (Jon Lester and Johnny Cueto at 100 percent, and Matt Moore at 94 percent) while half of the starters (15) on the docket are owned in 3 percent or less of ESPN.com leagues, and should really be avoided at all costs. However, I still found five arms you should consider picking up if you're willing to gamble a bit for a rotation that needs some victories:
Jair Jurrjens (25 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) continues his resurgence since returning to the Atlanta Braves' rotation in late June, going 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in four starts. Although he has just 10 strikeouts in this span, he's allowed only five walks and one homer. No San Francisco Giants players have ever gone deep on Jurrjens in 140 plate appearances, posting a horrible .367 SLG in five starts. His mound opponent, Barry Zito, finished the first half of the season on a rough stretch, posting a 6.12 ERA and 1.79 WHIP in his past six starts, with more walks (20) than strikeouts (16). Expect Jurrjens to stay hot against a Giants club that has lost six of seven road games, and start him in all fantasy formats on Tuesday.
Travis Wood has been on quite a roll, but is curiously owned in just 18 percent of ESPN.com fantasy leagues. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in a game since May and is a sizzling 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .181 opponents' BA in his past four starts. The Miami Marlins shouldn't give Wood much trouble, either, considering they haven't surpassed four runs in a game since the Fourth of July, posting a pathetic .212/.289/.293 slash in their past seven contests. Miami starter Anibal Sanchez has also been scuffling since June 1, carting a 6.69 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in this seven-start span. Wood's pedestrian strikeout rate (6.1 K/9) may not bode well for the long haul, but for now he's a must-start in any fantasy league, especially against an offense as poor as Miami's without injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
Ross Detwiler (8 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) must like his matchup Tuesday, as he already has beaten the New York Mets twice this season (once in relief) with a combined pitching line of 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB's, 10 K's. The Mets' offense is in freefall right now with four straight losses, piling up 37 K's, eight walks and one home run. Detwiler also must like his offense that has won six of eight home games, thanks to a .777 OPS and 16 steals. Detwiler is still a borderline play in standard fantasy leagues, but he should be started in deeper leagues or NL-only formats on Tuesday.
Roy Oswalt (42 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) has had his ups and downs in his first American League stint, but Tuesday should be one of the "up" days, pitching at O.co Coliseum where the Oakland Athletics have an unimpressive home slash of .223/.301/.361. Oswalt's 7.4 K/9 rate and 3.2 K-to-BB ratio are both strong. He also pitched well his last time out, holding the Minnesota Twins to one run in 5 2/3 innings. Although the A's are hot right now with nine wins in their past 10 games, Oswalt's Texas Rangers are beyond due to bust out of their July slump (2.4 runs per game, .312 SLG). Start Oswalt in AL-only formats on Tuesday.
After two lackluster starts, rookie Trevor Bauer (40 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) finally lived up to the hype his last time out when he shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers for six innings. Bauer gave up just two hits and one walk in this outing while striking out six. He'll have a tougher matchup Tuesday facing the Cincinnati Reds on the road Tuesday, but Bauer should be able to rack up more strikeouts. After all, his minor league strikeout rate was 12.1 K/9, as he mowed down 159 batters in 119 innings. He is a bit of a fantasy risk against a team that won its sixth straight game on Sunday, but Bauer is certainly worth a roster spot in the majority of fantasy leagues now that it appears he will be with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the rest of the season.
Hitter matchup ratings for July 17
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 | |
| | 6 | 1 | 6 | 4 | | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | |
| | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 | |
| | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | | 9 | 2 | 10 | 5 | |
| | 5 | 2 | 7 | 7 | | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | |
| | 4 | 1 | 4 | 6 | | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | |
| | 9 | 10 | 4 | 1 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 1 | |
| | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | |
| | 8 | 4 | 8 | 7 | | 9 | 10 | 5 | 6 | |
| | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | | 5 | 8 | 2 | 6 | |
| | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | |
| | 10 | 10 | 6 | 7 | | 7 | 8 | 4 | 2 | |
| | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | | 5 | 10 | 1 | 5 | |
| | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| | 5 | 1 | 6 | 8 | | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 | |
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.
• Orioles' LHP Zach Britton, coming off a shoulder injury, will make his first start of the year. Last season, opponents his .327 off his fastball. That's a good sign for Minnesota's Joe Mauer, who is hitting .389 off fastballs this year.
• Current Toronto Blue Jays batters have a combined .174 batting average against CC Sabathia. Of players that have faced Sabathia more than 10 times, no player has a batting average better than .240. The worst of the Blue Jays include Jose Bautista (1-for-19), Rajai Davis (4-for-29) and J.P. Arencibia (2-for-16).
• Left-handed batters are only 9-for-74 (.122) against Nationals starter Ross Detwiler this season (right-handed batters are hitting .291).
• The widely available Josh Tomlin has had success in his career in the month of July. In eight career July starts, he has posted a 4-1 record with a 3.33 ERA and 0.84 WHIP, his best mark of any month.
• Bartolo Colon has given up 13 home runs this season, all of them with no runners on base.
• Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is hitting .221 with just two home runs on the road this season; at home, he's hitting .305 with six home runs.
• Chipper Jones has had incredible success in night games this year, with 54 hits in 154 at-bats (.351) while hitting six of his seven home runs. During the day, he is just 3-for-28 (.107).
Roy Halladay, SP, Phillies: Set to pitch Tuesday, lat. He is scheduled to come off the DL on Tuesday, and will be on a limited pitch count.
Melky Cabrera, OF, Giants: Day-to-day, paternity leave list. He will likely miss 2-to-3 days due the impending birth of his child.
Chad Billingsley, SP, Dodgers: Day-to-day, inflammation in elbow flexor tendon. He was scratched from Sunday's start and will undergo an MRI. Both Chris Capuano and Nate Eovaldi were moved up to start on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
Johnny Cueto, SP, Reds: Day-to-day, blister on pitching hand. He was scratched from Sunday's start, but hopes to be ready to pitch on Tuesday.
Mike Napoli, C, Rangers: Day-to-day, bruised quadriceps. He was injured in a home-plate collision on Friday and did not play Saturday. Yorvit Torrealba will start behind the dish until Napoli is ready to return, which will be Tuesday at the earliest.
Ian Desmond, SS, Nationals: Day-to-day, strained left oblique. He hurt himself on Saturday and could be out for a few days. Steve Lombardozzi is replacing him in the lineup at second base with regular 2B Danny Espinosa shifting to shortstop.
Lucas Duda, OF, Mets: Day-to-day, hamstring. He has not started since Friday, and the team says he will see a doctor early this week for further evaluation. Scott Hairston and Kirk Nieuwenhuis will continue to start as corner outfielders for the Mets until Duda and Jason Bay (concussion) return. Bay is expected to come back in the middle of this week.
Torii Hunter, OF, Angels: Day-to-day, strained groin. He injured himself on Friday, but hopes to return to action soon. Peter Bourjos figures to remain in the starting lineup until Hunter comes back.
Gavin Floyd, SP, White Sox: Day-to-day, elbow tightness. He was scratched from Monday's start, but could be ready to pitch on Wednesday.
Jed Lowrie, SS, Astros: 15-day DL, sprained right ankle. He left Saturday's game after Gregor Blanco slid into his leg, while Lowrie was turning a double play. Marwin Gonzalez, who was just activated from the DL, will start at shortstop while Lowrie is on the shelf.
Jason Hammel, SP, Orioles: Out 3-to-4 weeks, knee surgery. He injured himself on Friday and will likely be out until September after electing to undergo surgery. Tommy Hunter will probably replace him in Baltimore's rotation and pitch on Wednesday.
Coco Crisp, OF, Athletics: Day-to-day, sore shoulder. He injured himself on Friday swinging the bat, and has not played since. He will be re-evaluated early this week, and Brandon Moss and Seth Smith will continue to get more playing time in Crisp's absence.
Robert Andino, 2B, Orioles: Day-to-day, shoulder. He hurt himself diving for a ball on Sunday and is awaiting results of an MRI. Ryan Flaherty will start at second base until Andino or Brian Roberts (hip) returns to action.
Javy Guerra, SP, Dodgers: Day-to-day, bereavement list. He left the team to be with his father who underwent open-heart surgery. His return to action is uncertain.
Jason Castro, C, Astros: 15-day DL, right knee effusion. He experienced discomfort and swelling in his surgically repaired knee, and the DL move was made retroactive to July 8. Chris Snyder will get the majority of starts behind the dish for Houston.
Jack Wilson, SS, Braves: 15-day DL, dislocated pinkie. With Andrelton Simmons also on the DL (fractured hand), Tyler Pastornicky figures to get most of the starts at shortstop.
Drew Smyly, SP, Tigers: 15-day DL, intercostal strain. The move was made retroactive to July 7. Jacob Turner will replace Smyly in the Tigers rotation and start on Tuesday.
Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies: 15-day DL, right hip inflammation. Michael Cuddyer will play first base in his absence with Tyler Colvin starting in right field.
