Fantasy daily notes for July 30
Click through for information on specific matchups and injuries for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for July 30
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | David Price | L | @OAK | 10 | 14-4 | 2.57 | 1.17 | 3-0 | 1.27 | 0.98 |
| 2 |  | Madison Bumgarner | L | NYM | 7 | 11-6 | 3.10 | 1.04 | 1-1 | 2.14 | 0.71 |
| 3 |  | A.J. Griffin | R | TB | 10 | 3-0 | 2.25 | 0.97 | 3-0 | 2.50 | 1.17 |
| 4 |  | Clay Buchholz | R | DET | 5 | 8-3 | 4.93 | 1.40 | 0-1 | 2.53 | 0.84 |
| 5 |  | Mike Leake | R | SD | 5 | 4-6 | 4.12 | 1.30 | 1-0 | 4.66 | 1.45 |
| 6 |  | Erik Bedard | L | @CHC | 6 | 5-11 | 4.32 | 1.45 | 1-1 | 1.32 | 1.17 |
| 7 |  | Mark Buehrle | L | @ATL | 5 | 9-9 | 3.31 | 1.16 | 1-1 | 3.71 | 1.41 |
| 8 |  | Tommy Hanson | R | MIA | 7 | 11-5 | 4.39 | 1.43 | 1-0 | 9.42 | 2.30 |
| 9 |  | Aaron Harang | R | ARI | 4 | 7-5 | 3.39 | 1.34 | 1-0 | 2.79 | 0.93 |
| 10 |  | Max Scherzer | R | @BOS | 2 | 10-5 | 4.49 | 1.38 | 3-0 | 2.77 | 1.19 |
| 11 |  | Jose Quintana | L | @MIN | 8 | 4-1 | 2.58 | 1.06 | 0-0 | 4.19 | 1.29 |
| 12 |  | Roy Oswalt | R | LAA | 6 | 3-1 | 5.22 | 1.67 | 1-0 | 1.50 | 0.83 |
| 13 |  | Ricky Romero | L | @SEA | 7 | 8-7 | 5.75 | 1.57 | 0-3 | 10.13 | 2.40 |
| 14 |  | Edinson Volquez | R | @CIN | 5 | 6-7 | 3.30 | 1.32 | 1-0 | 2.14 | 1.00 |
| 15 |  | Marco Estrada | R | HOU | 5 | 0-4 | 4.52 | 1.14 | 0-1 | 5.03 | 1.32 |
| 16 |  | Justin Germano | R | PIT | 7 | 0-1 | 1.04 | 1.38 | 0-1 | 3.00 | 1.67 |
| 17 |  | Freddy Garcia | R | BAL | 4 | 4-4 | 5.16 | 1.38 | 1-2 | 5.00 | 1.44 |
| 18 |  | Trevor Cahill | R | @LAD | 7 | 8-9 | 3.86 | 1.33 | 1-2 | 5.19 | 1.62 |
| 19 |  | Ervin Santana | R | @TEX | 2 | 4-10 | 6.00 | 1.44 | 0-1 | 9.39 | 2.35 |
| 20 |  | Jeremy Hefner | R | @SF | 3 | 1-4 | 5.40 | 1.36 | 0-1 | 4.50 | 1.50 |
| 21 |  | Hisashi Iwakuma | R | TOR | 1 | 1-2 | 4.56 | 1.46 | 0-1 | 3.94 | 1.63 |
| 22 |  | Bud Norris | R | @MIL | 3 | 5-8 | 5.05 | 1.43 | 0-2 | 6.75 | 1.62 |
| 23 |  | Cole De Vries | R | CHW | 6 | 2-2 | 3.64 | 1.11 | 0-1 | 3.38 | 0.96 |
| 24 |  | Miguel Gonzalez | R | @NYY | 1 | 2-2 | 4.28 | 1.46 | 1-2 | 7.20 | 1.93 |
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.
Monday's MLB schedule has a ton of waiver-wire opportunities, as only four pitchers are owned in at least three-quarters of ESPN.com fantasy leagues (Max Scherzer, David Price, Tommy Hanson and Madison Bumgarner are all 100 percent), with just three others owned in more than half of ESPN leagues (Mark Buehrle 73 percent, Ricky Romero 59 percent and Clay Buchholz 58 percent). That leaves 17 pitchers owned in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues, and here are the five best options from that latter group:
A.J. Griffin (14 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) gets a perfect 10 rating in our system, and rightfully so. In six major league starts, he has thrown six quality outings, allowing two runs or fewer in five of those starts. His last outing was his best, as he went north of the border and shut out the Toronto Blue Jays for six innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while fanning nine batters. He may not outpitch red-hot David Price on Monday, but the Oakland Athletics are on fire since the All-Star break, going 12-2 thanks to 28 homers and a .514 slugging percentage. On the flip side, the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup is scuffling, scoring just 3.0 runs per game with a .205/.292/.330 slash in the past seven contests. Griffin is a no-brainer start in any fantasy format on Monday, especially pitching in spacious O.co Coliseum.
Mike Leake (7 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) continues to garner little interest from ESPN.com fantasy owners, but I'm not sure why that is. He's twirled six quality outings in his past seven starts, sporting a 2.86 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and nearly 6-1 K-to-BB ratio with 29 whiffs and just five walks. On Monday, his sizzling-hot Cincinnati Reds team that is a ridiculous 16-2 in the past 18 games hosts a San Diego Padres club that has the third fewest runs in the majors. Leake's mound opponent, and former teammate, Edinson Volquez, pitched horribly at Great American Ball Park last season, sporting a 5.63 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in eight starts. Start Leake in all fantasy formats on Monday night.
Erik Bedard (11 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) was filthy in his last outing, holding the Chicago Cubs to a mere one run on two hits over seven frames, racking up 11 strikeouts. On Monday, he gets the good scheduling fortune of facing the Cubs again. Considering he also blanked the Cubbies for six innings on May 27, Chicago now has a putrid .098 BA and .122 slugging percentage in 13 innings against Bedard this year. Although Bedard threw 113 pitches in his last outing, his most since Aug. 26, 2007, he'll have a full six days of rest when he takes the Wrigley Field mound for the first time on Monday. He's also being opposed by Justin Germano, who's made just one start since 2008 and is 8-17 with a 5.50 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 36 career starts in the majors. Start Bedard in all fantasy formats on Monday.
Aaron Harang is in the midst of an outstanding month of pitching, but not many fantasy players seem to care, as he's owned in just 8 percent of ESPN.com leagues. In four July starts, he's 2-0 with a 2.39 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 7.5 K's/9. He's been able to succeed by cutting down his walks, issuing just nine free passes in July after walking 18 over his final four June starts. On Monday, he faces an Arizona Diamondbacks team that has had very little success in 85⅔ career innings against Harang, posting a slash of .238/.284/.369 and giving Harang a 2.42 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. Considering how poorly Arizona has played on the road recently (4-11 record, .304 OBP), Harang is a great win candidate and should be started in most fantasy leagues on Monday.
Roy Oswalt (34 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) was scratched from his last start with a tight back, but you should expect a triumphant return to the mound on Monday night when he faces the Los Angeles Angels. Oswalt has been great in his past two outings. In 12 innings, he's given up just two runs on eight hits, fanning nine and walking two. He's also pitched better in Arlington this year, going 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in his new home. Although he's not at "must-start" level yet, Oswalt has always pitched his best in the second half of the season and is certainly worth a roster spot in deeper leagues.
Hitter matchup ratings for July 30
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | |
| | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 | | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | |
| | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| | 8 | 9 | 5 | 5 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | |
| | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| | 5 | 1 | 9 | 5 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | | 5 | 1 | 7 | 8 | |
 | No game scheduled |  | No game scheduled | |||||||
 | No game scheduled | | 8 | 8 | 7 | 3 | ||||
| | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | | 10 | 9 | 9 | 6 | |
| | 7 | 9 | 3 | 8 | | 5 | 10 | 2 | 4 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||||
| | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | 8 | 8 | 5 | 9 | |
| | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | | 10 | 4 | 10 | 4 | |
| | 4 | 6 | 1 | 7 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
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.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks' Chris Young hasn't found much success at Dodger Stadium in his career, hitting just .171 (28-for-164) with only nine extra-base hits.
• Edinson Volquez has given up eight home runs this season, all to right-handed hitters.
• Mark Teixeira is 17-for-51 (.333) with 5 HRs, 17 RBIs and 9 runs from the All-Star break through Saturday.
• Since the All-Star break, Denard Span is 21-for-55 (.382) with 10 runs scored and seven multihit games (through Saturday).
• In his past four road starts, David Price is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA, 30 strikeouts and just three home runs allowed in 26 innings pitched.
• Since being activated from the disabled list after the All-Star break, Nick Markakis is 25-for-69 (.362) with 5 doubles, a home run and 12 runs through Saturday. Markakis is also 5-for-15 (.333) with a HR and 3 RBIs in his career against Yankees starter Freddy Garcia.
• Corey Hart has had his share of success against Bud Norris with five hits in 12 at-bats (.417) to go along with two homers.
• Since the All-Star break, Atlanta pitcher Tommy Hanson has recorded a 9.42 ERA, giving up 15 runs in 14 1/3 innings pitched with a 2.30 WHIP.
• Edwin Encarnacion is 9-for-29 (.310) in his career at Safeco Field; his overall career average is .265. He has also drawn seven walks and been hit twice in Seattle; his .462 on-base percentage at Safeco is tied for his highest at any active ballpark.
• Despite his unimpressive 5-11 record and 4.32 ERA, Erik Bedard has found success against the Cubs. In two starts this year against Chicago, the lefty has a 0.69 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 13 innings of work. Additionally, the Cubs have hit just .098 off Bedard this year.
Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals: Day-to-day, stomach virus. He did not play on Saturday because of his illness, but should return early this week.
Josh Reddick, OF, A's: Day-to-day, Day-to-day, bruised shoulder. He injured himself crashing into the wall to make a catch on Friday, and it is unclear when he'll return to action.
Rafael Furcal, SS, Cardinals: Day-to-day, back tightness. He has not played since Friday and could miss a couple of more days, as well.
Alexei Ramirez, SS, White Sox: Day-to-day, sore left wrist. He did not play on Saturday, but should return to action shortly.
Matt Wieters, C, Orioles: Day-to-day, sore biceps. He hasn't played since Thursday, but this does not appear to be a serious injury that will keep him off the field much longer.
David Freese, 3B, Cardinals: Day-to-day, cramping in calf. He was injured on Thursday and hasn't played since, but should return to action early this week.
Adam Lind, 1B, Blue Jays: Day-to-day, tightness in lower back. He has not played since Wednesday and could wind up on the DL. Yan Gomes is replacing him at first base.
Coco Crisp, OF, A's: Day-to-day, hamstring tightness. The severity of his injury, which he suffered on Saturday, is yet to be determined.
Mike Moustakas, 3B, Royals: Day-to-day, sprained right knee. He was injured on Saturday and it is unclear when he will return to action.
Francisco Liriano, SP, White Sox: Acquired from Twins for IF Eduardo Escobar and LHP Pedro Hernandez. It is unclear when Liriano will make his Chicago debut. Brian Duensing replaced Liriano in Minnesota's rotation on Sunday.
Marco Scutaro, 2B, Giants: Acquired from Rockies for minor league IF Charlie Culberson. Scutaro is filling in at third base for injured Pablo Sandoval, but is expected to be San Francisco's regular second baseman when Sandoval returns.
Zack Greinke, SP, Angels: Acquired from Brewers for three prospects. Greinke replaced Garrett Richards in the L.A. starting rotation on Sunday, while Milwaukee called up Mark Rogers to replace Greinke on Sunday.
Francisco Cordero, RP, Astros: Day-to-day, toe injury. He hasn't pitched since Wednesday, and could lose his closer's job to Wilton Lopez.
Alejandro De Aza, OF, White Sox: Day-to-day, sprained left wrist. He injured himself on Friday and it is unclear whether or not he'll need a DL stint.
A.J. Pierzynski, C, White Sox: Day-to-day, strained right oblique. He has not played since July 23, but he should return to action soon.
Jim Thome, DH, Orioles: Day-to-day, neck spasms. He did not play on Saturday night, but should return to action in a couple of days.
Matt Garza, SP, Cubs: Out indefinitely, cramps in right triceps. Garza hasn't pitched since July 21 and is not expected to start again until early August.
Pablo Sandoval, 3B, Giants: 15-day DL, strained left hamstring. The move was made retroactive to July 25. Aubrey Huff was activated from the DL to take his place on the roster, while newly-acquired Marco Scutaro will start at third base in Sandoval's absence.
Trevor Plouffe, 3B, Twins: 15-day DL, bruised right thumb. The move was made retroactive to July 21. Plouffe is being replaced at third base by Jamey Carroll.
Erick Aybar, SS, Angels: 15-day DL, fractured big right toe. The move was made retroactive to July 22. Maicer Izturis is replacing Aybar at shortstop.
