Fantasy notes for Aug. 2
Click through for information on specific matchups, injuries and weather for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for August 2
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Johnny Cueto | R | SD | 9 | 13-5 | 2.39 | 1.21 | 3-0 | 2.37 | 1.53 |
| 2 |  | Cole Hamels | L | @WAS | 8 | 11-5 | 3.31 | 1.15 | 1-1 | 3.92 | 1.45 |
| 3 |  | C.J. Wilson | L | @TEX | 7 | 9-7 | 2.88 | 1.21 | 0-2 | 4.78 | 1.41 |
| 4 |  | Lance Lynn | R | @COL | 6 | 13-4 | 3.42 | 1.24 | 2-0 | 3.50 | 1.28 |
| 5 |  | Jon Lester | L | MIN | 7 | 5-8 | 5.49 | 1.44 | 0-2 | 13.50 | 2.14 |
| 6 |  | Ryan Dempster | R | LAA | 6 | 5-5 | 2.25 | 1.04 | 1-2 | 3.50 | 1.17 |
| 7 |  | Ross Detwiler | L | PHI | 6 | 5-4 | 3.24 | 1.24 | 1-1 | 2.41 | 1.13 |
| 8 |  | Bartolo Colon | R | TOR | 5 | 7-8 | 3.78 | 1.26 | 1-1 | 3.72 | 1.34 |
| 9 |  | Barry Zito | L | NYM | 5 | 8-7 | 3.89 | 1.35 | 1-1 | 3.26 | 0.93 |
| 10 |  | Chris Young | R | @SF | 7 | 2-5 | 4.58 | 1.37 | 0-3 | 6.75 | 1.55 |
| 11 |  | Henderson Alvarez | R | @OAK | 4 | 7-7 | 4.43 | 1.37 | 2-0 | 4.82 | 1.34 |
| 12 |  | Nate Eovaldi | R | @ATL | 5 | 2-6 | 3.94 | 1.46 | 1-1 | 3.07 | 1.57 |
| 13 |  | Mike Minor | L | MIA | 4 | 6-7 | 5.18 | 1.29 | 1-1 | 1.71 | 0.71 |
| 14 |  | Christian Friedrich | L | STL | 1 | 5-8 | 6.17 | 1.56 | 1-2 | 6.75 | 1.40 |
| 15 |  | Corey Kluber | R | @KC | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 16 |  | Samuel Deduno | R | @BOS | 3 | 2-0 | 3.13 | 1.57 | 2-0 | 2.55 | 1.53 |
| 17 |  | Ross Ohlendorf | R | @CIN | 2 | 3-1 | 5.05 | 1.57 | 1-1 | 2.89 | 1.07 |
| 18 |  | Jeremy Guthrie | R | CLE | 2 | 3-11 | 6.68 | 1.69 | 0-3 | 9.68 | 1.92 |
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
Even with a rocky trip to Coors Field thrown in the mix, Johnny Cueto is 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA in his past four starts. It's hard to do much better than that, which is why he ranks as the No. 1option for the light Thursday schedule.
Cole Hamels won't have outfielders Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence behind him any longer, but he is 12-4 with a 2.48 ERA lifetime against the Washington Nationals in his career, including two wins in two starts over the division leaders this season.
Ryan Dempster gets thrown into the thick of things as he takes the mound against C.J. Wilson and the Los Angeles Angels in his Rangers debut. Albert Pujols will no doubt be glad to see him, as he's a .327 hitter versus Dempster, including seven home runs in 55 at-bats.
Bartolo Colon has not exactly been stellar at home this season, with a 2-6 record and 4.64 ERA. However, since June 17, he has posed a 3.26 ERA against a slate of teams that included Texas and the New York Yankees. He might be worth a gamble.
Chris Young has pitched on the road in three of his past four starts and lost them all, posting a 9.00 ERA in the process. Heading to San Francisco to battle Barry Zito, owner of a 3.35 career ERA when facing the New York Mets, does not have the makings of a solid streaming option.
Nate Eovaldi's Miami debut was pretty good, but coming against the San Diego Padres, the worst-hitting team in the National League, the result was to be expected. Thursday's game has Eovaldi facing the Atlanta Braves, the third-highest scoring team in the NL. Results may vary with him.
With Josh Tomlin having been used in relief, and possibly "demoted" to the bullpen for an extended stay, Cleveland calls up Corey Kluber from Triple-A Columbus to start against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. He had a 9.2 K/9 rate in the minors, so there's a chance he might come out of the gate strong.
Hitter matchup ratings for August 2
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | No game scheduled |  | No game scheduled | |||||||
| | 7 | 10 | 1 | 3 | | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||||
| | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
 | No game scheduled | | 8 | 9 | 5 | 4 | ||||
 | No game scheduled | | 4 | 1 | 6 | 8 | ||||
| | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 9 | 10 | 6 | 5 | | 10 | 6 | 10 | 1 | |
| | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 4 | 9 | 1 | 8 | ||||
 | No game scheduled |  | No game scheduled | |||||||
| | 7 | 10 | 1 | 4 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 6 | 10 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| | 8 | 5 | 8 | 5 | | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
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.
• When on the road, Chris Young has one of the highest opponent batting average with .331 and a 5.70 ERA.
• Josh Willingham has struggled to make contact away from Minnesota this season, hitting .233 compared to .308 at Target Field entering Wednesday.
• As of Tuesday, newly acquired Giant Hunter Pence has a career .329 batting average with a .566 slugging percentage at AT&T Park.
• Edwin Encarnacion has struggled this season against the Oakland Athletics, batting just 4-17 (.235) and striking out 26.3% of the time. This K% ranks Encarnacion in the bottom 25% of all batters in that category against the Athletics this season.
• Johnny Cueto is 7-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 9 home starts this season . Cueto has allowed an ER or fewer in each of his last 4 home starts and has not allowed a HR in any of his last 5 home starts (since May 25th).
• Against left handers this season, Matt Holliday is hitting .343/.452/.667, with 8 home runs, 22 RBI, and 10 doubles in only 105 at bats entering Wednesday. Look for this trend to continue in Coors Field. He loves hitting in his former home park, and he is also coming off a month of July where he hit .363/.449/.681.
Brandon Phillips, 2B, Reds: Appears to be headed to the disabled list because of a left calf injury after telling reporters he will be unlikely to play for quite some time. Wilson Valdez could see some increased action.
Carl Crawford, OF, Red Sox: The team has backed off the stance that Crawford will be on a "four-day max" schedule and will simply give him time off when they feel he needs it. Regardless, his owners will need to check the scheduled lineup every day just before game time to be sure he's in it.
Chris Sale, SP, White Sox: Suffering from a bit of a "dead arm" and will have his turn in the rotation skipped as a result. He is currently scheduled to retake the mound on Tuesday against Kansas City.
Josh Beckett, SP, Red Sox: Left Tuesday's start with back spasms in the third inning, but with the rainy weather conditions possibly exacerbating the situation, it is not yet clear if this is anything more than a one-time occurrence.
Willie Bloomquist, SS, Diamondbacks: Day-to-day with a bad back, which may help explain why Stephen Drew was not ultimately traded. Newly acquired Scott Podsednik may join the Arizona roster instead of heading to Triple-A if the shortstop needs to go on the disabled list.
Wilton Lopez, RP, Astros: Felt tightness in his right elbow during batting practice and is considered day-to-day. It's not a situation that those who gambled on him as the potential new closer in Houston will be happy to hear about.
Andres Torres, OF, Mets: Flew home to New York to get an MRI on his right hand and may be out for quite some time if the results aren't favorable. Jason Bay is also banged up after fouling a ball off of his calf, so Jordany Valdespin should get tons of extra playing time.
Aubrey Huff, 1B, Giants: Placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right knee. With Hunter Pence joining the team, there may not be a job for him to return to when he does get healthy again.
- AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
- Author; How Fantasy Sports Explains the World.
