Fantasy daily notes for August 20
Click through for information on specific matchups and injuries for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for August 20
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Clayton Kershaw | L | SF | 10 | 11-6 | 2.90 | 1.01 | 4-0 | 1.78 | 0.69 |
| 2 |  | Jordan Zimmermann | R | ATL | 8 | 9-7 | 2.38 | 1.09 | 1-1 | 3.24 | 1.26 |
| 3 |  | Madison Bumgarner | L | @LAD | 8 | 13-7 | 2.97 | 1.01 | 2-1 | 2.33 | 0.89 |
| 4 |  | Roy Halladay | R | CIN | 9 | 6-7 | 3.80 | 1.05 | 2-2 | 2.25 | 0.71 |
| 5 |  | Tim Hudson | R | @WAS | 9 | 12-4 | 3.59 | 1.19 | 3-0 | 3.04 | 1.06 |
| 6 |  | R.A. Dickey | R | COL | 7 | 15-4 | 2.89 | 1.04 | 2-2 | 2.48 | 1.07 |
| 7 |  | Brandon McCarthy | R | MIN | 9 | 6-4 | 2.68 | 1.19 | 0-1 | 3.55 | 1.11 |
| 8 |  | Wandy Rodriguez | L | @SD | 8 | 7-12 | 4.06 | 1.31 | 0-3 | 5.79 | 1.45 |
| 9 |  | Jeremy Hellickson | R | KC | 7 | 7-8 | 3.39 | 1.30 | 2-2 | 3.27 | 1.32 |
| 10 |  | Ryan Dempster | R | BAL | 5 | 6-6 | 3.12 | 1.14 | 1-1 | 8.31 | 1.73 |
| 11 |  | Will Smith | L | @TB | 4 | 4-4 | 5.09 | 1.36 | 2-1 | 3.86 | 1.29 |
| 12 |  | Freddy Garcia | R | @CHW | 4 | 7-5 | 4.68 | 1.32 | 3-1 | 3.42 | 1.18 |
| 13 |  | Kevin Millwood | R | CLE | 3 | 4-10 | 4.28 | 1.40 | 0-2 | 6.88 | 1.65 |
| 14 |  | Mike Leake | R | @PHI | 4 | 5-7 | 4.29 | 1.28 | 1-1 | 5.16 | 1.19 |
| 15 |  | Ubaldo Jimenez | R | @SEA | 7 | 9-12 | 5.62 | 1.63 | 1-3 | 9.14 | 1.80 |
| 16 |  | Joe Saunders | L | MIA | 4 | 6-9 | 3.70 | 1.31 | 1-3 | 4.44 | 1.29 |
| 17 |  | Edinson Volquez | R | PIT | 5 | 7-9 | 4.31 | 1.44 | 1-2 | 13.83 | 2.56 |
| 18 |  | Mark Rogers | R | CHC | 9 | 0-1 | 4.94 | 1.23 | 0-1 | 4.94 | 1.23 |
| 19 |  | Brian Duensing | L | @OAK | 5 | 2-8 | 4.69 | 1.41 | 1-2 | 4.32 | 1.48 |
| 20 |  | Miguel Gonzalez | R | @TEX | 4 | 5-2 | 3.38 | 1.22 | 3-0 | 2.28 | 0.94 |
| 21 |  | Justin Germano | R | @MIL | 7 | 2-2 | 3.19 | 1.16 | 2-1 | 4.03 | 1.07 |
| 22 |  | Mark Buehrle | L | @ARI | 4 | 10-11 | 3.74 | 1.21 | 1-2 | 6.17 | 1.50 |
| 23 |  | Gavin Floyd | R | NYY | 3 | 9-9 | 4.43 | 1.38 | 1-1 | 4.32 | 1.64 |
| 24 |  | Alex White | R | @NYM | 1 | 2-6 | 5.74 | 1.64 | 0-0 | 3.63 | 1.56 |
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
Monday's docket is about as thin for streaming as you're going to find. Of the 24 starters taking the hill, 10 are owned in at least 74 percent of ESPN.com fantasy leagues, including six (Tim Hudson, Jordan Zimmermann, Roy Halladay, R.A. Dickey, Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw) who are all owned in 100 percent of the ESPN universe. I can't remember the last time I've been unable to recommend any minority-owned pitchers in standard-sized leagues, but as you'll see below, I'm definitely reaching to find even four waiver-wire arms (all owned in less than 5 percent of ESPN.com leagues) for deep fantasy formats on Monday:
Will Smith (0 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) was stellar in his last outing at home, holding the Oakland Athletics to two runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking only one batter. Smith has also been strong away from home this season too, going 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in his past four road outings. On Monday, he'll face a Tampa Bay Rays team that's hit poorly at home all season, ranking among the worst five teams in the majors in BA (.224), OBP (.310) and SLG (.358) in their home park. And Smith's mound opponent, Jeremy Hellickson, has been shelled at Tropicana Field lately, going 0-4 with a 7.66 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and .330 opponents' BA in his past five home starts. Go ahead and start Smith in deeper fantasy leagues on Monday.
Freddy Garcia (1 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) is on a roll in August, winning all three starts with a 3.06 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He has also been brilliant on the road since the start of May, carting a 2.84 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 7.8 K/9 and a 6.6 K-to-BB ratio (33 K's, 5 BB's) in 38 innings outside of Yankee Stadium. Another reason to play Garcia in deeper formats Monday is because he should be getting plenty of run support from a lineup that has destroyed mound opponent Gavin Floyd in the past. The Chicago White Sox right-hander has a 6.07 lifetime ERA and .547 opponents' slugging against New York. In the past two seasons, Floyd has allowed 16 runs on 21 hits (six homers) in just 16⅔ innings spanning three starts against them.
Kevin Millwood (1 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) has been extremely tough in his home ballpark, going 2-2 with a 2.31 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 3.9 K-to-BB ratio in his past eight starts at Safeco Field. This includes a dominating performance against the Rays his last time out when he allowed just two runs in seven innings with a season-high eight strikeouts. Although he was rocked against Monday's opponent, the Cleveland Indians, on April 17 (4 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 6 ER), the Indians have been the worst team in the majors over the past four weeks, losing 17 of 21 games. With a .234/.288/.361 slash in this 21-game free fall, Millwood is a great win candidate and therefore a solid AL-only pickup on Monday.
Mike Leake (4 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) made me look like a genius (not an easy thing to do) last week, when I recommended playing him in NL-only leagues against the New York Mets. Leake responded by throwing a complete game, allowing just one run on four hits with zero walks and four strikeouts. While I don't think Leake will outduel Roy Halladay on Monday, I see no reason he can't keep his road dominance alive. His past eight road outings have all been quality starts, as Leake is 3-2 with a 2.21 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and at least four strikeouts in every start during this ride. Considering the Philadelphia Phillies, his Monday opponent, are batting .225/.298/.382 at home since the start of July, Leake is worthy of an NL-only league play again here.
Hitter matchup ratings for August 20
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | |
| | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 2 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 6 | 8 | 3 | 6 | ||||
| | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | | 7 | 1 | 9 | 5 | |
| | 8 | 9 | 6 | 6 | | 7 | 8 | 6 | 3 | |
| | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 | |
| | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | | 5 | 1 | 4 | 8 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
 | No game scheduled | | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | ||||
| | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | | 7 | 8 | 5 | 8 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 5 | 7 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1 | | 2 | 3 | 1 | 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.
• Ichiro Suzuki has the most hits (15) of any current Yankees player against Monday's starter Gavin Floyd.
• Mark Buehrle is 3-7 with a 4.81 ERA on the road (7-4 with a 2.91 ERA at home).
• Miguel Gonzalez has found most of his success on the road this season, going 3-0 in six games, with a 2.34 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. At home, he has posted a record of 2-2, with just a 4.73 ERA and 1.54 WHIP.
• Edinson Volquez has not been successful in the second half of the season in his career, posting only a 14-22 record with a 5.57 ERA, compared to 26-16 with 3.80 ERA in the first half of the season.
• Alcides Escobar has absolutely owned the Tampa Bay Rays in his career, batting .483 against them, by far his best against any team in baseball.
• Reds outfielder Ryan Ludwick is 0-for-9 (.000) with three strikeouts in his career against Phillies starter Roy Halladay.
• Since coming off the disabled list on Aug. 2, Jayson Werth is 19-for-50 (.380) with 8 RBIs, 9 runs and a steal through Saturday. In his career against Monday's starter, Tim Hudson, Werth is 12-for-33 (.364) with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs.
Michael Cuddyer, OF, Rockies: 15-day DL, right oblique strain. He aggravated his right oblique in Saturday's game and returned to the DL.
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Rockies: Out 2-3 days, bereavement list. He will not play for a few days due to a death in his family.
Mark Teixeira, 1B, Yankees: Day-to-day, wrist injury. He hasn't played since Aug. 16, and it is unclear when he'll return to action. He may have to deal with the pain all season, but the team could also give him extended rest with a stint on the DL.
Starling Marte, OF, Pirates:15-day DL, right oblique injury. He left Saturday's game early because of his injury, and was placed on the disabled list Sunday.
Alejandro De Aza, OF, White Sox: Day-to-day, back injury. He injured himself on Friday night and hasn't played since. He should be able to return in the early part of this week, though.
Brian McCann, C, Braves: Day-to-day, right shoulder injury. McCann hasn't played since Aug. 16 because of this recurring injury. He won't need a DL stint, but he will most likely receive more rest than usual for the remainder of the season.
Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves: Day-to-day, sore knees. He is not starting on Sunday, but he should return to the lineup in a couple of days.
Jason Kubel, OF, Diamondbacks: Day-to-day, neck stiffness. He hasn't played since Aug. 16, but should return to action early this week.
Ben Revere, OF, Twins: Day-to-day, sore ankle. He hasn't played since Aug. 15, but should return to action early this week.
Neil Walker, 2B, Pirates: Day-to-day, dislocated finger. He hasn't played since Aug. 15, but should return to action early this week.
Chris Getz, 2B, Royals: 15-day DL, broken thumb. He injured himself in Friday's game and is likely out for the remainder of the season. Johnny Giavotella is expected to be the team's regular second baseman for the rest of the season.
Felix Doubront, SP, Red Sox: 15-day DL, knee injury. The move was made retroactive to Aug. 10.
