Fantasy notes for August 24
Click through for information on specific matchups and injuries for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for August 24
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jake Peavy | R | SEA | 9 | 9-9 | 3.11 | 1.08 | 0-2 | 3.60 | 1.35 |
| 2 |  | CC Sabathia | L | @CLE | 8 | 12-3 | 3.56 | 1.21 | 2-0 | 3.45 | 0.83 |
| 3 |  | Jason Vargas | L | @CHW | 6 | 13-8 | 3.53 | 1.14 | 1-1 | 2.35 | 1.09 |
| 4 |  | Matt Harrison | L | MIN | 7 | 14-7 | 3.19 | 1.26 | 2-1 | 3.16 | 1.29 |
| 5 |  | Ryan Vogelsong | R | ATL | 8 | 10-7 | 2.85 | 1.20 | 2-2 | 7.11 | 1.74 |
| 6 |  | Matt Moore | L | OAK | 8 | 10-7 | 3.57 | 1.33 | 3-0 | 1.46 | 1.09 |
| 7 |  | Mat Latos | R | STL | 8 | 10-3 | 3.56 | 1.18 | 1-0 | 0.92 | 0.92 |
| 8 |  | Chad Billingsley | R | MIA | 7 | 10-9 | 3.44 | 1.26 | 4-0 | 1.59 | 0.92 |
| 9 |  | Zack Greinke | R | @DET | 5 | 10-5 | 4.01 | 1.28 | 1-1 | 7.20 | 1.72 |
| 10 |  | Jonathon Niese | L | HOU | 6 | 10-6 | 3.49 | 1.15 | 2-1 | 2.11 | 1.03 |
| 11 |  | Jon Lester | L | KC | 6 | 7-10 | 5.03 | 1.36 | 2-2 | 2.93 | 0.98 |
| 12 |  | Carlos Villanueva | R | @BAL | 7 | 6-3 | 3.10 | 1.22 | 0-2 | 2.79 | 1.03 |
| 13 |  | Jarrod Parker | R | @TB | 8 | 8-7 | 3.48 | 1.28 | 1-2 | 3.72 | 1.24 |
| 14 |  | Mike Fiers | R | @PIT | 9 | 6-6 | 2.90 | 1.14 | 1-2 | 7.80 | 1.40 |
| 15 |  | Patrick Corbin | L | SD | 10 | 5-4 | 3.60 | 1.20 | 2-0 | 3.60 | 1.05 |
| 16 |  | Lance Lynn | R | @CIN | 5 | 13-5 | 3.73 | 1.30 | 0-1 | 5.48 | 1.64 |
| 17 |  | Jeff Samardzija | R | COL | 5 | 8-11 | 4.17 | 1.28 | 1-3 | 4.07 | 1.11 |
| 18 |  | Wandy Rodriguez | L | MIL | 5 | 8-12 | 4.00 | 1.31 | 1-3 | 5.23 | 1.40 |
| 19 |  | Edwin Jackson | R | @PHI | 4 | 7-8 | 3.69 | 1.17 | 1-1 | 4.50 | 1.00 |
| 20 |  | Eric Stults | L | @ARI | 6 | 3-2 | 3.02 | 1.22 | 2-0 | 2.82 | 1.12 |
| 21 |  | Kyle Kendrick | R | WAS | 5 | 6-9 | 4.20 | 1.37 | 2-1 | 3.22 | 1.07 |
| 22 |  | Rick Porcello | R | LAA | 4 | 9-8 | 4.67 | 1.50 | 1-2 | 4.82 | 1.34 |
| 23 |  | Nate Eovaldi | R | @LAD | 4 | 4-8 | 4.03 | 1.62 | 2-2 | 4.34 | 2.14 |
| 24 |  | Bruce Chen | L | @BOS | 1 | 9-10 | 5.45 | 1.38 | 2-1 | 5.23 | 1.40 |
| 25 |  | Ben Sheets | R | @SF | 3 | 4-3 | 3.07 | 1.20 | 1-2 | 5.12 | 1.19 |
| 26 |  | Samuel Deduno | R | @TEX | 4 | 4-1 | 3.33 | 1.59 | 2-1 | 3.52 | 1.61 |
| 27 |  | Drew Pomeranz | L | @CHC | 3 | 1-7 | 4.87 | 1.50 | 0-1 | 3.75 | 1.58 |
| 28 |  | Jordan Lyles | R | @NYM | 1 | 2-10 | 5.70 | 1.52 | 0-2 | 4.50 | 1.39 |
| 29 |  | Zach Britton | L | TOR | 3 | 2-1 | 6.23 | 1.85 | 1-0 | 3.00 | 1.58 |
| 30 |  | Corey Kluber | R | NYY | 1 | 0-2 | 6.27 | 1.77 | 0-2 | 6.27 | 1.77 |
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
Jake Peavy is our top selection for Friday, thanks in part to a 5-1 lifetime record against the Seattle Mariners. Over his past five starts, Peavy also has managed a 2.65 ERA. Seattle may be rocking an eight-game winning streak, but they have just a .235 batting average over the last 14 days.
CC Sabathia is expected to return from the disabled list after throwing a 38-pitch bullpen session earlier this week. You know my personal stance on pitchers returning from an injury -- I try to avoid 'em -- but in his past eight starts, Sabathia is 5-0 with a 3.51 ERA. If you want to make him an exception to the rule, I'd understand.
Recent issues aside, Ryan Vogelsong still has just a 2.29 ERA at home this season. Matt Moore has been sensational of late but has a 3.23 home ERA in 2012. Splitting hairs at this point, but we're going to lean toward the National Leaguer.
Chad Billingsley has never lost to the Miami Marlins, with a 4-0 record and 2.31 ERA against the team. He's also unbeaten in his past six, with a 1.30 ERA and a .197 batting average-against. Sure, there's always a chance he ends up losing this one 11-3, but let's go with the hot hand.
Houston is hitting just .224 against left-handed starters, so Jonathon Niese and his second-half ERA of 2.98 should be able to handle this soft lineup. Niese rounds out our top 10 pitchers for the day.
Jon Lester has thrown two solid starts in a row, with 16 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.38 in 13 innings. He is still just a month removed from that 11-run fiasco, but he's 5-2 with a 1.35 ERA versus the Kansas City Royals lifetime, and their current lineup has hit just .203 against him.
Streaming options: Patrick Corbin has had a fine return to the major leagues, with a 3-0 record, 2.77 ERA and .204 BAA in August. He squares off with Eric Stults, who has a road ERA this season of 2.56, even better than his Petco ERA of 3.70.
Poor track records: Edwin Jackson has never beaten the Philadelphia Phillies, with a 5.60 ERA and three losses against them. Rick Porcello's ERA when the Los Angeles Angels are the opponent is a gaudy 6.29. Bruce Chen is 4-6 with a 5.76 ERA when battling the bats of Boston.
Hitter matchup ratings for August 24
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 5 | 1 | 10 | 10 | | 5 | 2 | 5 | 8 | |
| | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| | 4 | 6 | 1 | 6 | | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | |
| | 8 | 7 | 8 | 5 | | 10 | 10 | 1 | 4 | |
| | 8 | 1 | 10 | 3 | | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |
| | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | | 7 | 8 | 5 | 9 | |
| | 6 | 10 | 1 | 1 | | 3 | 5 | 1 | 8 | |
| | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
| | 5 | 6 | 1 | 7 | | 9 | 6 | 10 | 6 | |
| | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | |
| | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| | 8 | 10 | 3 | 5 | | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | |
| | 7 | 10 | 1 | 5 | | 9 | 7 | 8 | 2 | |
| | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | | 7 | 9 | 4 | 2 | |
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.
• Left-handed batters are hitting .199/.229/.278 against Rangers lefty Matt Harrison this season and have only hit 2 home runs in 151 at-bats. In comparison, right-handed batters are .274/.333/.428.
• Derek Jeter is 21 for 51 (.412) with 5 HR, 9 RBI and 14 runs over his last 12 games through Wednesday. He has the most runs and hits in the majors during that stretch.
• Angels outfielder Torii Hunter has been very successful against Tigers righty Rick Porcello, whom he faces Friday night in Detroit. Hunter is 6-12 with 3 extra-base hits and 6 RBI in his career against Porcello. Through Wednesday, Hunter actually has a higher batting average against righties, .297, than lefties, .289, with 10 of 12 HR and 50 of 59 RBI coming against right-handed pitching.
• Ryan Vogelsong has not had a good month of August. He is 2-2 with a 7.11 ERA allowing 15 ER in only 19 IP. Opposing batters are hitting .321 during this span. Vogelsong had a 2.22 ERA and .218 opponents' batting average entering August.
• Ian Desmond is 8 for 19 (.421) with 4 extra-base hits and 4 RBI in his career against Kyle Kendrick.
• Baltimore's J.J. Hardy is 6 for 9 (.667 BA) with 2 doubles, a HR and an OPS of 1.922 against Carlos Villanueva for his career.
• Pirates starter Wandy Rodriguez has struggled against many of the Brewers' key hitters as Ryan Braun is 14-36 (.389) with 5 doubles and 4 HR, Rickie Weeks is 12-37 (.324) with 3 doubles and a HR, Aramis Ramirez is 17-46 (.370) with a double, triple and a HR and Corey Hart is 17-46 (.370).
• Matt Moore is 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA in his career pitching in August (24.2 IP), with 4 earned runs and 26 strikeouts.
• Entering Thursday, Ryan Roberts is 3 for 26 (.115) with 2 doubles and 5 strikeouts in his career when playing at Tropicana Field (9 games).
• Alex Gordon is hitless in 11 at bats in his career against Jon Lester, including 6 strikeouts.
Albert Pujols, 1B, Angels: Left Wednesday's game with a tight right calf muscle and will get a precautionary MRI in order to assess the damage. Expect him to miss a few games as a result.
Matt Wieters, C, Orioles: Day-to-day after taking a foul tip off his shoulder Wednesday. X-rays were negative, so he shouldn't miss extensive playing time.
Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies: Turned his ankle while running the bases, but X-rays indicated no significant damage. He'll miss at least a few games, and a stay on the disabled list has not been ruled out, but it doesn't look like a season-ending injury.
Emilio Bonifacio, OF, Marlins: Placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee sprain. Gorkys Hernandez will play in his stead for now and perhaps for the remainder of the 2012 season.
David Cooper, 1B, Blue Jays: Left Wednesday's game with a jammed neck suffered while diving to the first base bag. He is day-to-day for now.
Jose Bautista, OF, Blue Jays: Expected to finally return to the Toronto lineup Friday after missing a significant chunk of the season because of a left wrist injury.
Buster Posey, C, Giants: Day-to-day after missing Wednesday's game as a result of a tight right hamstring. Hector Sanchez may play a bit more often if the injury lingers or recurs.
Justin Maxwell, OF, Astros: Day-to-day after being scratched from Wednesday's lineup because of a bruised finger on his right hand.
- AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
- Author; How Fantasy Sports Explains the World.
