Fantasy notes for August 30
Click through for information on specific matchups, injuries and weather for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for August 30
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Clayton Kershaw | L | ARI | 10 | 12-7 | 2.84 | 0.99 | 3-1 | 2.67 | 0.69 |
| 2 |  | Ryan Vogelsong | R | @HOU | 8 | 11-7 | 2.90 | 1.19 | 2-2 | 6.63 | 1.63 |
| 3 |  | Ian Kennedy | R | @LAD | 6 | 11-11 | 4.44 | 1.35 | 1-3 | 6.33 | 1.73 |
| 4 |  | Matt Moore | L | @TOR | 6 | 10-7 | 3.60 | 1.33 | 2-0 | 2.45 | 1.01 |
| 5 |  | Jon Lester | L | @LAA | 7 | 8-10 | 4.98 | 1.36 | 3-0 | 2.25 | 1.10 |
| 6 |  | Zack Greinke | R | BOS | 5 | 11-5 | 3.87 | 1.27 | 2-1 | 5.26 | 1.48 |
| 7 |  | Justin Masterson | R | OAK | 7 | 10-11 | 4.60 | 1.43 | 3-1 | 3.55 | 1.38 |
| 8 |  | Jarrod Parker | R | @CLE | 8 | 8-7 | 3.52 | 1.29 | 1-1 | 3.38 | 1.23 |
| 9 |  | Carlos Villanueva | R | TB | 7 | 6-4 | 3.30 | 1.21 | 0-3 | 3.60 | 1.04 |
| 10 |  | Jonathon Niese | L | @PHI | 5 | 10-7 | 3.51 | 1.15 | 2-1 | 1.61 | 0.94 |
| 11 |  | Shaun Marcum | R | @CHC | 7 | 5-4 | 3.19 | 1.17 | 0-1 | 0.00 | 1.20 |
| 12 |  | Jaime Garcia | L | @WAS | 7 | 3-5 | 4.15 | 1.38 | 0-1 | 2.57 | 1.00 |
| 13 |  | Jose Quintana | L | @BAL | 6 | 5-2 | 2.86 | 1.19 | 1-1 | 3.08 | 1.48 |
| 14 |  | Edwin Jackson | R | STL | 3 | 7-9 | 3.72 | 1.19 | 1-2 | 4.82 | 1.23 |
| 15 |  | Blake Beavan | R | @MIN | 4 | 8-8 | 5.10 | 1.28 | 1-2 | 4.96 | 1.59 |
| 16 |  | Brian Duensing | L | SEA | 5 | 3-9 | 5.28 | 1.47 | 1-3 | 8.02 | 1.83 |
| 17 |  | Rick Porcello | R | @KC | 3 | 9-9 | 4.60 | 1.49 | 0-3 | 4.50 | 1.39 |
| 18 |  | Kyle Kendrick | R | NYM | 4 | 7-9 | 4.12 | 1.35 | 3-0 | 2.88 | 1.00 |
| 19 |  | Zach Britton | L | CHW | 5 | 3-1 | 5.59 | 1.68 | 2-0 | 1.32 | 1.10 |
| 20 |  | Jeremy Guthrie | R | DET | 2 | 5-12 | 5.71 | 1.52 | 2-0 | 2.13 | 0.87 |
| 21 |  | Jordan Lyles | R | SF | 3 | 3-10 | 5.47 | 1.48 | 1-2 | 4.24 | 1.41 |
| 22 |  | Brooks Raley | L | MIL | 2 | 1-2 | 6.64 | 1.57 | 1-1 | 4.41 | 1.29 |
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
Clayton Kershaw is 7-3 with a 2.41 ERA when facing the Arizona Diamondbacks. He'll get the slight nod over Ryan Vogelsong and his 2.72 career ERA versus the Houston Astros. This season, Arizona is actually hitting only .001 batting average point higher on the road than Houston is hitting at home.
Zack Greinke has had some hard luck against the Boston Red Sox, going 1-4 against them despite only a 2.88 ERA, though all of those starts hail were in 2010 or before. Greinke's current lineup is batting just .230 lifetime against Jon Lester, so we'll give the edge to the road pitcher in this one.
Jarrod Parker hurled eight shutout innings against the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 19. While I like his chances for a win in this rematch, whenever a young pitcher faces a team two times in relatively close succession, I do tend to think the second time around will be a bit rockier.
Shaun Marcum is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA lifetime against the Chicago Cubs, but there's an outside chance he might not pitch in this game. Marcum was placed on waivers, which are due to expire just before this start. If he gets claimed before then, it's possible the team in question might request he not pitch Thursday so he could throw for them over the weekend should a deal be reached.
Jaime Garcia's second start back from injury was not nearly as impressive as his first. Still, with a 2-0 record and 1.65 ERA lifetime against a Washington Nationals team that is struggling of late, hitting just .229 over the past seven days, he might have a better-than-average start No. 3.
Zach Britton is a bit of an enigma. In two of his seven second-half starts, he held the opposition scoreless. In four others, he didn't get through six innings and has an ERA of 10.90. This feast-or-famine nature of his makes him impossible to rank high with any confidence right now.
Hitter matchup ratings for August 30
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 8 | 10 | 6 | 6 | ||||
| | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | | 7 | 9 | 4 | 1 | |
| | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | | 5 | 7 | 1 | 5 | |
| | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | |
 | No game scheduled |  | No game scheduled | |||||||
| | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | |
 | No game scheduled |  | No game scheduled | |||||||
| | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | |
| | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | | 7 | 1 | 10 | 6 | |
| | 8 | 10 | 4 | 5 | | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | |
| | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||||
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.
• Jon Jay is 36-99 (.364) in the month of August. He has 9 XBH and 11 of his 29 RBI this season.
• Red Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik has been very hot as of late with a .333 batting average in the month of August. Entering Wednesday, Podsednik has 13 hits in his last 33 at bats giving him a .394 batting average. Podsednik faces Zack Greinke Thursday night whom he is 17-34 against in his career with a 1.276 OPS. Podsednik is currently available in 98% of ESPN fantasy leagues and given his increased role as of late, he could be a nice addition for the stretch run.
• Josh Reddick has not enjoyed the month of August. He is 20-93, an average of .215, and has struck out 26 times. He has an OBP of .253 and his OPS is .618.
• Entering Wednesday, Luis Cruz has 6 multi-hit games in his last 10 starts. He's hitting .347 overall in August.
• David DeJesus has struggled against Brewers starter Shaun Marcum in his career having gone 2-22 with 5 strikeouts.
• Entering Wednesday, Dayan Viciedo is batting .357 and slugging .583 against left-handed starting pitchers this season. The Chicago White Sox will face left-handed starters on Wednesday and Thursday.
• Matt Moore is 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA in 8 starts since the All-Star break. Prior to the break, Moore was 5-6 with a 4.42 ERA.
• Alcides Escobar is 0 for 13 with 4 strikeouts in his career against Rick Porcello.
Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers: The outfielder crashed into the wall Tuesday trying to make a catch and suffered what is currently being called a right knee contusion. Further tests will be performed to make sure there's nothing more here, but for now he's day-to-day.
Denard Span, OF, Twins: Scheduled to undergo an MRI on his sore shoulder and collarbone, which has limited his action since mid-August. Consider him day-to-day for now.
Nelson Cruz, OF, Rangers: The outfielder joins the "day-to-day parade" after getting hit by a pitch in Tuesday's game. X-rays were negative, so he should be back in the lineup soon.
Domonic Brown, OF, Phillies: Left Tuesday's game with a sore knee that has been bothering the outfielder for several days now. If it does not improve, the team may be forced to put him on the disabled list.
Trevor Bauer, SP, Diamondbacks: Kirk Gibson said that, barring an injury, the team would not be recalling the young pitcher until his Triple-A season comes to an end. Reno is currently in line for a playoff berth, so it could be a few weeks.
Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals: After being involved in a forceful collision at the plate, Molina's tests came back clean, and while the catcher is sore, there does not appear to be any significant injury. He could be back in action after a day or two.
Jeremy Hermida, OF, Padres: Released after being designated for assignment and finding no takers on the waiver wire. He is now a free agent, though it's doubtful any team will take him on at this point in the 2012 season.
- AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
- Author; How Fantasy Sports Explains the World.
