Fantasy notes for August 31
Click through for information on specific matchups, injuries and weather for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for Aug. 31
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Adam Wainwright | R | @WAS | 10 | 13-10 | 3.63 | 1.18 | 4-0 | 1.63 | 0.94 |
| 2 |  | R.A. Dickey | R | @MIA | 8 | 16-4 | 2.76 | 1.02 | 2-1 | 2.48 | 0.97 |
| 3 |  | Madison Bumgarner | L | @CHC | 8 | 14-8 | 2.93 | 1.02 | 2-2 | 2.45 | 0.85 |
| 4 |  | Gio Gonzalez | L | STL | 7 | 16-7 | 3.28 | 1.16 | 2-1 | 2.95 | 1.31 |
| 5 |  | Roy Halladay | R | @ATL | 10 | 8-7 | 3.88 | 1.09 | 3-1 | 3.41 | 0.97 |
| 6 |  | Hiroki Kuroda | R | BAL | 7 | 12-9 | 2.98 | 1.10 | 2-1 | 2.01 | 0.77 |
| 7 |  | Jake Peavy | R | @DET | 6 | 9-9 | 3.09 | 1.08 | 0-1 | 3.10 | 1.18 |
| 8 |  | Doug Fister | R | CHW | 7 | 7-8 | 3.67 | 1.23 | 1-1 | 4.50 | 1.50 |
| 9 |  | Trevor Cahill | R | @LAD | 7 | 9-11 | 3.99 | 1.36 | 0-2 | 5.57 | 1.62 |
| 10 |  | Dan Haren | R | @SEA | 7 | 8-10 | 4.82 | 1.39 | 0-2 | 8.53 | 1.82 |
| 11 |  | Clayton Richard | L | @COL | 5 | 11-12 | 3.72 | 1.17 | 2-1 | 3.22 | 1.03 |
| 12 |  | Ryan Dempster | R | @CLE | 5 | 8-6 | 2.99 | 1.14 | 2-1 | 4.95 | 1.35 |
| 13 |  | Mark Rogers | R | PIT | 10 | 2-1 | 4.28 | 1.28 | 2-0 | 3.52 | 1.22 |
| 14 |  | Jeremy Hellickson | R | @TOR | 6 | 8-9 | 3.42 | 1.28 | 2-2 | 3.38 | 1.17 |
| 15 |  | Brandon Morrow | R | TB | 7 | 7-5 | 3.06 | 1.03 | 0-1 | 3.86 | 1.50 |
| 16 |  | Mike Leake | R | @HOU | 4 | 6-8 | 4.51 | 1.33 | 2-1 | 4.50 | 1.27 |
| 17 |  | Brandon McCarthy | R | BOS | 5 | 7-5 | 3.12 | 1.24 | 1-2 | 5.09 | 1.35 |
| 18 |  | Aaron Harang | R | ARI | 4 | 9-8 | 3.70 | 1.39 | 2-1 | 3.00 | 1.33 |
| 19 |  | Mike Minor | L | PHI | 4 | 7-10 | 4.71 | 1.23 | 1-2 | 3.20 | 0.92 |
| 20 |  | Jeff Karstens | R | @MIL | 4 | 5-3 | 3.47 | 1.12 | 1-1 | 2.57 | 0.86 |
| 21 |  | Ubaldo Jimenez | R | TEX | 4 | 9-13 | 5.58 | 1.62 | 1-2 | 7.40 | 1.69 |
| 22 |  | Kevin Millwood | R | LAA | 4 | 4-11 | 4.28 | 1.39 | 0-1 | 3.66 | 1.27 |
| 23 |  | Chris Volstad | R | SF | 4 | 1-9 | 6.28 | 1.47 | 1-1 | 4.18 | 1.27 |
| 24 |  | Miguel Gonzalez | R | @NYY | 3 | 5-3 | 3.66 | 1.30 | 2-1 | 3.32 | 1.32 |
| 25 |  | Nate Eovaldi | R | NYM | 2 | 4-9 | 4.54 | 1.67 | 1-2 | 5.52 | 2.05 |
| 26 |  | Aaron Cook | R | @OAK | 4 | 3-7 | 4.76 | 1.31 | 0-2 | 4.96 | 1.59 |
| 27 |  | Cole De Vries | R | @KC | 1 | 3-5 | 4.68 | 1.27 | 1-3 | 7.88 | 1.81 |
| 28 |  | Will Smith | L | MIN | 2 | 4-6 | 5.55 | 1.51 | 2-2 | 4.76 | 1.59 |
| 29 |  | Alex White | R | SD | 1 | 2-6 | 5.49 | 1.61 | 0-0 | 4.50 | 1.63 |
| 30 |  | Fernando Abad | L | CIN | 1 | 0-1 | 3.62 | 1.50 | 0-1 | 2.25 | 2.00 |
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.
Mass' Rankings Notes
Few pitchers have been as hot as Adam Wainwright has been of late. In his past seven starts dating back to July 24, he is 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a .219 batting average against. He faces Gio Gonzalez, who over the same time has gone 4-2 with a 3.17 ERA and 6.1 runs per game from his lineup. That run support won't likely be there for Gonzalez in this one, so he falls to No. 4 in the Friday ranks.
Jake Peavy has been suffering from a virus in his eye that has forced the pitcher to wear glasses all week. The team doctors say he is good to go for Friday's start, which may play to his advantage. A wild pitch or two in the first inning may strike fear in Detroit Tigers hitters and cause them to be on their heels the rest of the day.
Dan Haren took a few extra days off between his last two starts, and the result was seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision versus the Tigers. He's clearly not at 100 percent, but against a Seattle Mariners team hitting just .227 n August he doesn't need to be to win. Haren is 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA versus the M's for his career.
Mark Rogers pitches at home for just the third time in seven starts this season, going against a Pittsburgh Pirates team he held scoreless through five innings this past Sunday. The concern is that he needed 101 pitches to complete those five innings and may not last deep enough into this game to earn a victory, even if he does manage to baffle the Pirates' bats yet again.
Clayton Richard is not only pitching at Coors Field, which raises red flags for any hurler, but he's also 1-4 with a 5.84 ERA lifetime against the Colorado Rockies. That includes an April 18 outing in which he allowed eight runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Stream at your own risk.
After leaving his last start with a strained left groin, Jeff Karstens returns to the mound on Friday without further incident. Still, his 1-5 record against the Milwaukee Brewers notwithstanding, the chance of a recurrence of the injury under game situations does loom large over his chances at success in this one.
Ubaldo Jimenez wraps up an August he'd probably rather forget with a start against the Texas Rangers, who are hitting .288 over the past two weeks. In his previous five starts, he's gone 1-3 with a 7.96 ERA and a .336 batting average against.
Hitter matchup ratings for Aug. 31
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | | 7 | 10 | 2 | 9 | |
| | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | | 10 | 4 | 10 | 5 | |
| | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | | 9 | 10 | 3 | 6 | |
| | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | |
| | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | | 8 | 10 | 5 | 6 | |
| | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | |
| | 10 | 1 | 10 | 5 | | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | |
| | 7 | 1 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | |
| | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | | 8 | 10 | 6 | 9 | |
| | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| | 10 | 8 | 9 | 6 | | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | |
| | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | |
| | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | 5 | 7 | 1 | 5 | |
| | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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.
• Clayton Richard has been dominant in August. He is 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA in five games, including a 2-0 complete-game shutout against the Cubs on Aug. 8. He has only allowed nine earned runs in 38 1/3 innings pitched.
• Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez has struggled in August. He is 17-for-77 (.221) with a home run and 11 RBIs. While his season slugging percentage is .525, it's just .286 in August, with an OPS of .626.
• Entering Thursday, Adam Dunn has hit .164 (18-for-110) versus right-handed pitching since the All-Star break. While Dunn hit only .236 against RHP before the break, his OPS was .958. His second-half OPS versus RHP is .622.
• Braves pitcher Mike Minor has held opponents to three runs or fewer in each of his past nine starts (2.50 ERA).
• Andrew McCutchen has been a thorn in the Brewers' side at Miller Park this season, as he's batting .500 (12-for-24) with four HR and nine RBIs there.
• The heart of the Brewers' lineup (Corey Hart, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks) has struggled against Friday's starter Jeff Karstens. The trio is a combined 12-for-71 (.169) in their careers against Karstens with 14 strikeouts.
• Angels OF Torii Hunter has great numbers in the regular season against Kevin Millwood. In 43 plate appearances, Hunter has 17 hits, batting .405, with two home runs and 13 RBIs. He is slugging .667 and has an OPS of 1.086.
• Mariners P Kevin Millwood has not had a good August. He has produced his highest ERA of any month at 5.76. Millwood is 0-3 in five games giving up 19 ER in 29 2/3 IP. Opposing batters have five home runs with a team batting average of .311.
• Entering Thursday, Angel Pagan is hitting .349 this month and has scored a MLB-best 29 runs.
• Entering Thursday, Carlos Beltran has not hit a home run in his past 16 games. During that stretch, Beltran is just 10-for-63 (.159) with four extra-base hits and 19 strikeouts.
• Brandon McCarthy has a 2.55 ERA at home this season (3.66 on road). He's allowed just two home runs in 49 1/3 innings at home, compared to seven homers in 51 2/3 road innings.
Lance Berkman, 1B, Cardinals: Could be activated from the disabled list in the next few days, but will likely be used as a pinch hitter, because the discomfort in his knee makes his playing the field difficult.
Bud Norris, P, Astros: Left his Tuesday start with a blister on a finger of his pitching hand, but he is not expected to miss his next turn in the rotation when it comes around on Sunday.
Huston Street, P, Padres: Due to come off the disabled list on Sunday, barring a setback in his final rehab appearance on Friday. Expect him to resume closer duties immediately.
Andrew Cashner, P, Padres: The San Diego starter is also making his final rehab start on Friday and, if all goes without incident, should join the rotation sometime next week.
Emilio Bonifacio, OF, Marlins: Continues to have issues with his right knee that will likely require offseason surgery. Already on the disabled list, he could be officially shut down for the season.
Kenley Jansen, P, Dodgers: Missed Wednesday's game because of an unspecified issue with his heart. It is not the first time Jansen has had this condition, and it is unclear when he will be able to resume playing. Ronald Belisario got the save on Wednesday.
Neil Walker, 2B, Pirates: Has yet to play this week because of tightness in his back and may not suit up for another few days. Josh Harrison may see an uptick in playing time.
Dylan Bundy, P, Orioles: Will not be called up in September, as the team has decided to send the young pitcher to the fall instructional league instead.
- AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
- Author; How Fantasy Sports Explains the World.
