Fantasy daily notes for September 12
Click through for information on specific matchups, injuries and weather for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for September 12
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Cliff Lee | L | MIA | 9 | 4-7 | 3.50 | 1.15 | 2-0 | 1.67 | 1.15 |
| 2 |  | Max Scherzer | R | @CHW | 5 | 15-6 | 3.85 | 1.28 | 3-0 | 1.20 | 0.77 |
| 3 |  | Ryan Dempster | R | CLE | 6 | 10-6 | 2.87 | 1.12 | 3-0 | 2.00 | 1.17 |
| 4 |  | Yovani Gallardo | R | ATL | 7 | 14-8 | 3.76 | 1.30 | 2-0 | 4.38 | 1.34 |
| 5 |  | Kyle Lohse | R | @SD | 8 | 14-2 | 2.81 | 1.10 | 2-0 | 4.13 | 1.00 |
| 6 |  | Matt Harvey | R | WAS | 9 | 3-4 | 3.04 | 1.18 | 1-1 | 3.12 | 1.27 |
| 7 |  | Josh Johnson | R | @PHI | 9 | 8-11 | 3.81 | 1.28 | 1-1 | 4.50 | 1.28 |
| 8 |  | Ervin Santana | R | OAK | 6 | 8-11 | 5.21 | 1.28 | 2-1 | 3.33 | 0.96 |
| 9 |  | Tim Lincecum | R | @COL | 6 | 8-14 | 5.11 | 1.47 | 2-1 | 3.09 | 1.33 |
| 10 |  | A.J. Burnett | R | @CIN | 3 | 15-6 | 3.68 | 1.26 | 0-2 | 4.56 | 1.69 |
| 11 |  | A.J. Griffin | R | @LAA | 10 | 5-0 | 2.21 | 0.93 | 2-0 | 1.46 | 0.81 |
| 12 |  | Paul Maholm | L | @MIL | 3 | 12-9 | 3.67 | 1.23 | 1-2 | 5.57 | 1.62 |
| 13 |  | Clayton Richard | L | STL | 5 | 12-12 | 3.78 | 1.22 | 2-0 | 4.26 | 1.58 |
| 14 |  | Travis Wood | L | @HOU | 6 | 5-11 | 4.42 | 1.21 | 1-2 | 2.81 | 0.94 |
| 15 |  | Gavin Floyd | R | DET | 4 | 9-9 | 4.55 | 1.43 | 0-0 | 4.50 | 2.00 |
| 16 |  | Trevor Cahill | R | LAD | 7 | 10-11 | 3.98 | 1.33 | 1-1 | 5.57 | 1.38 |
| 17 |  | John Lannan | L | @NYM | 4 | 2-0 | 3.46 | 1.23 | -- | -- | -- |
| 18 |  | Homer Bailey | R | PIT | 6 | 10-9 | 4.03 | 1.33 | 0-1 | 3.33 | 0.96 |
| 19 |  | Alex Cobb | R | @BAL | 6 | 9-8 | 4.28 | 1.28 | 2-0 | 2.18 | 0.97 |
| 20 |  | Miguel Gonzalez | R | TB | 6 | 6-4 | 3.62 | 1.23 | 1-1 | 3.38 | 0.90 |
| 21 |  | Aaron Harang | R | @ARI | 3 | 9-8 | 3.75 | 1.41 | 0-1 | 4.70 | 1.57 |
| 22 |  | David Phelps | R | @BOS | 2 | 3-4 | 3.55 | 1.22 | 0-0 | 7.20 | 1.53 |
| 23 |  | Kevin Millwood | R | @TOR | 3 | 5-12 | 4.27 | 1.42 | 1-2 | 4.08 | 1.58 |
| 24 |  | Ricky Romero | L | SEA | 7 | 8-13 | 5.85 | 1.59 | 0-3 | 9.45 | 2.33 |
| 25 |  | Luke Hochevar | R | @MIN | 5 | 7-13 | 5.36 | 1.37 | 0-2 | 6.00 | 1.29 |
| 26 |  | Jeff Francis | L | SF | 3 | 5-4 | 5.38 | 1.47 | 1-0 | 2.79 | 1.45 |
| 27 |  | Aaron Cook | R | NYY | 1 | 3-9 | 5.17 | 1.38 | 0-3 | 6.86 | 1.88 |
| 28 |  | Fernando Abad | L | CHC | 1 | 0-3 | 5.30 | 1.71 | 0-3 | 8.03 | 2.27 |
| 29 |  | P.J. Walters | R | KC | 1 | 2-3 | 6.05 | 1.54 | 0-1 | 10.80 | 1.60 |
| 30 |  | Jeanmar Gomez | R | @TEX | 1 | 5-7 | 5.33 | 1.37 | 1-0 | 6.52 | 1.24 |
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.
Hopefully you followed the advice in Monday's Daily Notes when the five ESPN minority-owned pitchers I recommended combined for three wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 10.0 K's/9 (31 K's in 28 innings). While repeating that success with middle-of-the road starters isn't always easy, I really like the options among Wednesday's slate of games. Here are six more arms, all still available in more than half of the ESPN universe, whom you need to strongly consider on Wednesday:
Matt Harvey (47 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) reportedly has just two starts left before the New York Mets shut him down, so get him while you still can. Harvey has allowed more than three runs just once in his eight starts, posting a 3.04 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 53 K's in 47 1/3 innings (10.1 K's/9). Only two of these eight starts have taken place at pitcher-friendly Citi Field, which ranks 26th in hits and 24th in runs according to ESPN's MLB Park Factors. On Wednesday, he'll take the mound in his home uniform against a Washington Nationals team that has 3.0 runs per game and a .265 on-base percentage in its past six road games. Start Harvey in all formats here.
Ervin Santana (39 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) has pitched rather effectively since the start of August, going 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in seven games, six of which his Los Angeles Angels have won. On Wednesday, he hosts an Oakland Athletics team that is sizzling (19-5 in past 24 games), but Santana has enjoyed this AL West in-state rivalry immensely. He is 14-4 with a 2.05 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 158 1/3 career innings versus Oakland, limiting the A's to a .230 BA/.295 OBP/.332 SLG in this large sample size. In the past two seasons, he has dialed up the K's, fanning 26 Athletics in 27 innings. All of this makes him worthy of a fantasy start on Wednesday.
Santana's mound opponent, A.J. Griffin (35 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership), should also be a part of your fantasy roster. Griffin has never lost a game in the majors, going 5-0 with a 2.21 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 7.4 K/9 in 10 starts during his rookie year. However, unlike some of his teammates who prefer pitching at spacious O.co Coliseum, Griffin has actually been better on the road, going 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 9.6 K's/9 in four starts outside of Oakland. The Los Angeles Angels are no pushover, hitting .282/.335/.443 during an 11-2 surge, but Griffin should still be able to keep their lineup in check with yet another quality start.
Clayton Richard (14 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) will take the mound at Petco Park on Wednesday for the first time since Aug. 19, having pitched three straight divisional road games and allowing three runs in each of those starts. Richard loves the home cooking this year, going 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in a dozen starts in San Diego. He also enjoys facing the St. Louis Cardinals, going 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA in four career starts versus them. Although Richard's Padres are a fourth-place team, they have been a bear at home in the second half of the season, going 19-7 (.731) with 4.9 runs per game and a strong slash of .282/.344/.432. Start Richard in most fantasy formats on Wednesday.
Travis Wood (3 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) has appeared to turn a corner since Aug. 1, allowing more than three earned runs just once in his eight starts. He finally snapped a 10-start winless streak (Wood was 0-8, Cubs lost all 10 games) with six shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates his last time out, limiting them to one hit. On Wednesday, Wood should be able to build on that performance against a frightfully bad Houston Astros team that most pitchers thoroughly enjoy facing. In seven career starts against the Stros, Wood is 2-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, allowing just two homers in these 43 innings of work. Wood has blanked the Astros three times in the past four outings, where he carries a 0.72 ERA in 25 innings. Considering Houston is 12-54 (.182) with a .635 OPS in its past 66 games, Wood's win chances are as high as anybody else's on the board, so he's worthy of starting on the majority of fantasy teams on Wednesday.
Gavin Floyd (31 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) could be a little rusty coming off the DL, but his past success against the Detroit Tigers makes him worthy of play in deeper formats on Wednesday. In 19 career starts versus the Tigers, Floyd is 7-2 with a 3.42 ERA and 7.0 K's/9. This includes his 1.38 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in two starts against them this season, as Floyd has whiffed 12 batters in 13 innings of work. Considering Floyd's Chicago White Sox are 18-7 at home since the All-Star break, scoring 5.6 runs per game with an .887 OPS, he is a solid win candidate despite a formidable mound opponent in Max Scherzer.
Hitter matchup ratings for September 12
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | |
| | 4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | | 8 | 9 | 4 | 7 | |
| | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | | 7 | 1 | 8 | 8 | |
| | 7 | 10 | 2 | 4 | | 9 | 10 | 6 | 4 | |
| | 10 | 5 | 10 | 7 | | 6 | 7 | 2 | 9 | |
| | 6 | 9 | 2 | 5 | | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | |
| | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | | 4 | 1 | 6 | 10 | |
| | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
| | 6 | 8 | 3 | 6 | | 10 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |
| | 6 | 1 | 6 | 7 | | 5 | 9 | 3 | 4 | |
| | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 10 | 9 | 9 | 5 | |
| | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | | 8 | 9 | 6 | 6 | |
| | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
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.
• Entering Tuesday, Rays outfielder B.J. Upton has struggled this season at Camden Yards, going 4-for-23 (.174 BA).
• Clayton Richard has pitched better this season during the day than at night. During day games, Richard is 6-3 with a 2.54 ERA versus night games, when he is 6-9 with a 4.50 ERA.
• Entering Tuesday, in 12 games against the Rockies this year Angel Pagan is hitting .340 (18-for-53) with 10 RBIs, including 5 doubles, 2 triples and 1 home run.
• Look for a better option if you have Alex Rios in your lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers. Rios is 3-for-22 (.136 BA) with 8 strikeouts career versus starter Max Scherzer.
• Marlins first baseman Carlos Lee has hit Cliff Lee well in his career, going 9-for-24 (.375) with 3 home runs.
• In 6 career starts against the Braves, Yovani Gallardo is 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA and 1.039 WHIP.
• In 2 starts against the Brewers this season, Braves starter Paul Maholm is 0-2 with a 11.25 ERA, which is the highest ERA he has against any opponent this season.
• Entering Tuesday, Daniel Murphy is 12-for-30 (.400) in the month of September.
Carlos Quentin, OF, Padres: Day-to-day, sore right knee. He left Monday's game after being bothered by his surgically repaired knee. His return to action is uncertain at this time.
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, Indians: Day-to-day, sore right wrist. He did not play on Monday but should rejoin the lineup in a couple of days.
Jered Weaver, SP, Angels: Day-to-day, biceps tendinitis. He should return to the mound on Thursday night for the first time since Sept. 2.
Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers: Day-to-day, shoulder. He is still shaken up after colliding with the outfield wall on Aug. 28, but an MRI showed no structural damage, so he should return to the field shortly.
Corey Hart, 1B/OF, Brewers: Day-to-day, left foot injury. He hurt himself on Sunday and should be out for at least a few days. He was replaced at first base by Travis Ishikawa.
Adam Dunn, DH, White Sox: Day-to-day, oblique injury. He has not played since Sept. 5 after reinjuring himself, but he is reportedly feeling better and should return to the lineup shortly.
Chris Parmelee, 1B/OF, Twins: Day-to-day, sore right groin. He did not play on Monday and was replaced in right field by Matt Carson.
Mark Teixeira, 1B, Yankees: Out indefinitely, calf injury. He reinjured himself on Saturday with an unnecessary headfirst slide into first base, and will be out until at least Friday and possibly even the remainder of the 2012 season.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies: Could return from the DL this week. Tulowitzki, who has been out since May 30, is expected to play sometime this week. However, he will not be in the lineup every day, as Colorado will use extreme caution with him.
Jake Westbrook, SP, Cardinals: Day-to-day, strained right oblique. He will miss at least one start, but manager Mike Matheny expects Westbrook to pitch again this season.
Desmond Jennings, OF, Rays: Day-to-day, lower-back stiffness. He was scratched from Saturday's lineup with his injury but should return to action in the next couple of days.
Xavier Nady, OF, Giants: Day-to-day, mild hamstring strain. He injured himself on Sept. 5 and hasn't played since. Nady is targeting a midweek return to action.
Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros: Day-to-day, abdominal strain. He left Friday's game with his injury and hasn't played since. He should return to action shortly, though.
David Lough, OF, Royals: Day-to-day, strained hamstring. He hasn't played since hurting himself on Sept. 5 but hopes to return sometime this week.
Brett Jackson, OF, Cubs: Day-to-day, bruised right knee. He injured himself making a catch on Friday and has not played since. X-rays came back negative, so he should return to action shortly.
Roy Oswalt, P, Rangers: Day-to-day, sore elbow. He left Sunday's spot start with a sore right flexor muscle but should be ready to pitch by the end of this week.
Zack Cozart, SS, Reds: Day-to-day, strained oblique. He hasn't played since Sept. 3 but could return to the lineup sometime this week. Wilson Valdez or prospect Didi Gregorius will start in Cozart's place at shortstop.
Maicer Izturis, 3B, Angels: Day-to-day, strained intercostal muscle. He injured himself taking a swing on Saturday and hasn't played since. He will likely miss a few more games before he's able to return to action.
Scott Rolen, 3B, Reds: Day-to-day, bulging discs in lower back. He hasn't started since Sept. 4 but did pinch-hit on Monday. Todd Frazier will continue to man third base until Rolen is ready to play the field.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, Red Sox: Day-to-day, back spasms. He left Friday's game early with the injury and hasn't played since. The team is hoping he returns to action on Tuesday.
Neil Walker, 2B, Pirates: Day-to-day, stiffness in lower back. He hasn't played since Aug. 26, but the team thinks he may return sometime this week.
