Fantasy notes for September 20
Click through for information on specific matchups and injuries for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for September 20
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Johnny Cueto | R | @CHC | 7 | 17-9 | 2.92 | 1.18 | 0-3 | 8.22 | 1.89 |
| 2 |  | Yu Darvish | R | @LAA | 8 | 15-9 | 4.02 | 1.30 | 2-0 | 2.05 | 0.55 |
| 3 |  | David Price | L | BOS | 7 | 18-5 | 2.54 | 1.11 | 2-0 | 2.63 | 1.24 |
| 4 |  | Mike Fiers | R | @PIT | 10 | 9-8 | 3.23 | 1.20 | 2-2 | 4.35 | 1.50 |
| 5 |  | Zack Greinke | R | TEX | 5 | 14-5 | 3.56 | 1.21 | 3-0 | 1.84 | 0.89 |
| 6 |  | Anibal Sanchez | R | OAK | 7 | 8-12 | 4.02 | 1.31 | 1-2 | 2.03 | 0.98 |
| 7 |  | Ross Detwiler | L | LAD | 7 | 9-6 | 3.16 | 1.19 | 2-0 | 2.66 | 1.27 |
| 8 |  | Chris Capuano | L | @WAS | 5 | 11-10 | 3.60 | 1.19 | 0-0 | 3.86 | 1.10 |
| 9 |  | Wandy Rodriguez | L | MIL | 6 | 11-13 | 3.65 | 1.27 | 3-0 | 1.40 | 0.97 |
| 10 |  | Clay Buchholz | R | @TB | 6 | 11-6 | 4.33 | 1.30 | 0-2 | 3.18 | 1.15 |
| 11 |  | Phil Hughes | R | TOR | 4 | 15-12 | 3.96 | 1.25 | 2-1 | 3.44 | 1.15 |
| 12 |  | Clayton Richard | L | @ARI | 5 | 13-12 | 3.74 | 1.19 | 2-0 | 4.00 | 1.39 |
| 13 |  | Tommy Milone | L | @DET | 4 | 13-10 | 3.81 | 1.24 | 2-1 | 4.70 | 1.70 |
| 14 |  | Jaime Garcia | L | HOU | 7 | 4-7 | 4.24 | 1.42 | 1-2 | 4.57 | 1.57 |
| 15 |  | Jorge De La Rosa | L | @SF | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 16 |  | Barry Zito | L | COL | 4 | 12-8 | 4.21 | 1.37 | 2-0 | 3.54 | 1.38 |
| 17 |  | Jeremy Guthrie | R | CHW | 3 | 7-12 | 4.92 | 1.41 | 2-0 | 1.48 | 0.96 |
| 18 |  | Francisco Liriano | L | @KC | 5 | 6-11 | 5.24 | 1.46 | 1-1 | 6.75 | 1.63 |
| 19 |  | Tyler Skaggs | L | SD | 6 | 1-2 | 5.55 | 1.36 | 0-1 | 8.25 | 1.50 |
| 20 |  | Bud Norris | R | @STL | 4 | 5-12 | 4.93 | 1.42 | 0-1 | 3.97 | 1.06 |
| 21 |  | Jeremy Hefner | R | PHI | 3 | 2-6 | 4.99 | 1.39 | 0-1 | 7.45 | 1.86 |
| 22 |  | Tyler Cloyd | R | @NYM | 3 | 1-1 | 4.95 | 1.35 | 1-1 | 4.95 | 1.35 |
| 23 |  | Esmerling Vasquez | R | @CLE | 4 | 0-2 | 7.53 | 1.74 | 0-2 | 7.53 | 1.74 |
| 24 |  | Aaron Laffey | L | @NYY | 1 | 3-5 | 4.55 | 1.34 | 0-0 | 3.97 | 1.59 |
| 25 |  | Corey Kluber | R | MIN | 1 | 1-4 | 5.48 | 1.67 | 1-2 | 5.66 | 1.60 |
| 26 |  | Jason Berken | R | CIN | 1 | 0-1 | 7.20 | 3.20 | 0-1 | 4.50 | 2.25 |
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
Johnny Cueto has yet to win in September, and his .382 batting average-against speaks for itself in that regard. If anything is going to get him back on track, it's the Chicago Cubs, a team he's 3-0 against in 2012, with a 1.21 ERA and .141 BAA. The losing streak ends here.
The last time Mike Fiers faced the Pittsburgh Pirates, he struck out 10 over 6-2/3 innings, tying his career high. Plus, the Bucs are batting just .216 over the past two weeks, with an average of 8.5 K's per contest.
As good as Wandy Rodriguez has been lately (4-1, 1.83 ERA since Aug. 19) the fact that current Milwaukee Brewers hitters are batting .316 against him lowers him a few spots in the Thursday pecking order. Oh, and did we mention that one loss was to the Brewers?
Jorge De La Rosa makes his return to the mound after missing more than a year following elbow surgery. Expect him to be given only around 75 pitches, so while you might want to watch this one with a curious eye, it's certainly a home run kind of play if you decide to start him.
Jeremy Guthrie is 2-0 with a 1.48 ERA in his last four starts, but this is the fourth time he has faced the Chicago White Sox since joining the Kansas City Royals in July. He has thrown 23 2/3 innings against them and has yet to allow an earned run, thanks in part to a .200 BABIP. It just doesn't seem real to me.
Tyler Cloyd has allowed a home run in each of his four starts, and this one comes a full week after his last outing, a three-inning, three-run loss to the Houston Astros. That's why, even though the New York Mets have hit just .217 over the last 14 days, we're still steering clear.
Hitter matchup ratings for September 20
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 7 | 1 | 8 | 9 | | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | ||||
 | No game scheduled | | 8 | 10 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | | 9 | 6 | 10 | 3 | |
| | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | |
| | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | | 8 | 10 | 4 | 5 | |
| | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| | 8 | 9 | 5 | 7 | | 6 | 8 | 3 | 7 | |
| | 6 | 2 | 7 | 4 | | 7 | 1 | 10 | 2 | |
| | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 6 | 1 | 7 | 7 | | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |
| | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | |
| | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | | 7 | 4 | 8 | 4 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 7 | 1 | 7 | 4 | ||||
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.
• Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa will be making his season debut on Thursday after a long stint on the disabled list. He is 7-2 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in his career against San Francisco.
• Entering Wednesday, Andruw Jones has a .853 OPS against lefties at Yankee Stadium since joining the Yankees a season ago.
• Josh Hamilton is 0 for 16 with seven strikeouts in his career against Thursday's starter Zack Greinke.
• Alexei Ramirez is 1 for 25 (.040) in his career against Thursday's starter Jeremy Guthrie. Entering Wednesday, Ramirez has gone nine games without an extra-base hit.
• A's starter Tommy Milone has 5.13 ERA on the road this season (2.68 at home). The Tigers are 16-8 at home against lefty starters this season.
• Entering Wednesday, first baseman Anthony Rizzo is hitting .332 against righties this season (.211 vs lefties).
• Entering Wednesday, Jayson Werth is hitting .385 against lefties this season (.274 vs righties). He's been even better against lefties at home, hitting .425 with a 1.052 OPS.
• Entering Wednesday, Jason Kipnis is just 9 for 57 (.158) against the Twins this season.
Max Scherzer, SP, Tigers: An MRI on his right shoulder showed no structural damage. He may still miss a start or two as a precaution, but there's still a chance he'll pitch again in 2012.
Cameron Maybin, OF, Padres: Missed Tuesday's game because of a sore left Achilles and should be considered day-to-day.
Chris Young, OF, Diamondbacks: Left Tuesday's game with an injury to the same right quad that had previously caused him trouble. He might have played his last game of the season.
Paul Janish, SS, Braves: Dislocated his shoulder, though X-rays did not reveal any significant damage beyond that. He expects to miss only a few days of action. If Andrelton Simmons can play, he'll take over at shortstop.
Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers: Left Tuesday's game early due to a sinus problem. Leonys Martin replaced him in the outfield. Consider the slugger day-to-day.
Rafael Furcal, SS, Cardinals: Working out a bit more extensively with the hopes of making it returning to the lineup before the end of the regular season.
Dylan Bundy, P, Orioles: Called up from Double-A to join a pitching staff severely taxed by the 18-inning marathon Tuesday.
- AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
- Author; How Fantasy Sports Explains the World.
