Fantasy daily notes for Oct. 3
Click through for information on specific matchups, injuries and weather for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for October 3
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Clayton Kershaw | L | SF | 10 | 13-9 | 2.58 | 1.03 | 1-1 | 0.45 | 1.15 |
| 2 |  | Jered Weaver | R | @SEA | 10 | 20-4 | 2.73 | 1.00 | 4-0 | 1.98 | 0.84 |
| 3 |  | Cliff Lee | L | @WAS | 10 | 6-8 | 3.12 | 1.11 | 2-1 | 0.90 | 0.83 |
| 4 |  | Chris Tillman | R | @TB | 6 | 9-2 | 2.78 | 1.06 | 2-0 | 0.90 | 0.65 |
| 5 |  | Brandon Morrow | R | MIN | 7 | 9-7 | 3.09 | 1.14 | 1-2 | 3.74 | 1.52 |
| 6 |  | Jeremy Hellickson | R | BAL | 7 | 9-11 | 3.20 | 1.28 | 1-1 | 2.21 | 1.52 |
| 7 |  | A.J. Burnett | R | ATL | 5 | 16-9 | 3.43 | 1.23 | 1-3 | 1.93 | 1.04 |
| 8 |  | Ryan Vogelsong | R | @LAD | 7 | 14-9 | 3.46 | 1.25 | 2-1 | 4.11 | 1.37 |
| 9 |  | Hiroki Kuroda | R | BOS | 4 | 15-11 | 3.34 | 1.16 | 2-1 | 5.01 | 1.54 |
| 10 |  | Ryan Dempster | R | @OAK | 6 | 12-8 | 3.18 | 1.18 | 2-2 | 5.16 | 1.54 |
| 11 |  | Homer Bailey | R | @STL | 5 | 13-10 | 3.75 | 1.25 | 3-1 | 2.10 | 0.73 |
| 12 |  | Ian Kennedy | R | COL | 5 | 15-11 | 4.16 | 1.32 | 3-0 | 2.67 | 1.26 |
| 13 |  | Travis Wood | L | HOU | 6 | 6-13 | 4.39 | 1.20 | 1-2 | 4.24 | 1.11 |
| 14 |  | A.J. Griffin | R | TEX | 7 | 7-1 | 2.71 | 1.05 | 2-1 | 3.97 | 1.37 |
| 15 |  | David Huff | L | CHW | 2 | 3-0 | 2.86 | 1.09 | 2-0 | 3.38 | 1.29 |
| 16 |  | Ben Sheets | R | @PIT | 3 | 4-4 | 3.54 | 1.34 | -- | -- | -- |
| 17 |  | Edwin Jackson | R | PHI | 5 | 9-11 | 4.13 | 1.22 | 0-1 | 7.36 | 1.43 |
| 18 |  | Josh Stinson | R | SD | 8 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 1.31 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 1.20 |
| 19 |  | Shelby Miller | R | CIN | 10 | 1-0 | 2.35 | 1.30 | 1-0 | 0.00 | 1.13 |
| 20 |  | Luis Mendoza | R | DET | 3 | 8-9 | 4.36 | 1.42 | 1-0 | 2.37 | 1.16 |
| 21 |  | Scott Diamond | L | @TOR | 4 | 12-8 | 3.54 | 1.24 | 1-2 | 4.56 | 1.32 |
| 22 |  | Gavin Floyd | R | @CLE | 6 | 11-11 | 4.47 | 1.39 | 2-2 | 3.97 | 1.15 |
| 23 |  | Blake Beavan | R | LAA | 3 | 10-11 | 4.68 | 1.27 | 1-2 | 2.41 | 1.23 |
| 24 |  | Edgar Gonzalez | R | @CHC | 6 | 3-1 | 4.15 | 1.02 | 1-1 | 6.35 | 1.15 |
| 25 |  | Luis Marte | R | @KC | 3 | 0-0 | 3.32 | 1.26 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0.60 |
| 26 |  | Jeff Francis | L | @ARI | 1 | 5-7 | 5.75 | 1.49 | 0-3 | 7.88 | 1.63 |
| 27 |  | Tom Koehler | R | NYM | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 28 |  | Andrew Werner | L | @MIL | 1 | 2-3 | 4.78 | 1.35 | 0-2 | 8.78 | 1.95 |
| 29 |  | Jeremy Hefner | R | @MIA | 3 | 3-7 | 5.32 | 1.40 | 1-1 | 9.00 | 1.50 |
| 30 |  | Daisuke Matsuzaka | R | @NYY | 3 | 1-6 | 7.68 | 1.64 | 0-1 | 9.72 | 1.92 |
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.
Wednesday rankings notes
The MLB slate is predictably packed with big-name pitchers on the final day of the regular season. However, there are still quality pitchers likely available for a final-day pickup. If you're one of those fantasy owners making a last-ditch effort to improve your pitching, here are four arms (all owned in less than half of the ESPN universe) that should help get you those precious wins or strikeouts, while lowering your ERA or WHIP. Thanks for reading all year and hopefully you'll come back in 2013 as a defending champion of your league:
Chris Tillman (37 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) continues to get much too little love from fantasy owners despite going 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 6.4 K/9 in his past six starts. Five of these half-dozen starts have been against the eight most potent run-producing lineups in the majors (Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox twice). On Wednesday, Tillman will face a Tampa Bay Rays team that not only is eliminated from the postseason, but has scored just two runs on five hits in 12 innings against him this year. Even with Monday's win, the Rays are 2-6 in their past eight meetings with Baltimore, scoring just 15 runs with a .578 OPS in this span. Start Tillman in all fantasy formats on Wednesday.
Travis Wood (15 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) couldn't ask for a better matchup to close his 2012 season when he hosts the Houston Astros on Wednesday. He is 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 0.57 WHIP in three starts versus his division foe this year, holding the 'Stros to a dismal slash of .129 BA/.164 OBP/.214 SLG (yes, that's a .378 OPS!) in 73 plate appearances. Wood is also finishing the season on a high note, posting a 3.49 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 7.5 K/9 in his past eight starts. Most teams enjoy hitting at Wrigley Field, but not Houston, which is 2-5 in Chicago this year with two runs or less in all five of those defeats. This makes Wood a great win candidate and worthy of a start in the vast majority of fantasy formats on Wednesday.
I rarely (if ever) recommend a pitcher facing the Rangers, but I think A.J. Griffin (43 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) will pitch well in an AL West-deciding game. Griffin has been excellent at O.co Coliseum this season, going 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 5.9 K/9 in seven home starts. He also shut out the Rangers for six innings in his lone meeting against them this season, allowing just two hits and two walks while fanning four. The Oakland Athletics are surging to the finish line with a 6-1 record in their past seven games, including a 3-1 mark versus the Rangers. In these seven games, the offense has 43 runs (6.1 per game), 13 homers and a .506 slugging percentage. Considering how poorly mound opponent Ryan Dempster has pitched in his past three starts (6.32 ERA, 1.72 WHIP), Griffin is worthy of a start in most fantasy leagues on Wednesday.
David Huff (2 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) is certainly a reach, but I like his chances against a Chicago White Sox team with nothing to play for. Huff is 3-0 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 7.0 K/9 in five September outings. And before getting shut out on Monday, Huff's Cleveland Indians teammates were crushing the baseball, posting 8.3 runs per game with a ridiculous .437 on-base percentage over their previous seven contests. Mound opponent Gavin Floyd has just one quality start in his past six outings, posting a 4.67 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in this stretch. And since 2010, Floyd has a 5.04 ERA in eight starts versus the Indians. Take a flier on Huff for deeper fantasy leagues on Wednesday.
Hitter matchup ratings for October 3
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 10 | 6 | 10 | 3 | | 10 | 1 | 10 | 9 | |
| | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 | | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | |
| | 4 | 5 | 1 | 5 | | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | |
| | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | | 7 | 10 | 2 | 9 | |
| | 6 | 10 | 1 | 6 | | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | |
| | 10 | 10 | 7 | 5 | | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | |
| | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 9 | 7 | 10 | 6 | |
| | 5 | 7 | 2 | 7 | | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | |
| | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| | 6 | 1 | 7 | 7 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| | 7 | 10 | 1 | 4 | | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | |
| | 8 | 10 | 3 | 6 | | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| | 4 | 5 | 1 | 5 | | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | |
| | 9 | 10 | 5 | 5 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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.
• Ryan Vogelsong is 2-1 with a 0.89 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers in 2012, which is the lowest ERA he has against any opponent this season (min. 2 starts).
• Entering Tuesday, the Mets' David Wright is hitting .328 with three home runs and 10 RBIs against the Marlins this season.
• Alex Rodriguez is 3-for-24 (.125) with seven strikeouts in his career against Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka.
• Matt Holliday is 11-for-25 (.440) with six RBIs in his career against Homer Bailey.
• Danny Espinosa is 7-for-16 with a double, three homers and five RBIs against Cliff Lee, who will start the season finale Wednesday.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox: He broke his left ring finger on Sunday and will not play again in 2012.
Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies: He suffered a minor calf injury Sunday and did not play in Monday's game. It's unclear whether Rollins will return to action this season.
Dan Uggla, 2B, Braves: He did not play Monday due to swelling in his right hand, which he cut during his team's playoff-clinching celebration last Tuesday.
Corey Hart, 1B, Brewers: He reinjured his left foot diving for a ball Monday and will likely not play for the rest of the season.
Ryan Doumit, C, Twins: He injured his thumb on Monday and will more than likely miss the remainder of the season.
Torii Hunter, OF, Angels: He exited Monday's game after feeling light-headed and will likely not play for the remainder of the season.
Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins: Due to soreness in many body parts, Morneau's 2012 season is now over.
Erick Aybar, SS, Angels: He strained his right quad Sunday and will probably not return to action with his team eliminated from postseason contention.
Mike Moustakas, 3B, Royals: He left Sunday's game with a minor groin injury, then reinjured himself Monday when he tried to return to action. His season is over.
Ryan Howard, 1B, Phillies: His season is over after he broke his toe Thursday when he dropped the lead pipe used for practice swings on his foot in the on-deck circle.
Eric Hosmer, 1B, Royals: He was diagnosed with a slightly torn rotator cuff and is likely done for the season.
Neil Walker, 2B, Pirates: He will not play for the rest of the season due to a herniated disk in his back.
Mike Adams, RP, Rangers: A shoulder/neck injury called thoracic outlet syndrome will keep him off the mound for the rest of the regular season and possibly the playoffs.
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Rockies: He hasn't played since Sept. 23 due to inflammation behind his knee and will likely be shut down for the season.
Josh Willingham, OF, Twins: He injured his left shoulder after he slammed into the outfield fence on Sept. 24 and hasn't played since. He's not likely to play again this season.
Carlos Quentin, OF, Padres: Because of soreness in his surgically repaired left knee, Quentin will likely be used as strictly a pinch-hitter, if at all.
Jose Molina, C, Rays: He strained his right quad running to first base on Sept. 25 and hasn't started since. Considering Tampa Bay is out of the mix, it's unlikely Molina will play again this season.
Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies: He has not started since Sept. 22 due to tendinitis in his left wrist. Although an MRI came back negative, he will not bat again this season.
