The work week is closing to an end for most. We're mentally planning the debauchery we plan/hope to get into this weekend. Maybe that's only for the single fellas like me? I don't know. But I always have time for you, my loyal followers, so you better believe I'm breaking down the Friday matchups before I got out on Friday and make it happen.
* NOTE: Players are listed in alphabetical order for the sake of making them easily sortable/findable. The matchups are also generated based on Batter vs. Pitcher data. Just because a player is not listed does not mean that he is a bad or good play. The players listed below are mentioned merely because of the BVP data for the matchup.
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DISH DIAMONDS – The Best Hitting Matchups of the Day
Marlon Byrd has seven hits in 12 at-bats against the Reds' Johnny Cueto. He's hitting .583 with a homer and three RBIs.
Jacoby Ellsbury has burned Jeremy Guthrie at the stake batting .435 with a 1.110 OPS over 51 plate appearances. He's hit a homer, pounded out six doubles, driven in seven runs and stolen four bases.
Jose Tabata has a rather amazing 14 hits in 33 at-bats leading to a .424 batting average. He's also hit a homer with four RBIs. Neil Walker has hit .333 with a homer, eight RBIs and seven walks over 38 plate appearances (.459 OBP). Oh yeah, that duo puts those numbers up against Kyle Lohse.
David Wright hasn't gone deep against Matt Cain but he has hit six doubles, batted .440 and drive in three runs over 25 at-bats. He's also swiped a bag.
The following batters face lefties on Friday and have strong track records.
The Athletics face Wei-Yin Chen in Baltimore. The following A's mash lefties: Yoenis Cespedes has five homers in 58 at-bats, Brandon Moss is batting .342 with three homers in 38 at-bats, Derek Norris is batting .328 with three homers and 19 RBIs (wowzahs) in 61 at-bats, and Josh Donaldson has hit .316-6-12 in 57 at-bats.
Nelson Cruz (.400-4-11 in 40 ABs) and Adam Jones (.456-1-4 in 57 ABs) face Tommy Milone in Baltimore.
Brock Holt has been hot as all get out and he's the Red Sox leading hitter against lefties (.386 in 44 ABs). David Ortiz is only batting .257 but he has five homers and 14 RBIs in 74 at-bats. Jonny Gomes is at .297 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 64 at-bats. They all face Drew Smyly.
Devin Mesoraco has hit .435 versus lefties in 23 at-bats. He faces Cole Hamels.
DISH DISASTERS – Worst Hitting Matchups of the Day
Robinson Cano seems like he would light up Erik Bedard. He doesn't. In 19 at-bats he has a homer and three RBIs but is batting just .263 with a .300 OBP.
Derek Jeter is pretty much a nobody at this point. He's also hit .261 with a .564 OPS against Jeremy Guthrie over 46 plate appearances. Kelly Johnson is also sporting a nice 0-for-10 spot in the matchup.
Paul Konerko has looked terrible in 22 at-bats against Jered Weaver. He's hit .091 in the matchup with one RBI.
Hunter Pence has look horrible whenever Jonathon Niese has been on the bump. In 26 at-bats the Giants' right fielder has hit .115 with seven Ks. Michael Morse is also a lagger (word?) with a .200 average and one RBI over 15 at-bats.
B.J. Upton has struggled against Brandon McCarthy, hardly a shock given his production since the start of last season. In 15 at-bats he's struck out six times and hit .200.
Chase Utley has seen his production dip of late and he's hit .250 with just one RBI against Johnny Cueto.
Chris Young has hit .222 with a .578 OPS over 36 at-bats.
The following faces lefties and have a poor track record.
The Mariners face Erik Bedard. Kyle Seager (.234 with no HRs in 77 ABs) and Brad Miller (.135 in 52 ABs) have fared poorly against lefties.
The Red Sox face Drew Smyly. Daniel Nava (.077 in 26 ABs), Grady Sizemore (.167 in 48 ABs) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (.21 in 69 ABs) can't hit lefties.
The Reds face a tough lefty, Cole Hamels. Jay Bruce (.143-1 in 35 ABs), Billy Hamilton (.209 with one walk in 48 PAs) and Brandon Phillips (.246-1 in 61 ABs) have all struggled against lefties.
Bookmark the following three sources to check daily after you read this piece.
Fantasy Alarm Lineups
Batter Versus Pitcher
Daily Projections – For every single day of the season.
MOUND MAVENS – Starting Pitchers to Target
Dallas Keuchel pitches in Minnesota Friday. He's tossed 5-straight “quality starts” and has given up four walks and one homer in his last five starts. The Twins come in 8th from the bottom in OPS against lefties.
Jonathon Niese has just one win on the road but he's got a 2.43 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in five road starts. He takes on a Giants club that ranks 14th in the majors in OPS against lefties and he's also allowed three or fewer earned runs in every start he's made this year.
Julio Teheran has made five road starts with a 2.76 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. He's the owner of a 2.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over three starts against the D'backs. He's allowed a total of two runs in picking up 3-straight victories.
Tanner Roark in Petco against the Padres. Through 11 starts he owns a 3.25 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He also tossed a complete game shutout against the Padres when he faced them back on April 26th.
Tyson Ross has been nails when pitching at home (he faces the Nats in Petco Friday). In six home starts he's racked up 44 Ks in 41 innings while posting a 1.54 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Hard to turn a blind eye to that.
MOUND MESSES – Starting Pitchers to Avoid
Erik Bedard has two wins, a 4.08 ERA and 1.47 WHIP on the year. He's also failed to last six innings in any of his last four starts and has allowed 17 hits and four walks over his last 8.2 innings while permitting 11 runs (10 earned). Sit him against the Mariners.
Wei-Yin Chen faces the A's with a 4.26 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. Add those numbers to the destruction the A's have wrought against lefties and you should stay far, far away.
Seriously... if you live long enough I guess you will see everything.
Jeremy Guthrie is totally hit or miss, and he's got no upside (he's got two wins this year with a 4.00 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with all of 39 Ks in 78.2 innings). There's just nothing to like here. The Yankees are ranked 17th in OPS against righties though and 21st on the road. Still, can you feel comfortable starting Guthrie?
Drew Smyly takes on the Red Sox and he is seriously listing of late. His last three starts have failed to last more than 15 outs, and he's been bombed for 15 hits (including four homers) over his last two outings (9 ER in 9 IP).
Jered Weaver pitches at home versus the White Sox. He's allowed 18 hits and eight earned runs in his last two starts, and he's also permitted a long ball in each of his last four outings and he's failed to strike out more than five batters in 5-straight outings.
Make sure you tune in to the Fantasy Alarm's Daily Game Show at 6 PM EDT, Monday through Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius210, XM87) as Jeff Mans and Ted Schuster will help you to set your daily lineups.