FINAL WEEK PITCHING OPTIONS

Raisel Iglesias is garnering saves, finally, for the Reds. He has a save in each of his last two outings and he’s allowed one run his last eight innings.

It sounds like we have no chance of seeing Corey Kluber (quad) again in the playoffs though he should be able to help the Indians in the playoffs. Meanwhile, teammate Danny Salazar (forearm) is also hopeful of a playoff return, but as a reliever.

The Mets situation is a bit messy. Bartolo Colon threw 47 pitches in a beating Monday and the team is considering bring him back on short rest to start Friday. Noah Syndergaard could start Sunday if needed (home field?). He could also be held out of that start and saved for the playoffs. "Do we use Syndergaard? Or do we say, 'Hey look, he's going to pitch the playoff game no matter where it's at?” manager Terry Collins said. "That's going to be, I think, the ultimately tough decision.” Another option would be that the team is happy with where they are at and they start Syndergaard Sunday but allow him to only throw 25 pitches in a tune up for the playoffs. If I owned Noah I would be very nervous about him making a full start this Sunday.

Seung Hwan Oh continues to deal with a troublesome groin issue, but he says that he is available Thursday.

Julio Urias, supposedly done starting this season, will start once against Thursday for the Dodgers against the Padres. It also sounds possible that he could end up in the rotation in the playoffs since there is no way the Dodgers can trust Rich Hill to pitch on short rest and Clayton Kershaw’s back might not allow him to. Back to Urias, who has already thrown 31.1 innings more than ever before. "As aggressive as it might seem, we're still being very cautious I think," manager Dave Roberts said, of striking the balance between doing what's best for the team, and doing what's best for Urias. "As we get closer to the postseason, I'll know exactly how he's going to be used and to what extent, and what makes sense for him when that time comes." Newsflash Dave, the playoffs are a week away.

Jordan Zimmermann will start Friday for the Tigers versus the Braves. Justin Verlander will start the final game of the season Sunday though the starter Saturday is unknown with Buck Farmer and Matt Boyd under consideration. Zimmerman will be throwing on four days of rest after he allowed one run over three innings of bullpen work against the Royals last Sunday. He’s had a terrible season to date and I’m simply incapable of suggesting anyone, but the desperate, start him.

THIS AND THAT

Michael Brantley had shoulder surgery. He might not be ready for the start of the 2017 season. Ugh.

Yasmany Tomas has been scratched Thursday with a stiff neck. Tomas has 30 homers and 80 RBI, great numbers. However, the last 15 games he has but one homer as his extremely high HR/FB rate has started to fall (it’s still an elite 24.6 percent, nearly double the 13.0 percent mark from his rookie year). Seems wise to expect very little the rest of the way from Tomas. By the way, let’s talk about his teammate Jake Lamb for a second. Lamb, like Tomas, has greatly exceeded expectations with 29 homers, 90 RBI and 80 runs scored. He’s been a great find. Now the reality check. (1) Lamb cannot hit lefties. He’s batting .170 with a .646 OPS against them this season. (2) He has hit a mere .230 with a .745 OPS on the road. That effort includes 10 homers in 74 games. (3) Lamb has flat out stopped hitting anything or anyone of late. Over his last 65 games, a significant sample size, he’s “hitting” .195 with a .277 OBP and .389 SLG. He’s been deficient for nearly half the season. Seems like many might be overestimating his value heading into next season.

OH SO CLOSE

Michael Fulmer had his start limited to 3.1 innings Wednesday due to rain which means he will end the year with 159 innings pitched. That leaves him three innings short of qualifying for the ERA title meaning he won’t show up on any of the leaderboard lists. He ends the year with an 11-6 record and 3.06 ERA as he limped to the finish line allowing 10 runs over his final 15.1 innings.

JUST ASKING ---

Who was better this season?

Pitcher A: 5-8, 3.73 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 95 Ks in 135 innings
Pitcher B: 6-8, 3.54 ERA, 1.62 WHIP with 98 Ks in 89 innings

Pitcher A is the winner, right?

That means Miguel Gonzalez had a better fantasy season than Blake Snell.

DFS DIAMONDS

*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.

CATCHER: Francisco Cervelli has hit .293 with a .370 OBP and 11 runs scored his last 11 games. He faces lefty Rob Zastryzny Thursday with a massive .385 batting average and .484 OBP against portsiders.    

FIRST BASE: Eric Hosmer has a .286/.356/.464 slash line against righties. He’s been an impressive producer in September with six homers and 23 RBI in 24 games. Lefties destroy Kyle Gibson for a .331 batting average along with a .809 OPS.

SECOND BASE: Logan Forsythe has hit .625 with three doubles and a homer in eight at-bats against Jose Quintana. Logan has an .800 OPS on the road and his SLG is .477 against lefties.

THIRD BASE: Batters are hitting .302 off Kendal Graveman in September as he’s posted a 5.70 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. Kyle Seager has a stupendous .308/.394/.543 slash line against righties this season with 66 RBI over 370 at-bats.

SHORTSTOP: Take a shot on a cheap option here. Jordy Mercer is a moderate performer, but he has been a very solid option anytime a lefty is on the hill with a .280/.379/.460 slash line. He faces lefty Rob Zastryzny.
 
OUTFIELD: Matt Kemp has hit three homers his last five games. He’s bashed Jeremy Hellickson for a homer, six RBI and a 1.122 OPS over 20 plate appearances. Hellickson has a 4.50 ERA and 1.29 WHIP on the road this season.     

OUTFIELD: Kevin Pillar has produced a .333 batting average with six runs and two steals his last nine games. In 17 plate appearances against Ubaldo Jimenez he’s hit .375 with a .912 OPS.   

OUTFIELD: Dexter Fowler has hit .32/.424/.580 over his last 12 games with three homers, three steals and 10 runs scored. Ivan Nova has really struggled his last two starts allowing 18 hits with 11 runs and just four strikeouts over seven innings.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).