Madison Bumgarner can hit. Hunter Pence may be the most spastic, high level athlete in baseball. Paul Goldschmidt is likely done for the year (left hand fracture). None of that has any baring on the BVP matchups for Monday, August 4th, but it's still all true.
* 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.
DISH DIAMONDS – The Best Hitting Matchups of the Day
Erick Aybar has eight hits in 19 at-bats against Zack Greinke. That's good for a .421 batting average. He's also stolen two bags. Albert Pujols has also had success with seven hits in 20 at-bats. Only one RBI though.
Coco Crisp, if he plays, has eight hits in 18 at-bats against Alex Cobb. That's good.
Lucas Duda blasts veteran Tim Hudson all over the yard. In 28 at-bats he's hit .393 with a homer and four RBIs. Ruben Tejada is at .348 over 23 at-bats.
Animals are better than people.
Jacoby Ellsbury has only nine at-bats against Max Scherzer. He's rapped out five hits, one being a homer, and he's driven in five runners as well.
Torii Hunter has had a nice career against Brandon McCarthy with eight hit (a homer) in 16 at-bats. Victor Martinez has a homer an a 1.083 OPS over 24 plate appearances.
DISH DISASTERS – Worst Hitting Matchups of the Day
Brett Gardner has no hits in nine at-bats against Max Scherzer. He's whiffed four times.
Josh Hamilton you are not good against Zack Greinke. Josh Hamilton you blow chunks of half eaten refuse when you face Zack Greinke. Hamilton has struck out in 41 percent of his at-bats against Greinke and has one hit in 22 at-bats.
Ian Kinsler has one RBI to go along with a .578 OPS over 20 plate appearances with Brandon McCarthy on the bump. Alex Avila is 2-for-11.
Hunter Pence has two hits in 16 at-bats versus Dillon Gee. He's also whiffed five times.
Howard the Duck returns.
Josh Reddick has no hits, and five strikeouts, in 12 at-bats against Alex Cobb. Alberto Callaspo is 0-for-11. Eric Sogard is 1-for-11. Brandon Moss is 2-for-12. John Jaso and Josh Donaldson each have gone 0-for-10. That entire group also has ONE run batted in against Cobb.
David Wright has 80 at-bats against Tim Hudson. Yeah, large sample size. It's a bunch of blah too. He's hit .238 with a .315 OBP and .375 SLG. Blows doors on Eric Young Jr. who has 10 hitless at-bats.
Bookmark the following four sources to check daily after you read this piece.
Batter Versus Pitcher
Daily Projections – For every single day of the season.
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MOUND MAVENS – Starting Pitchers to Target
Alex Cobb has dominated the Athletics. You read the numbers above, right? In 110 plate appearances check out the slash line he's held the A's to: .192/.236/.298. Over 42.1 innings he's the owner of a 2.34 ERA and 1.13 WHIP against the club.
Tim Hudson takes on the Mets in the Big Apple Monday. He faced the Mets back on June 7th and wasn't impressive (5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER). Still, he's posted a 2.13 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 10 road starts this season, and over his last three outings he's walked three batters while allowing four earned runs.
Zack Greinke vs. the Angels at home. Greinke has 23 strikeouts, two walks and one run allowed in his last two outings. He's also got a 2.52 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in nine home starts.
Garrett Richards @ the Dodgers Monday. Richards has been great this season, but he's allowed eight runs over his last two outings. The Dodgers are also 5th in baseball in OPS against righties, but it's hard to turn away from Richards who last three fewer than six innings back on May 30th. He's also sporting a 2.14 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 12 road starts on the campaign.
Tanner Roark faces the Orioles, at home, for interleague play. Check out what he has done lately. We're talking 4-straight wins during which time he's allowed one earned run each time out. Notice his ERA is down to 2.74? Roark has also crushed it at home this year with a 1.94 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 10 starts.
Corey Kluber at home versus the Reds. Yeah, good matchup. Corey Kluber is a star. Over his last nine starts: 12 earned runs allowed as his ERA has dropped from 3.35 to 2.61. He's also got a 2.68 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 11 home outings this season.
MOUND MESSES – Starting Pitchers to Avoid
Kevin Gausman takes on the Nationals Monday in Washington. In his lone start against the Nationals he was obliterated for seven runs over four innings. In four road starts this season his ERA is an unsightly 1.50. Gausman has also seen his ERA for from 3.29 to 3.70 over his last three starts. What's happened to the K ball too? Just five punchouts over his last 13.2 innings.
Dillon Gee is at home toeing the slab against the Giants. Not good. Over his last three starts he's looked pitching machine like with 15 earned runs allowed over 16.2 innings as his ERA has gone from 2.56 to 3.77. He's also been lit up like a Christmas Tree in December when he faces the Giants: 6.75 ERA, 1.88 WHIP over 16 innings.
Brandon McCarthy versus the Tigers at home. The Tigers are good. McCarthy isn't very good. How is that for some astute analysis? More meaningful is the Tigers .755 OPS versus righties, the third best mark in baseball. McCarthy has won three of his four Yankees starts, but even so batters have hit .280 off him and his WHIP is 1.30.
Jeff Samardzija faces the Rays at home. In five starts with the Athletics his ERA is a bit up at 3.19, but the nearly seven to one K/BB ratio and the 0.82 WHIP tell the real story. Oakland is a good place to pitch, but the Rays are hitting .272 with a .360 OBP the past two weeks, and JS has allowed five homers in his last four games as he's been leaving a few pitches up in the zone.
Alfredo Simon faces the Indians at Progressive Field. Simon has lost his last three starts. He's allowed four homers in five starts. He's failed to record 16 outings two of his last three starts. The Indians are 4th in baseball in OPS against righties. Simon is still holding the opposition in check, but the innings are mounting as are the hits (20 over his last 16.1 innings).
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