|
In baseball, they always say that wins in June count just as much as wins in September, right? An analogy for fantasy managers is that stats earned halfway through your head-to-head matchup count just as much as those in the final weekend. The difference, of course, is that there's slightly less demand now as desperation hasn't set in. Plus, Saturday's slate is stable, with everyone scheduled to go -- and likely without any restrictions. This time next week, playoff-bound teams will be limiting innings, while other teams will be playing it safe with anyone showing any signs of injury. Now is the time to put the pedal to the metal so you aren't left hoping for a miracle next week. To that end, here are some recommendations to consider, all available in over 50 percent of ESPN leagues.
PitchingPitchers to stream Jakob Junis (R), rostered in 44 percent of ESPN leagues, Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers: Junis is finishing the 2018 campaign strong, posting a 2.76 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over his last eight starts, supported by 47 strikeouts to only six walks in those 49 innings. Though, to be fair, he's coming off a clunker last time out against the Twins. Still, facing a weak Tigers offense with a proclivity for fanning, Junis is in a great spot to further his second-half roll. Lance Lynn (R), 33 percent, New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles: With the AL East now officially decided, the Yankees still have something to play for. After all, they don't really want to fly 3,000 miles across the country to face the Athletics in the wild-card game. They're currently ahead of Oakland and looking to lengthen their lead against the lowly Orioles. While Lynn's 4.47 ERA in pinstripes suggests he has struggled since being traded to the Bronx, the truth is that he has pitched well, with a sparkling 2.14 FIP and 2.90 xFIP. Apparently, Lady Luck wasn't included in the trade. Expect Lynn to turn in another solid performance. Jose Urena (R), 24 percent, Miami Marlins vs. Cincinnati Reds: Since the Juan Soto incident, Urena has surrendered no more than one run in four of his five outings. In fact, Urena is 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 0.82 WHIP this month. Not only are the Reds incurring a huge park downgrade, their offense has been sputtering since the break. Tyler Glasnow (R), 17 percent, Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays: Glasnow is like Longfellow's girl with the curl -- three of his last four efforts were very, very good, but the fourth was horrid. At 6-foot-10, Glasnow still struggles with finding a consistent release point. As such, he's your risk/reward option, best deployed if you're in a matchup with a team full of better pitching. Some fantasy managers may be reticent since the poor effort was against Saturday's opponent, the Blue Jays. One start is not enough to draw any conclusions. Granted, Toronto has been hitting right-handers well lately, but that's why this choice isn't for everyone. Adam Wainwright (R), 17 percent, St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants: The Cardinals are in the race for a wild-card berth. While Wainwright may not be the same thoroughbred he was in the days of yesteryear, he's also not yet ready to be put out to pasture. He threw six scoreless innings his last time out against the Dodgers, fanning nine while allowing just a pair of knocks. For the last month, only the Diamondbacks have hit worse, or fanned more against right-handers, than have the Giants. Bullpen The Yankees called upon Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning of Thursday's tilt with the Red Sox, his first appearance since being sent to the disabled list with left knee tendinitis. The AL East champs got to Chapman for three earned runs in 2/3 of an inning in their title-clinching victory. While Chapman may still return to the closer role, Yankees skipper Aaron Boone will likely stick with Zach Britton until Chapman works some clean innings. Projected game scores
HittingCatcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R), 7 percent, Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners (LHP Marco Gonzales): The Rangers have been using a three-man rotation behind the plate as the season winds down. However, even if he's not squatting, Kiner-Falefa's chances of being in the lineup are strong, especially with a left-hander on the hill. The catcher/infielder has an .824 OPS when batting with the platoon edge. Gonzales could be showing signs of wearing down as he's thrown a career-high -- by far -- number of innings. Since the break, the southpaw has registered a 6.59 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. First Base Ryan O'Hearn (L), 15 percent, Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers (RHP Jordan Zimmermann): O'Hearn continues to justify the attention he's received in this space over the season's second half, recording a 1.146 OPS over the past three weeks, with most of the damage coming with a right-hander on the hill. Second Base Kolten Wong (L), 1 percent, St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants (RHP Dereck Rodriguez): While the numbers back this play, some of this recommendation is based on a hunch. The Cardinals have often given Matt Carpenter the day off for a matinee following a night game. Saturday's affair fits this mold. The last time this occurred, Wong led off. Not only would this give Wong another at-bat, but with Buster Posey out for the season, the Giants are far less adept at nabbing would-be base stealers. Third Base Rafael Devers (L), 38 percent, Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Indians (RHP Mike Clevinger): Other than lining up their rotation and regaining confidence in their bullpen, the remaining chore for Boston is to settle on a third baseman for the playoff run. Devers needs to hit over the final week-plus to earn the spot, as his defense continues to be spotty. Clevinger has had a fine campaign, but if he has a weakness, it's facing lefty swingers, against which his .317 wOBA is significantly higher than his .261 mark facing right-handed bats. Shortstop Amed Rosario (R), 40 percent, New York Mets at Washington Nationals (RHP Austin Voth): Rosario, along with Adalberto Mondesi, will be the subject of a ton of offseason discussion with respect to his rank among an already supple shortstop inventory. Rosario's résumé includes a 285/.313/.417 slash line, with a valuable 15 steals in 20 tries. In September, he has improved to .338/.358/.519. Corner Infield C.J. Cron (R), 22 percent, Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays (LHP Thomas Pannone): Cron continues to stealthily get it done, blasting 27 of the league's quietest homers through Thursday's action. Pannone has pitched well at times in his initial 31 frames, with the main blemish being that he has allowed all five of his homers to right-handed batters. Middle Infield JT Riddle (L), under 1 percent, Miami Marlins vs. Cincinnati Reds (RHP Anthony DeSclafani): It's too bad Riddle doesn't run much, since he's in the ideal spot for a steal -- batting leadoff against DeSclafani. Still, Desclafani is generous with the long ball, serving up 22 homers in just 104.1 frames this season. On the other side of the equation, 10 of Riddle's 12 career dingers have come against RHP. Lewis Brinson is the best Marlins player to deploy if you're looking to take advantage of the club's "10" rating in steals. Outfield Joc Pederson (L), 18 percent, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres (RHP Jacob Nix): With Los Angeles having played three games against left-handed starters (and also getting a day off) since his two-homer game against the Rockies last Monday, Pederson is likely quite eager to hit leadoff against a vulnerable rookie like Nix. San Diego's freshman hurler carries a 5.75 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP into Dodger Stadium. Victor Robles (R), 7 percent, Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets (RHP Corey Oswalt): Robles isn't assured of playing, but with his speed, it's worth checking to see if he's in the lineup as the Nationals check in with a healthy "9" steals rating. When playing, Robles usually leads off, increasing the chances that he'll be given the green light. Nick Martini (L), 1 percent, Oakland Athletics vs. Minnesota Twins (RHP Chase De Jong): The Athletics are managed like a Strat-O-Matic team, and with great success. Martini platoons with Mark Canha in left field, hitting atop the order against RHP. His 39 percent on-base clip plays well in points leagues, especially since it typically leads to runs once Oakland's power hitters start hacking. There should be plenty of chances to score with the pedestrian De Jong on the hill. Hitter matchup ratingsHitter ratings account for the opposing starting pitcher's history (three years' worth), as well as ballpark factors. "LH" and "RH" ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively. Weighted on-base average (wOBA) is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1 to 10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. 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.
|
