Daily baseball is all the rage in the fantasy sports world, so I will be covering the game a couple of times a week here at BaseballGuys.com. To that end, I’ve partnered with DraftDay.com to give all my wonderful followers, that’s you, the chance to play the game on a daily basis. On Tuesday and Thursday’s here at the site, every week, I’ll be giving you some insight into the mind of The Oracle as I will give you some of my best plays for the day – even if I’m willing to admit that daily games are a bit of a crap shoot given the difficulty in predicting how a handful of at-bats will work out.
To join a daily league remember to visit DraftDay.com by clicking on the link to their site.
One other source for those of you on Twitter. @MLBDailyLineups – lists all the lineups in one spot so you can make sure you don't have someone in your lineup that is sitting on the bench that day.
NOTE: There are only four night games tonight, so I'm going to change up the format a bit since there just isn't the volume of players we're used to seeing most days.
ORIOLES vs. BLUE JAYS
Adam Jones has killed Morrow hitting .387 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 31 ABs.Nick Markakis is hitting .280 in 25 at-bats.Chris Davis is hitting .143 with 8 Ks in 14 at-bats.Matt Wieters is awful at 2-for-18 (.111).Manny Machado is 1-for-7.
TWINS vs. TIGERS
Miguel Cabrera murders Diamond: .500 in 16 at-bats. Everyone else struggles against Diamond:Jhonny Peralta (.200 in 15 at-bats)Torii Hunter (.167 in 6 at-bats)Prince Fielder (.091 in 11 at-bats)Victor Martinez (.125 in 8 at-bats)
Josh Willingham clubs Porcello hitting .600-1-4 in 10 at-bats.Ryan Doumit also has success (4-for-10).Justin Morneau is at .231 with one HR in 26 at-bats.Joe Mauer is hitting .259 with a .333 OBP (27 at-bats).
INDIANS vs. RED SOX
No Red Sox player has 10 at-bats against McAllister making matchup talk difficult.Mike Carp and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are the only two with a homer. Carp and Dustin Pedroia are the only two with two RBIs.
Michael Bourn has stolen two bases while hitting .313 against Dempster (32 ABs).Mark Reynolds has three hits in 14 at-bats.Drew Stubbs is a mess going 4-for-21 with 7 Ks.
ANGELS vs. ROYALS
Billy Butler is 3-for-3 against Blanton.Jeff Francoeur has six hits and four RBIs leading to a .429 average.Alberto Callaspo has gone 4-for-9 against Santana.Josh Hamilton has seen Santana 37 times hitting .270-2-8.Albert Pujols is 0-for-2 in his career.
STARTING PITCHERS(First pitcher listed is on the road, second is at home)
Scott Diamond vs. DETRick Porcello vs. MIN
Diamond (.208 and .557 in 106 ABs) has had success against the Tigers, and that really doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, in his six starts. He's allowed 12 runs and four homers in his last two starts and is sporting a 1.44 WHIP and just 16 Ks in 39.2 innings this season. Terrible.
Porcello (.318 and .917 in 132 ABs) has a 5.92 ERA this season, but he's dropped that mark three runs in his last three starts as he's allowed a total of six runs. That 3.35 ERA in 91.1 innings agianst Minnesota is solid, but that 1.46 WHIP and just 46 strikeouts certainly leads to some trepidation.
Kevin Gausman vs. TORBrandon Morrow vs. BAL
For more on Gausman and my thoughts on what he brings to the table check out The Future Is Now.
Morrow (.259 and .861 in 166 ABs) has posted a 1.19 WHIP vs. the Orioles despite some less than scintillating career work against the club. On the year he continues to scuffle along with a 5.16 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, though at least that ERA number is a bit better at home this year at 4.07.
Zach McAllister vs. BOSRyan Dempster vs. CLE
McAllister (.254 and .847 in 59 ABs) has impressively struck out batters in 20 of those 59 at-bats versus the Red Sox. In eight starts this year he's yet to allow more than three runs in an outing though he's allowed six homers in his last six starts and hasn't exactly love pitching on the road (3.57 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in three starts).
Dempster (.255 and .765 in 102 ABs) started hot this year before being obliterated for 11 runs, three homers and seven walks in his last two starts. He's been solid at home this year with a 1.05 WHIP and 49 Ks in 37 IP.
Joe Blanton vs KCErvin Santana vs LAA
Blanton (.406 and 1.016 in 64 ABs) is pitching for his spot in the rotation with Jered Weaver close to returning. Despite the numbers he's posted against current Royals he has had some success against the organization over the years (2.96 ERA, 1.20 WHIP over seven starts). Still, 11 ER's and 23 hits over his last nine innings tell you all you really need to know.
Santana (.242 and .726 in 62 ABs) has been nails all season long allowing 0, 1 or 2 ER in five of eight starts. He's got a 1.84 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in four starts at home and the Angels are the middle of the pack at 8th in runs scored.
By Ray Flowers
Player News
Cam Smith is not in the starting lineup for the Astros on Wednesday against the Brewers.
Smith has struggled in his jump to the big leagues, slashing .212/.302/.365 in 26 games with a 30 percent strikeout rate. Zach Dezenzo will start in left field on Wednesday, with Chas McCormick getting the start in right field.
Amed Rosario is starting at third base and batting second for the Nationals on Wednesday against the Guardians.
Rosario has shifted back into a part-time role with Jose Tena playing well at third base. Tena will take a seat against a left-handed pitcher on Wednesday, as will Josh Bell with Alex Call entering the starting lineup and James Wood sliding to DH for the day.
David Festa allowed one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings for Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.
Festa also struck out seven and didn’t walk a single batter while throwing 50 of his 72 pitches for strikes. Minnesota still seems to want to limit how deep Festa pitches into games, but at this point, it may just be to save his pitches for later in the season. He and Zebby Matthews will continue to produce at Triple-A until Minnesota deems them worthy of regular spots in the MLB rotation.
Twins OF prospect Carson McCusker went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI, and a steal for Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
The massive 6'8" prospect is now up to nine home runs and a 1.071 OPS in 28 games so far this season. There is some swing-and-miss in his game, but that’s to be expected with a 6'8" power hitter. He also has a 41 percent hard hit rate and continues to do damage when he does make contact. McCusker is not a great defender and will likely only be a short-side platoon hitter in Minnesota, so there may not be tons of fantasy value, but with a very left-handed lineup, it makes sense for Minnesota to call him up and see if he can inject some power into the offense.
Marlins OF prospect Andrew Pintar went 4-for-4 with a stolen base, an RBI, and one run scored for Triple-A Jacksonville on Tuesday.
The speedy centerfielder is off to his best start in a professional season, slashing .315/.357/.348 in 28 games at Triple-A with 10 steals. He doesn’t hit for much power and is striking out more than he ever has before, so it’s fair to wonder if this lasts, but he did steal 24 bases last year in 102 games, so he could be a deep league option for speed alone if he were to get the call to come up to Miami at any point.
Zac Veen went 2-for-4 with two doubles for Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday.
Veen is now hitting .361 with two home runs, one steal, and a 1.051 OPS in 61 at-bats at Triple-A this season. At this point, it seems like the Rockies just need to let the 23-year-old figure it out at the MLB level, but it’s the Rockies, so they probably won’t.