MARTE MAY OR MAY NOT PLAY
Starling Marte is dealing with a back issue (back spasms). We all know that at this point. As for his playing time outlook, we know, well, not much. “We felt like we were getting really close to getting him able to go compete again, and then another tough day,” GM Neal Huntington said. “Now we need to take a deep breath and re-evaluate. The last thing we want to do is put somebody back out there when they’re not ready to compete and they could do some damage, or worse damage.”
That helps.
Marte hasn’t played since September 5th. If you’re setting your lineup today for the week, you leave him on the bench despite a .311 batting average, a .362 OBP and 47 steals. Stinks to high heaven and I know, as you might remember that I tried to draft Marte everywhere this season.
CASTRO DONE?
Starlin Castro’s first season with the Yankees is on the cusp of ending. Castro hurt his hamstring Sunday and he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain of his leg. Usually an injury of that level would take a couple of weeks to be resolved, and that obviously would torpedo his season. "It's hard to say. It really just depends on how quickly he heals," manager Joe Girardi said. "Hopefully it's not too long. Hopefully it's not more than a week, but still I think that's probably pushing it. But you're hoping that he heals quick." If this is it Castro will end his first season in pinstripes with a career best 21 homers, though his .273-21-69-62-4 line with a .743 OPS was pretty underwhelming.
Sounds like Ronald Torreyes and Donovan Solano will be seeing a lot of time at second base the final few weeks for those of you still making moves in AL-only leagues.
WHITE HOT BAT
Brandon Drury hasn’t been a comfortable start in mixed leagues for a while now. He started out on fire with a .898 OPS in April. He produced in May as well, but then things went into the dumper with a .513 OPS in June, in July (.648) and in August (.665). Things have turned back to April, and then some, in September. Drury hit a homer Sunday amongst his four hits against the Dodgers, and he even added two walks giving him five free passes in three games. Drury has gone bonkers in September with a .449/.534/.837 slash line. He’s also hit five homers, has driven in 14 runners and has scored 13 times in 13 games. Yours truly may have added Drury in a couple of leagues last night. Perhaps you should see if he’s available in your league.
REDS DECISIONS?
Brandon Finnegan may or may not make another start for the Reds, something I’ve mentioned a couple of times of late. “I feel like I've definitely shown I can handle starting," Finnegan said. "Hopefully one of these years we can make it to the playoffs and I can make more (than 30 starts).” You need to have a backup plan in place.
We have more clarity with Billy Hamilton. He’s been placed on the DL with an oblique issue and technically he’s eligible to return Tuesday. Hard to think that happens though. Hamilton can run, 57 steals last season in 114 games and 58 this season in 119 games, and he even hit better improving his laughable horrible .563 last season to a pathetic .664 this season. His outlook for next season is slightly higher.
TWO-TIME STARTERS
Must Starts: Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner, Noah Syndergaard, Johnny Cueto, Rick Porcello, Julio Teheran
Solid Starters: Jose Fernandez (WAS, ATL), Rich Hill (SF, COL), Carlos Rodon (@KC, @CLE), Kevin Gausman (BOS, ARI), Carlos Martinez (@COL, @CHC), A.J. Cole (@MIA, @PIT), Clayton Richard (ARI, SF)
Moderate Starters: Taijuan Walker (TOR, @MIN), Tyler Anderson (STL, @LAD), Matt Boyd (@MIN, KC), Jake Thompson (CWS, @NYM), Jhoulys Chacin (@TEX, @HOU), Joe Musgrove (@OAK, LAA), Robert Gsellman (ATL, PHI). Daniel Wright (@TEX, @HOU),
Risky Starters: Yordano Ventura (CWS, @DET), Edinson Volquez (@CLE, @DET), Hector Santiago (DET, SEA), Matt Garza (PIT, CIN), Eduardo Rodriguez (@BAL, ATB), Dylan Bundy (BOS, ARI), Steve Brault (@MIL, WAS), Brad Peacock (@OAK, LAA), Wei-Yin Chen (WAS, ATL), Josh Tomlin (KC, CWS), Braden Shipley (@SD, @BAL), Aaron Blair (it doesn’t matter).
DFS DIAMONDS
*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.
CATCHER: Jonathan Lucroy has hit .283 with a .813 OPS in September. That effort includes three homers and 11 RBI in 13 games. He takes on Jhoulys Chacin with a .317/.374/.512 slash line against righties this season.
FIRST BASE: Paul Goldschmidt crushes lefties with a .348/.493/.583 slash line. That’s a line that would make Ted Williams blush. Clayton Richard hasn’t been pitching poorly, but he’s not Clayton Kershaw.
SECOND BASE: DJ LeMahieu has hit .366 in the second half. He’s hit .371 in September (10 RBI, 10 runs and two steals in 16 games). He’s hit .390 at home. He’s hit .351 against righties. He’s 4-for-7 against Carlos Martinez.
THIRD BASE: Travis Shaw has gone 4-for-8 against Dylan Bundy who has slowed tremendously (check out Arms to Trust). Shaw has hit a passable .267/.335/.455 against righties and he’s been a bit better in September with a .293/.326/.537 slash line with 10 RBI in 13 September games.
SHORTSTOP: J.J. Hardy has hit .440 with 11 hits in 25 at-bats against Rick Porcello. He’s also produced a hit in 8-of-9 games and that includes seven RBI worth of production.
OUTFIELD: Seth Smith has hit three homers with nine RBI his last five games. He always rips up righties (.275/.360/.463). He takes on Marco Estrada who has been brutalized of late (25 runs over 28.2 innings).
OUTFIELD: Enrique Hernandez, otherwise known as Kiki Hernandez, has hit .327/.352/.596 in 20 career games against the Giants. Against Madison Bumgarner he’s hit .579/.579/1.263 with three homers in 19 at-bats. He also hit a homer Sunday.
OUTFIELD: Curtis Granderson has a .467 SLG and .796 OPS against righties this season. Over his last 12 games Granderson has hit six homers with 13 RBI. He takes on Aaron Blair who has been blasted all season long and of late (13 runs, last 8.1 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).