Fantasy daily notes for May 2
Click through for information on specific matchups, injuries and weather for the day's games.
Starting pitcher rankings for May 2
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Kris Medlen | R | WSH | 10 | 1-3 | 3.26 | 1.35 | 0-2 | 4.42 | 1.42 |
| 2 |  | Kyle Kendrick | R | MIA | 5 | 2-1 | 2.41 | 1.10 | 2-0 | 1.29 | 0.96 |
| 3 |  | Ervin Santana | R | TB | 5 | 3-1 | 2.00 | 1.03 | 2-0 | 1.23 | 1.00 |
| 4 |  | Travis Wood | L | SD | 7 | 2-1 | 2.25 | 0.97 | 1-1 | 2.75 | 0.92 |
| 5 |  | Ryan Dempster | R | @TOR | 5 | 1-2 | 3.30 | 1.13 | 1-1 | 2.88 | 1.00 |
| 6 |  | Justin Grimm | R | CWS | 6 | 2-0 | 1.59 | 1.18 | 2-0 | 1.59 | 1.18 |
| 7 |  | Dan Haren | R | @ATL | 6 | 2-3 | 6.29 | 1.73 | 2-2 | 4.87 | 1.62 |
| 8 |  | Jake Peavy | R | @TEX | 5 | 3-1 | 3.38 | 1.13 | 2-0 | 2.18 | 1.06 |
| 9 |  | Jake Westbrook | R | @MIL | 4 | 1-1 | 0.98 | 1.37 | 1-0 | 1.29 | 1.24 |
| 10 |  | Rick Porcello | R | @HOU | 4 | 1-2 | 8.84 | 1.71 | 1-1 | 10.29 | 1.79 |
| 11 |  | Chris Tillman | R | @LAA | 5 | 1-1 | 4.73 | 1.61 | 1-1 | 3.52 | 1.39 |
| 12 |  | Wily Peralta | R | STL | 6 | 2-1 | 5.02 | 1.47 | 2-0 | 5.40 | 1.50 |
| 13 |  | Eric Stults | L | @CHC | 5 | 2-2 | 5.67 | 1.33 | 1-2 | 6.95 | 1.41 |
| 14 |  | Josh Johnson | R | BOS | 6 | 0-1 | 6.86 | 1.88 | 0-1 | 7.90 | 1.90 |
| 15 |  | Alex Sanabia | R | @PHI | 4 | 2-3 | 4.85 | 1.62 | 1-3 | 6.08 | 1.65 |
| 16 |  | Roberto Hernandez | R | @KC | 3 | 1-4 | 5.28 | 1.30 | 1-2 | 4.67 | 1.27 |
| 17 |  | Joe Blanton | R | BAL | 2 | 0-4 | 7.09 | 2.10 | 0-3 | 7.06 | 2.22 |
| 18 |  | Jordan Lyles | R | DET | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Rk.: The author's ranking of that pitcher for that day only. T: Pitcher throws left-handed or right-handed. Opp: The pitcher's opponent for the day. QR: "Quality Rating," or the starting pitcher's matchup rating -- separate from the author's ranking -- which accounts for past history (three years' worth as well as past 21 days), opponent and ballpark. OPS is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. So, 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. W-L: Pitcher's win-loss record. ERA: Pitcher's earned run average. WHIP: Pitcher's average number of walks plus hits surrendered per inning.
Most Daily Notes rankings I compile are top-heavy with aces, because let's face it, no matter where pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Justin Verlander, etc. are taking the mound, they're going to be starting in your fantasy rotation. Thursday's abbreviated nine-game schedule features just five pitchers that are owned in a majority of ESPN.com fantasy leagues (Kris Medlen, Ervin Santana, Jake Peavy, Ryan Dempster and Josh Johnson), but only Medlen and Santana are no-brainer starts in every fantasy league. Dempster has a tough matchup on the road versus the Toronto Blue Jays, but it's hard to justify sitting a pitcher allowing a .187 opponents' BA with 43 K's in 30 innings this season. So yes, he should stay in your rotation as well. As for the other two, Peavy is pitching in hitter-friendly Arlington against a Texas Rangers team that has blasted him for an .872 OPS and saddled the right-hander with an 0-2 record, 7.59 ERA and 1.59 WHIP. In smaller fantasy leagues (roto or head-to-head), I would not put Peavy in my starting lineup Thursday. And there is no way that I would start Johnson (6.86 ERA, 1.88 WHIP) in any fantasy format, as he is opposing Dempster and the mighty Boston Red Sox (.793 OPS, third in majors) and already has a lingering right triceps injury. But there are five sparsely owned pitchers that I really like for Thursday, and here's why:
I almost put Kyle Kendrick (30 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) as the top pitcher for Thursday, but I'd still rather have Medlen for one day. Kendrick has been unreal in his past four starts, though, going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and a respectable 6.8 K/9. The opponents (Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets twice) are all better offensively than Thursday's opponent, the Miami Marlins. Not only do the Marlins have 15 fewer runs than any other team in the majors, but their .593 OPS is 78 points lower than the next worst team (Minnesota Twins, .671 OPS). And their only legitimate major league hitter, Giancarlo Stanton, is now on the disabled list. Kendrick should have no problem dominating a team that he has completely owned since 2010, going a perfect 8-0 with a 2.15 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 6.8 K/9 against the Fish. Pick up the right-hander now before he cools off.
Travis Wood (22 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) has been consistently excellent all season, throwing five quality starts in five chances by lasting at least six innings in every outing and allowing two runs or fewer each time out. He also has done this against lineups -- the Milwaukee Brewers', Rangers', Reds') -- that are more dangerous than Thursday's opponent, the San Diego Padres. San Diego was averaging 3.15 runs on the road this season before Tuesday's 13-run outburst. Wood also has the good fortune of being opposed by Eric Stults, who has been horrible in his past four starts (6.95 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, .312 opponents' BA) and even worse in his three career starts at Wrigley Field (0-3, 7.24 ERA, 1.90 WHIP). Wood should be starting in all fantasy leagues Thursday.
Justin Grimm (9 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) has been tremendous in his first three starts this season (1.59 ERA), especially his last time out Friday, when he shut out the Twins for seven innings, allowing just five hits and no walks. On Thursday, he has the good fortune of drawing the only American League team with fewer runs scored than the Twins, as the Chicago White Sox pay a visit to Texas. Chicago finished April with a 3-8 road record, thanks in large part to a .287 on-base percentage during those games. The Sox drew a paltry 19 walks in these 11 contests, but still struck out 89 times. Considering, as I already mentioned, how poorly his mound opponent, Jake Peavy, has pitched versus the Rangers, I would start Grimm in all fantasy formats Thursday.
Dan Haren (45 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) is hopefully turning a corner after coming off his first quality start of the year Saturday, limiting the Reds to two runs in six innings, allowing just six hits and zero walks, with five strikeouts. He threw only 88 pitches in these six frames, which was much more economical than anything he had done all year. I'm not crazy about Haren's matchup against the slugging Atlanta Braves, who lead the majors in home runs, but this Braves team has slugged just .340 while striking out at least 10 times in each of its past six games. I still see Haren as a pitcher who should be owned in a majority of fantasy league setups; make sure you pick him up now before it's too late.
Jake Westbrook (18 percent ESPN.com fantasy ownership) is another stellar win candidate Thursday against struggling 23-year-old Wily Peralta, who has a 5.02 ERA, 15 K's and 12 walks in five starts this season. Westbrook has never been a big strikeout pitcher (5.1 K/9 in career), but he sure looked like one Saturday, when he had six whiffs and zero walks in six shutout innings versus the Pirates. And he usually has enjoyed facing the Brewers, with a 3.06 ERA in eight career starts against them, including a 3.00 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 30 innings at Miller Park. Despite his sub-1.00 ERA this season, I still see Westbrook as an NL-only option, but I think he'll keep that ERA low with another great outing Thursday.
Hitter matchup ratings for May 2
| Overall | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | No game scheduled | | 6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 6 | 2 | 9 | 6 | | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | |
 | No game scheduled |  | No game scheduled | |||||||
 | No game scheduled | | 4 | 8 | 1 | 4 | ||||
 | No game scheduled | | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||||
| | 9 | 10 | 6 | 7 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 8 | 10 | 5 | 6 |  | No game scheduled | ||||
| | 7 | 9 | 4 | 6 | | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | |
| | 7 | 5 | 7 | 1 | | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | |
 | No game scheduled | | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | ||||
| | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
Hitter ratings account for the opposing starting pitcher's past history (three years' worth as well as past 21 days) as well as ballpark factors. "LHB" and "RHB" ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively. OPS is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. So, 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.
• Josh Hamilton has swung at the first pitch 51.7 percent of the time this season, the highest rate in the league. According to Inside Edge, Hamilton has a well-hit ball in 13 percent of his at-bats where he puts the ball in play on the first pitch this season, ranked 152nd out of 195 hitters.
• Ryan Dempster has a 36.9 miss percentage, second only to Yu Darvish among pitchers with at least 5 starts . Dempster has struck out 35.3 percent of the batters he has faced this season, up 14 percentage points from his rate last year (21.3 percent).
• Ervin Santana has thrown a pitch in the strike zone 55.2 percent of the time this season, the 11th-highest rate among pitchers who have made at least 5 starts. As a team, the Rays have hit .269 in at-bats ending with a pitch in the strike zone, tied for seventh worst in the league.
• During his past 7 games, Edwin Encarnacion has seen a fastball 62 percent of the time and has hit a league-leading 7 home runs off of that pitch. During his first 20 games of the season, Encarnacion saw a fastball 50.3 percent of the time and hit 2 home runs on that pitch.
• Jake Peavy has thrown a strike 69.1 percent of the time this season, fourth best among pitchers with at least 5 starts.
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Nationals: He should be activated from the 15-day DL on Friday after playing in a rehab assignment in Single-A ball this week.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins: He was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring suffered Monday night. Triple-A call-up Marcell Ozuna likely will get the majority of action in right field until Stanton returns.
Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington Nationals: He felt irritation in his right forearm during Monday's start, but he's not expected to miss any time at this point.
Coco Crisp, OF, Oakland Athletics: He was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring. Crisp's replacement, Chris Young, also hurt his right quad Monday and hasn't played since. For Wednesday's game, Oakland started Yoenis Cespedes in center field, Seth Smith in left and put Luke Montz as the DH.
Jayson Werth, OF, Nationals: He missed Tuesday's game due to both a sore ankle and tight groin muscle, but he's considered day-to-day at this point. Tyler Moore replaced Werth in the outfield.
Carl Crawford, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers: He has been bothered by a tight hamstring and likely will miss Wednesday's game.
A.J. Pierzynski, C, Texas Rangers: He has not played since Sunday due to a sore right oblique. He is considered day-to-day and is being replaced by Geovany Soto behind the plate.
Brett Anderson, SP, Athletics: Placed on the 15-day DL with a sprained right ankle. Dan Straily will be his replacement in the rotation.
Nick Swisher, OF, Cleveland Indians: He sat out Tuesday's game with a sore left shoulder and is considered day-to-day.
Jordan Danks, OF, Chicago White Sox: He missed Tuesday's game with a sore right knee and is considered day-to-day.
Omar Infante, 2B, Detroit Tigers: He missed Wednesday's game with a sore knee and is considered day-to-day.
Ted Lilly, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: He left Monday's start after just three innings when he experienced tightness in his back. Lilly likely will miss his next start, and rookie Matt Magill is the likely replacement for the veteran left-hander.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies: He left Sunday's game with a left rotator cuff strain that occurred when he slid into home and hasn't played since. He is expected to return to action Wednesday, though.
Kevin Youkilis, 3B, New York Yankees: He was finally placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday due to a sprained back. Jayson Nix is his replacement.
Peter Bourjos, OF, Los Angeles Angels: He was placed on the DL after straining his hamstring Monday.
Neil Walker, 2B, Pittsburgh Pirates: He suffered a cut on his right index finger while sliding into second base on Friday and hasn't played after receiving stitches to mend the wound. Brandon Inge takes over at second base until Walker is ready to return, which could be later this week.
Travis Snider, OF, Pirates: He injured his right side on April 26 and hasn't started since. Snider was able to pinch-hit Tuesday. Garrett Jones is starting in Snider's place in right field with Gaby Sanchez manning first base.
Shane Victorino, OF, Red Sox: He hasn't played since April 24 because of inflammation in his lower back. The team is hoping he'll return during the mid-week series in Toronto, but a DL stint is still a possibility.
Chris Heisey, OF, Cincinnati Reds: He strained his hamstring Monday and was placed on the 15-day DL. Xavier Paul and Donald Lutz will be the starters in left field.
Mark Ellis, 2B, Dodgers: He left Friday's game with a strained right quad and hasn't played since. He's considered day-to-day.
