Friday Lineup Card: Pham!

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Projected Starters - A look at Friday's matchups (all times Eastern)

Cardinals (Lance Lynn – R) at Cubs (Dan Haren – R), 2:20
Marlins (Jose Fernandez – R) at Nationals (Max Scherzer – R), 7:05
Red Sox (Wade Miley – L) at Blue Jays (Marcus Stroman – R), 7:07
Royals (Johnny Cueto – R) at Tigers (Justin Verlander – R), 7:08
Orioles (Wei-Yin Chen – L) at Rays (Drew Smyly – L), 7:10
White Sox (Chris Sale – L) at Indians (Cody Anderson – R), 7:10
Yankees (Masahiro Tanaka – R) at Mets (Steven Matz – L), 7:10
Phillies (Adam Morgan – L) at Braves (Williams Perez – R), 7:35
Mariners (James Paxton – L) at Rangers (Yovani Gallardo – R), 8:05
Angels (Andrew Heaney – L) at Twins (Mike Pelfrey – R), 8:10
Reds (Brandon Finnegan – L) at Brewers (Zach Davies – R), 8:10
Athletics (Felix Doubront – L) at Astros (Mike Fiers – R), 8:10
Padres (Ian Kennedy – R) at Rockies (Chad Bettis – R), 8:40
Pirates (Jeff Locke – L) at Dodgers (Zack Greinke – R), 10:10
Diamondbacks (Rubby De La Rosa – R) at Giants (Madison Bumgarner – L), 10:15

Day Game After Night Game: STL/CHC

Injuries

Day-to-Day

Billy Burns, OF, OAK (Hamstring) – Expected to return to the lineup over the weekend.
Xavier Cedeno, RP, TB (Side) – Threw to batters Thursday.
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, TB (Knee) – After an MRI showed no damage, hopes to return to action over the next few days.
Jung-Ho Kang, SS, PIT (Knee) – Left Thursday's game after being taken out by a hard slide.
Stephen Vogt, C, OAK (Groin) – Did not start Thursday.
Trayce Thompson, OF, CHW (Elbow) – Did not start Thursday.
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, COL (Foot) – Did not play on Wednesday due to fouling a ball off his foot.
Trevor May, RP, MIN (Hip) – May miss Thursday and Friday's game action.
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, ATL (Oblique) – Did not start on Thursday.
Carlos Gomez, OF, HOU (Back) – Went through drills on Thursday, but did not swing a bat.
J.B. Shuck, OF, CHW (Hamstring) – Left Thursday's game with soreness.
Adeiny Hechavarria, SS, MIA (Hamstring) – Did not start on Thursday.

Out

Logan Darnell, RP, MIN (Illness) – Has been diagnosed with pneumonia.
Manny Banuelos, SP, ATL (Elbow) – Underwent surgery to remove a bone spur.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, TOR (Shoulder) – Visited a specialist in Boston on Thursday.

Players on the DL

Elvis Araujo, RP, PHI (Groin) – Threw a bullpen session on Thursday.
Devon Travis, 2B, TOR (Shoulder) – Will undergo shoulder surgery next Wednesday.
Jake McGee, RP, TB (Knee) – Will pitch a simulated game on Sunday.

Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Activated from the DL

Jorge Soler, OF, CHC
Jason Castro, C, HOU

Closer Watch

Chicago Cubs – You have to love the unexpected pitcher snagging a save, right? I guess most of us really don't, but it's still an interesting topic of conversation. The question being: Does Travis Wood continue to get saves down the stretch? No, of course not. Still, it was neat to see him come on and pitch two innings and strike out FIVE hitters. Wood threw 18-of-25 pitches for strikes and picked up his second save of the year as he shut down the Pirates in a close divisional matchup that certainly has playoff implications.

Key Matchups

Hot Batter Matchups – September 18, 2015

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
D. Fowler	OF	CHC vs STL 2:20PM	L. Lynn	12	5	2	1	3	2	1	.417	.500	.750	1.250
A. Rizzo	1B	CHC vs STL 2:20PM	L. Lynn	27	8	4	2	7	4	5	.296	.406	.593	.999
M. Holliday	OF	STL @ CHC 2:20PM	D. Haren	26	8	5	3	6	2	7	.308	.379	.731	1.110
J. Jay	OF	STL @ CHC 2:20PM	D. Haren	10	4	1	0	0	0	2	.400	.400	.500	.900
B. Moss	1B	STL @ CHC 2:20PM	D. Haren	10	3	2	1	3	0	4	.300	.300	.700	1.000
M. Prado	3B	MIA @ WAS 7:05PM	M. Scherzer	19	9	3	1	2	0	2	.474	.474	.737	1.211
D. Barney	2B	TOR vs BOS 7:07PM	W. Miley	11	4	1	0	1	2	1	.364	.462	.455	.916
T. Collins	OF	DET vs KC 7:08PM	J. Cueto	10	3	3	0	0	0	0	.300	.300	.600	.900
K. Morales	1B	KC @ DET 7:08PM	J. Verlander	30	11	6	2	10	0	7	.367	.367	.700	1.067
S. Perez	C	KC @ DET 7:08PM	J. Verlander	41	20	9	2	13	0	6	.488	.465	.805	1.270
A. Rios	OF	KC @ DET 7:08PM	J. Verlander	46	17	6	0	7	4	10	.370	.420	.543	.963
R. Raburn	OF	CLE vs CWS 7:10PM	C. Sale	33	10	7	4	7	4	11	.303	.378	.758	1.136
C. Rasmus	OF	HOU vs OAK 8:10PM	F. Doubront	17	7	5	1	4	1	4	.412	.444	.941	1.386
C. Iannetta	C	LAA @ MIN 8:10PM	M. Pelfrey	13	6	1	1	1	3	2	.462	.611	.692	1.303
D. Descalso	2B	COL vs SD 8:40PM	I. Kennedy	13	4	2	1	3	1	5	.308	.357	.615	.973
D. LeMahieu	2B	COL vs SD 8:40PM	I. Kennedy	25	10	6	1	5	4	3	.400	.483	.760	1.243
A. McCutchen	OF	PIT @ LAD 10:10PM	Z. Greinke	24	7	5	1	3	2	5	.292	.346	.625	.971
M. Morse	OF	PIT @ LAD 10:10PM	Z. Greinke	17	6	1	1	3	1	6	.353	.421	.529	.950
W. Castillo	C	ARI @ SF 10:15PM	M. Bumgarner	12	4	2	1	2	1	6	.333	.385	.667	1.051
P. Goldschmidt	1B	ARI @ SF 10:15PM	M. Bumgarner	36	10	5	2	6	6	8	.278	.372	.528	.900
B. Crawford	SS	SF vs ARI 10:15PM	R. De La Rosa	12	5	2	2	3	0	2	.417	.417	.917	1.333

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Hot Pitcher Matchups – September 18, 2015

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Max Scherzer	WAS vs MIA 7:05PM	138	36	11	4	9	4	30	.261	.282	.400	.682
Jose Fernandez	MIA @ WAS 7:05PM	82	13	4	1	6	8	30	.159	.231	.236	.467
Johnny Cueto	KC @ DET 7:08PM	102	22	9	1	9	7	16	.216	.278	.349	.627
Drew Smyly	TB vs BAL 7:10PM	84	12	6	3	3	6	32	.143	.200	.272	.472
Yovani Gallardo	TEX vs SEA 8:05PM	82	17	3	2	6	10	19	.207	.293	.303	.596
Zack Greinke	LAD vs PIT 10:10PM	140	34	12	6	20	5	34	.243	.278	.425	.703

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Batter Matchups – September 18, 2015

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
M. Montero	C	CHC vs STL 2:20PM	L. Lynn	11	1	0	0	1	3	2	.091	.286	.091	.377
M. Carpenter	3B	STL @ CHC 2:20PM	D. Haren	11	0	0	0	0	1	5	.000	.083	.000	.083
M. Reynolds	1B	STL @ CHC 2:20PM	D. Haren	16	2	2	1	1	1	7	.125	.176	.375	.551
J. Bour	1B	MIA @ WAS 7:05PM	M. Scherzer	10	2	0	0	0	0	3	.200	.200	.200	.400
J. Mathis	C	MIA @ WAS 7:05PM	M. Scherzer	10	2	1	0	0	0	2	.200	.200	.300	.500
I. Desmond	SS	WAS vs MIA 7:05PM	J. Fernandez	14	0	0	0	0	0	10	.000	.000	.000	.000
J. Werth	OF	WAS vs MIA 7:05PM	J. Fernandez	12	1	1	1	4	1	4	.083	.143	.333	.476
N. Castellanos	3B	DET vs KC 7:08PM	J. Cueto	10	1	0	0	0	1	1	.100	.182	.100	.282
V. Martinez	1B	DET vs KC 7:08PM	J. Cueto	16	0	0	0	1	1	3	.000	.059	.000	.059
A. Escobar	SS	KC @ DET 7:08PM	J. Verlander	63	12	3	0	4	2	5	.190	.227	.238	.465
O. Infante	2B	KC @ DET 7:08PM	J. Verlander	25	4	2	1	6	1	1	.160	.192	.320	.512
M. Moustakas	3B	KC @ DET 7:08PM	J. Verlander	53	10	1	1	3	1	11	.189	.204	.245	.449
C. Davis	1B	BAL @ TB 7:10PM	D. Smyly	14	2	2	2	2	0	8	.143	.143	.571	.714
A. Jones	OF	BAL @ TB 7:10PM	D. Smyly	15	2	1	1	1	0	6	.133	.133	.333	.467
S. Pearce	OF	BAL @ TB 7:10PM	D. Smyly	10	1	0	0	0	3	4	.100	.308	.100	.408
M. Aviles	2B	CLE vs CWS 7:10PM	C. Sale	27	4	1	1	1	2	2	.148	.207	.259	.466
M. Brantley	OF	CLE vs CWS 7:10PM	C. Sale	29	4	2	0	2	1	12	.138	.194	.207	.400
L. Morrison	1B	SEA @ TEX 8:05PM	Y. Gallardo	18	1	0	0	0	2	5	.056	.150	.056	.206
S. Smith	OF	SEA @ TEX 8:05PM	Y. Gallardo	24	3	0	0	1	3	6	.125	.222	.125	.347
C. Blackmon	OF	COL vs SD 8:40PM	I. Kennedy	24	6	1	0	3	0	10	.250	.308	.292	.599
C. Dickerson	OF	COL vs SD 8:40PM	I. Kennedy	15	2	1	0	0	0	7	.133	.133	.200	.333
C. Gonzalez	OF	COL vs SD 8:40PM	I. Kennedy	35	5	4	2	2	1	15	.143	.167	.371	.538
J. Reyes	SS	COL vs SD 8:40PM	I. Kennedy	11	2	0	0	1	1	2	.182	.250	.182	.432
C. Heisey	OF	LAD vs PIT 10:10PM	J. Locke	11	1	0	0	0	0	3	.091	.091	.091	.182
T. Snider	OF	PIT @ LAD 10:10PM	Z. Greinke	11	1	0	0	0	0	2	.091	.091	.091	.182
N. Walker	2B	PIT @ LAD 10:10PM	Z. Greinke	21	4	3	2	5	1	3	.190	.261	.524	.785
C. Owings	SS	ARI @ SF 10:15PM	M. Bumgarner	19	2	0	0	0	0	6	.105	.105	.105	.211

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Pitcher Matchups – September 18, 2015

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Lance Lynn	STL @ CHC 2:20PM	124	38	16	3	20	12	29	.306	.372	.497	.869
Wade Miley	BOS @ TOR 7:07PM	62	20	7	2	8	9	18	.323	.402	.524	.926

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Thomas Pham, OF, St. Louis Cardinals – Anytime a hitter smacks three homers over his last two games played, you take notice. Pham is more of an NL-only play, although as long as he sneaks in at-bats he could be of mixed-league value. There is a question of at-bats with Matt Holliday being recently activated from the DL, and assuming Randal Grichuk gets healthy enough to start every day; however, I'm willing to take the chance on Pham in case Grichuk is a relegated pinch hitter with his health in question. Even if the Cardinals play Pham sparingly, the bump in power is intriguing enough to take a chance on the 27-year old "youngster".

Other Recent Recommendations:Kelby Tomlinson, Nolan Reimold, Corey Seager, Steven Souza, Colby Rasmus, Marcus Stroman and Vidal Nuno.

DraftKings Value Picks

SP: Johnny Cueto, KC ($7,700)
C: J.P. Arencibia, TB ($4,200)
1B: Eric Hosmer, KC ($4,000)
2B: Robinson Cano, SEA ($3,800)
SS: Jean Segura, MIL ($3,800)
3B: Matt Duffy, SF ($3,900)
OF: Jay Bruce, CIN ($3,900)