This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters - A look at Sunday's matchups (all times Eastern)DET (Alfredo Simon – R) at TOR (Mark Buehrle – L) 1:07 PM
BOS (Wade Miley – L) at NYM (Noah Syndergaard – R) 1:10 PM
LAA (Jered Weaver – R) at CLE (Josh Tomlin – R) 1:10 PM
KC (Danny Duffy – L) at TB (Nathan Karns – R) 1:10 PM
NYY (Nathan Eovaldi – R) at ATL (Julio Teheran – R) 1:35 PM
MIA (Brad Hand – L) at WAS (Stephen Strasburg – R) 1:35 PM
SD (James Shields – R) at PHI (Alec Asher – R) 1:35 PM
COL (Jorge De La Rosa – L) at PIT (Charlie Morton – R) 1:35 PM
SEA (Edgar Olmos – L) at CWS (Jose Quintana – L) 2:10 PM
CIN (John Lamb – L) at MIL (Wily Peralta – R) 2:10 PM
HOU (Lance McCullers – R) at MIN (Ervin Santana – R) 2:10 PM
BAL (Miguel Gonzalez – R) at TEX (Derek Holland – L) 3:05 PM
STL (Jaime Garcia – R) at SF (Chris Heston – R) 4:05 PM
OAK (Jesse Chavez – R) at ARI (Robbie Ray – L) 4:10 PM
CHC (Jake Arrieta – R) at LAD (Alex Wood – L) 8:00 PM
Day Game After Night Game: MIA/WAS, SD/PHI, COL/PIT, SEA/CWS, LAA/CLE, CIN/MIN, HOU/MIN, NYY/ATL, BAL/TEX, OAK/ARI
Injuries
Out
None
Day-to-Day
Lance Lynn, SP, STL - (Ankle) Left Saturday's game after sustaining a right ankle injury.
Alex Rios, OF, KC - (Illness) Scratched shortly before Saturday's game and was replaced by Jarrod Dyson.
Carlos Correa, SS, HOU - (Hamstring) Lobbied to start Sunday; likely nearing return to the lineup.
Rougned Odor, 2B, TEX - (Finger) Missed fourth straight game Saturday, but does not appear in danger of landing on DL.
Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY - (Leg) Missed his 10th game in his last 11 Saturday.
Ryan Hanigan, C, BOS - (Hamstring) Scratched from Saturday's lineup and could take a few days of recovery.
Christian Yelich, OF, MIA - (Knee) Remained out of the lineup Saturday; uncertain return Sunday.
Michael Taylor, OF, WAS - (Leg) Out of the lineup Saturday; will likely reclaim center field when healthy.
Yunel Escobar, SS, WAS - (Hand) Did not start Saturday for a second straight game.
David Ortiz, DH, BOS - (Heel) Was available off the bench Saturday; uncertain to return Sunday.
David Wright, 3B, NYM - (Shoulder) Experiencing stiffness, but is not expected to be affected moving forward.
Buster Posey, C, SF - (Elbow) Expects to return to the lineup Sunday after dealing with soreness from being by a pitch.
Hanley Ramirez, OF, BOS - (Shoulder) Sidelined by fatigue Saturday; no word on how much time he will miss.
Players on the DL
Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX - (Knee) Will likely be activated Tuesday, but will be relegated to a pinch-hitting role.
A.J. Burnett, SP, PIT - (Elbow) Will pitch in a simulated game Sunday and remains on pace to return in mid-September.
Denard Span, OF, WAS - (Hip) Was officially diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left hip; will miss an estimated 4-to-6 months.
Alex Gordon, OF, KC - (Groin) Could rejoin the Royals on Tuesday.
George Springer, OF, HOU - (Wrist) Began a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday.
Manny Banuelos, SP, ATL - (Elbow) Expected to rejoin rotation when rosters expand Saturday, but cannot throw more than three innings at a time.
Phil Hughes, SP, MIN - (Back) Played catch on flat ground Friday; targeting mid-September return.
Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.
Placed on the DL
Jason Castro, C, HOU - (Quad)
Zach Putnam, RP, CWS – (Groin)
Called Up
Max Stassi, C, HOU
Jake Brigham, RP, ATL
Drew Hutchison, SP, TOR
Aaron Brooks, RP, OAK
Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Williams Perez, RP, ATL
Ty Kelly, 2B, TOR
Danny Dorn, RF, TOR
Josh Thole, C, TOR
Max Muncy, 1B, OAK
Closer Watch
Kansas City Royals – Wade Davis continues to prove why there was no concern in KC when All-Star closer Greg Holland was rendered unavailable by a balky shoulder in the middle of a pennant race. Davis has locked down leads in the ninth inning 13 times this season, including yet another perfect frame Saturday. His peripherals have been among the strongest in baseball each of the last two years, and this year might be his best as a professional. Sporting a miniscule 0.99 ERA and 0.82 WHIP to go along with 63 strikeouts on the season, Davis will continue to serve in the closer's role until Holland's return. Despite the fact Holland will soon be back in the Royals' bullpen, Kansas City remains one of the rare teams with two relief pitchers entirely worth rostering.
Hot Batter Matchups – August 30, 2015Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| V. Martinez | 1B | DET @ TOR 1:07PM | M. Buehrle | 78 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 7 | .359 | .370 | .538 | .909 |
| M. Aviles | 2B | CLE vs LAA 1:10PM | J. Weaver | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .400 | .455 | .500 | .955 |
| L. Chisenhall | 3B | CLE vs LAA 1:10PM | J. Weaver | 17 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | .412 | .412 | .765 | 1.176 |
| C. Santana | 1B | CLE vs LAA 1:10PM | J. Weaver | 23 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | .522 | .593 | .826 | 1.419 |
| C. Gonzalez | OF | COL @ PIT 1:35PM | C. Morton | 15 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .333 | .412 | .600 | 1.012 |
| M. Ozuna | OF | MIA @ WAS 1:35PM | S. Strasburg | 17 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | .412 | .474 | .765 | 1.238 |
| A. McCutchen | OF | PIT vs COL 1:35PM | J. De La Rosa | 16 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | .313 | .450 | .563 | 1.013 |
| A. Ramirez | 3B | PIT vs COL 1:35PM | J. De La Rosa | 11 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .364 | .500 | .818 | 1.318 |
| D. Espinosa | 2B | WAS vs MIA 1:35PM | B. Hand | 11 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .455 | .500 | .818 | 1.318 |
| B. Harper | OF | WAS vs MIA 1:35PM | B. Hand | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .300 | .300 | .800 | 1.100 |
| A. Rendon | 2B | WAS vs MIA 1:35PM | B. Hand | 11 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .455 | .455 | .636 | 1.091 |
| J. Votto | 1B | CIN @ MIL 2:10PM | W. Peralta | 22 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | .318 | .423 | .500 | .923 |
| C. Gomez | OF | HOU @ MIN 2:10PM | E. Santana | 15 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | .333 | .333 | .600 | .933 |
| M. Moreland | 1B | TEX vs BAL 3:05PM | M. Gonzalez | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .400 | .400 | .700 | 1.100 |
| J. Maxwell | OF | SF vs STL 4:05PM | J. Garcia | 14 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | .429 | .529 | .857 | 1.387 |
| C. Crawford | OF | LAD vs CHC 8:05PM | J. Arrieta | 11 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .455 | .538 | .909 | 1.448 |
| A. Gonzalez | 1B | LAD vs CHC 8:05PM | J. Arrieta | 15 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .333 | .375 | .600 | .975 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Hot Pitcher Matchups – August 30, 2015Hot Pitcher Matchups – August 30, 2015Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Nathan Eovaldi | NYY @ ATL 1:35PM | 78 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 7 | .218 | .265 | .324 | .589 |
Cold Batter Matchups – August 30, 2015Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| R. Martin | C | TOR vs DET 1:07PM | A. Simon | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .091 | .286 | .182 | .468 |
| Y. Gomes | C | CLE vs LAA 1:10PM | J. Weaver | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .100 | .100 | .100 | .200 |
| J. Kipnis | 2B | CLE vs LAA 1:10PM | J. Weaver | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .150 | .261 | .300 | .561 |
| E. Aybar | SS | LAA @ CLE 1:10PM | J. Tomlin | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .083 | .083 | .167 | .250 |
| J. Uribe | 3B | NYM vs BOS 1:10PM | W. Miley | 22 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | .227 | .227 | .318 | .545 |
| M. Bourn | OF | ATL vs NYY 1:35PM | N. Eovaldi | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .154 | .154 | .154 | .308 |
| D. Descalso | 2B | COL @ PIT 1:35PM | C. Morton | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .000 | .286 | .000 | .286 |
| D. Gordon | 2B | MIA @ WAS 1:35PM | S. Strasburg | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .214 | .214 | .286 | .500 |
| A. Hechavarria | SS | MIA @ WAS 1:35PM | S. Strasburg | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | .125 | .192 | .208 | .401 |
| C. McGehee | 3B | MIA @ WAS 1:35PM | S. Strasburg | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | .133 | .133 | .133 | .267 |
| C. Yelich | OF | MIA @ WAS 1:35PM | S. Strasburg | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | .158 | .273 | .158 | .431 |
| J. Bruce | OF | CIN @ MIL 2:10PM | W. Peralta | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | .200 | .238 | .350 | .588 |
| T. Frazier | 3B | CIN @ MIL 2:10PM | W. Peralta | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .143 | .200 | .214 | .414 |
| B. Phillips | 2B | CIN @ MIL 2:10PM | W. Peralta | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .188 | .278 | .188 | .465 |
| J. Lowrie | SS | HOU @ MIN 2:10PM | E. Santana | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .182 | .400 | .582 |
| C. Rasmus | OF | HOU @ MIN 2:10PM | E. Santana | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .083 | .000 | .083 |
| N. Cruz | OF | SEA @ CWS 2:10PM | J. Quintana | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .167 | .417 | .583 |
| K. Seager | 3B | SEA @ CWS 2:10PM | J. Quintana | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .100 | .182 | .400 | .582 |
| A. Jones | OF | BAL @ TEX 3:05PM | D. Holland | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .235 | .278 | .235 | .513 |
| M. Wieters | C | BAL @ TEX 3:05PM | D. Holland | 15 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | .133 | .188 | .533 | .721 |
| A. Beltre | 3B | TEX vs BAL 3:05PM | M. Gonzalez | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .091 | .091 | .091 | .182 |
Cold Pitcher Matchups – August 30, 2015Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Mark Buehrle | TOR vs DET 1:07PM | 180 | 61 | 17 | 5 | 29 | 7 | 22 | .339 | .360 | .492 | .853 |
| Brad Hand | MIA @ WAS 1:35PM | 76 | 28 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 12 | 10 | .368 | .455 | .611 | 1.066 |
| Jorge De La Rosa | COL @ PIT 1:35PM | 79 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 14 | .342 | .453 | .493 | .945 |
| Jaime Garcia | STL @ SF 4:05PM | 83 | 27 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 20 | .325 | .364 | .484 | .848 |
Recommended Pickup
Stephen Piscotty, OF, STL – And the beat continues to roll on for the Major League-leading Cardinals. Faced with the task of replacing Matt Holliday in their starting lineup, the NL Central leaders turned to Piscotty, a 24-year-old Stanford product who has managed to simply dominate in his first 34 big league contests. The last two weeks have been particularly scorching for Piscotty, who has four homers and 13 RBIs in his most recent 12 games. He continues to pile up hits in bunches – hitting .354 over that span – and has even showed some speed upside, which seems par for the course given his minor league numbers. He stole 18 paces in 2013 during his age 22 season. The hot start does not seem to be taken entirely serious by owners, as he is inexplicably owned in roughly a quarter of leagues. Piscotty should find a home in many, many more until Holliday's eventual return.
Other Recent Recommendations:Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas, Wilmer Flores, Aaron Altherr, David Wright and Lance McCullers.
Draft Kings Value Picks
SP: Jered Weaver, LAA ($6,000)
C: Blake Swihart, BOS ($3,200)
1B: Carlos Santana, CLE ($3,700)
2B: Justin Turner, LAD ($3,100)
SS: Xander Bogaerts, BOS ($3,600)
3B: Evan Longoria, TB ($3,300)
OF: Jason Heyward, STL ($3,400)
