So many choices, both early and late, to build the perfect daily fantasy baseball salary cap teams. Offenses are in high gear and they’re being matched up with some outstanding pitching performances as well. Now you just have to pick the right combination. Whether you choose to go with some of the more expensive marquee names or you like to bargain shop for some of the more low-budget sleepers, there are tons of options at your disposal. We’ll let some you sleep in this fine Saturday and ease you into the day. To help you pick your teams from some of the later action, here’s a look at the some of the match-up data from the evening games.
Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins (7:10pm ET)
Indians right-hander Justin Masterson has definitely had his ups and downs all year but has put together a decent 4.12 ERA and is holding righties to a .224 average. But he’s faced the Twins once this year, has a 4.50 ERA doing it and allowed them a .292 batting average against. It’s the lefties that give him the trouble which explains Justin Morneau’s .333 average with one home run and two doubles in 21 at-bats against him. Also, Joe Mauer is sporting a .286 average over 21 at-bats. On the hill for the Twins is rookie Sam Deduno who has made just three starts at the major league level, so what we know about him is fairly limited. What we do know is that lefties have been hitting him hard — .400 to be exact. Carlos Santana is batting just .236 from the left side and has only one of his eight home runs from that side. Meanwhile, lefty Jason Kipnis is batting .286 with five doubles and a stolen base in his last 43 at-bats.
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Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers (7:10pm ET)
Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann has a 2.08 ERA on the road and is holding lefties to a .223 average. But it’s righties that give him the trouble (well, maybe not trouble) with a .257 average and eight home runs and the Brewers are loaded with right-handed hitters. Not only is Aramis Ramirez batting .333 with a home run and six doubles over his last 51 at-bats, but he’s 5-for-10 with a home run and two doubles in his career against Zimmermann. Carlos Gomez has been surging lately with three home runs and a .323 average over his last 31 at-bats. Veteran lefty Randy Wolf take the hill for the Brew Crew and that could mean good things for the Nationals. He’s holding lefties to a .237 average this season, but Adam LaRoche is a career .318 hitter against him with one home run and one double over 22 at-bats. Meanwhile, righties are batting .322 against him and Ryan Zimmerman, who is 4-for-11 against Wolf in his career, is batting .410 with six home runs and five doubles over his last 61 at-bats.
Chicago White Sox at Texas Rangers (8:05pm ET)
With the rash of injuries, former perfect-game thrower Philip Humber is getting another chance to pitch out of the rotation but has an 8.00 ERA with just three strikeouts in the two outings since his return. Lefties are pounding him this year with a .297 average and 11 home runs, so maybe look for Josh Hamilton to break out of this recent four-game, 1-for-15 slump he’s sitting in. The only other regular lefty in the Texas lineup to look for would be David Murphy who is 5-for-14 (.357) over his last four games. Southpaw Matt Harrison takes the mound against a strongly right-handed White Sox lineup and righties are hitting .285 against him with eight of the nine home runs he’s allowed coming from this side of the plate. Kevin Youkilis has a career .286 average with two home runs over 14 at-bats against Harrison, while Alex Rios is batting .333 over 15 plate appearances.
Cincinnati Reds at Colorado Rockies (8:10pm ET)
Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto has a 2.23 ERA and is holding righties to a .190 average, but in his one start against the Rockies this year, he coughed up five runs on 11 hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. It’s the lefties who are killing him with a .296 average and we all know what Carlos Gonzalez does at home already — .388-13-45, so that could be trouble for Cueto in Coors Field. That could also mean an end to Tyler Colvin’s 0-for-12 slump that he’s been in over his last three games. Rookie lefty Christian Friedrich is on the mound for the Rox, but is sporting an ERA of 8.23 in seven starts at home this season. Both lefties and righties are hitting him equally hard, so look for Brandon Phillips to continue his recent onslaught against NL pitching. He’s batting .417 with two home runs and five doubles over his last 48 at-bats. Also watch for Todd Frazier who is batting .302 with a home run and two doubles over his last 43 at-bats.
New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks (8:10pm ET)
Veteran right-hander Chris Young is on the hill for the Mets with his 4.50 road ERA and holding righties to a .235 average this season. That doesn’t seem to help him much as Justin Upton is 4-for-10 (.400) against him, however, Arizona’s Chris Young is hitless in 16 at-bats against him. For the Diamondbacks, right-hander Ian Kennedy is on the bump with a sub-par 4.84 ERA at home and allowing righties to hit him at a .278 clip. Switch-hitter Andres Torres is only batting .182 against Kennedy through 22 at-bats but is recently batting .316 with two doubles and a triple over his last 38 at-bats. Also look at righty Scott Hairston who is batting .314 with five doubles over his last 35 at-bats.
Tampa Bay Rays at Los Angeles Angels (9:05pm ET)
Highly touted rookie left-hander Matt Moore takes the mound against the hard-hitting Angels whom he held to two runs over 5.2 innings when he faced them earlier this season. He might be holding right-handed hitters to a .238 average this season but he’s given up 10 of his 13 home runs allowed to them. So how could you not think about Mike Trout who is batting .426 with four home runs, five doubles, two triples and six walks over his last 60 plate appearances? Or how about Albert Pujols who is batting .340 with four home runs and four doubles over his last 47 at-bats. Veteran lefty C.J. Wilson with his 2.89 ERA is on the hill looking to continue holding right-handed hitters to a .214 average. But over 16 at-bats against Wilson, Jeff Keppinger is batting .313 with a double in 16 at-bats against Wilson. Meanwhile, B.J. Upton is hitless in 14 at-bats against him.
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Howard Bender has been covering fantasy sports for over ten years on a variety of web sites, including his own, The Fantasy Baseball Buzz. You can follow him on Twitter at @rotobuzzguy or for direct questions or comments you can email him at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com.
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