Thursday Lineup Card: Gregor Blanco To The Rescue?

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Updated on August 19, 2015 10:20PM EST

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

Indians (Josh Tomlin – R) at Yankees (Ivan Nova – R), 7:05
Twins (Tyler Duffey – R) at Orioles (Miguel Gonzalez – R), 7:05
Giants (Jake Peavy – R) at Pirates (Charlie Morton – R), 7:05
Rangers (Martin Perez – L) at Tigers (Alfredo Simon – R), 7:08
Diamondbacks (Patrick Corbin – L) at Reds (John Lamb – L), 7:10
Royals (Danny Duffy – L) at Red Sox (Wade Miley – L), 7:10
Phillies (Jerome Williams – R) at Marlins (Brad Hand – L), 7:10
Braves (Mike Foltynewicz – R) at Cubs (Jake Arrieta – R), 8:05
Rays (Chris Archer – R) at Astros (Collin McHugh – R), 8:10
Nationals (Max Scherzer – R) at Rockies (Yohan Flande – L), 8:40
White Sox (Jose Quintana – R) at Angels (Nick Tropeano – R), 10:05

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-to-Day

Jake McGee, RP, TB (Knee) – Will have his knee examined in St. Petersburg this week.
Glen Perkins, RP, MIN (Neck) – Received a cortisone shot on Wednesday.
Omar Infante, 2B, KC (Back) – Did not play on Wednesday.
Jason Heyward, OF, STL (Hamstring) – Did not start on Wednesday.
Brett Lawrie, 3B, OAK (Back) – Did not start on Wednesday.
Yasiel Puig, OF, LAD (Hamstring) – MRI on Wednesday revealed a minor strain.
Coco Crisp, OF, OAK (Hip) – Did not start on Wednesday.

Players on the DL

Matt Adams, 1B, STL (Quadriceps) – Expected to start a rehab assignment this week.
Mike Leake, SP, SF (Hamstring) – Hoping to return to the Giants' rotation this weekend.
Tyler Cravy, SP, MIL (Shoulder) – Expected to be placed on the DL on Friday.
David Carpenter, RP, WAS (Shoulder) – Started a rehab assignment on Wednesday.
David Wright, 3B, NYM (Back) – Expected to return to the Mets in a part-time role.
Billy Hamilton, OF, CIN (Shoulder) – Was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday.
Mike McKenry, C, COL (Knee) – Was placed on the 60-day DL on Wednesday.
Steven Matz, SP, NYM (Side) – Will make his second rehab start on Thursday.
Ricky Nolasco, SP, MIN (Ankle) – Expected to play catch on Monday.
Nate Adcock, RP, CIN (Elbow) – Was transferred to the 60-day DL.
Aaron Hicks, OF, MIN (Hamstring) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Ike Davis, 1B, OAK (Hip) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Dustin Ackley, OF, NYY (Back) – Has resumed baseball activities.
Steven Wright, SP, BOS (Concussion) – Reported to be still experiencing symptoms.
Rick Porcello, SP, BOS (Triceps) – Expected to make his next rehab start on Friday.

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

Activated from the DL

Derek Holland, SP, TEX
Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL

Placed on the DL (15-day DL, unless otherwise noted)

Michael McKenry, C, COL – transferred to the 60-day DL
Nate Adcock, RP, CIN - transferred to the 60-day DL
Billy Hamilton, OF, CIN
Ike Davis, 1B, OAK

Called Up

Josh Wall, RP, PIT
Dustin Garneau, C, COL
Sam LeCure, RP, CIN
Travis Jankowski, OF, SD
Zack Godley, SP, ARI
Brennan Boesch, OF, CIN
Matt Andriese, RP, TB
Jake Smolinski, OF, OAK
Hanser Alberto, SS, TEX
Drew VerHagen, RP, DET

Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)

Pedro Florimon, SS, PIT
Adam Rosales, 2B, TEX
Chi Chi Gonzalez, SP, TEX
Joey Terdoslavich, 1B, ATL
Jefry Marte, 1B, DET
Chase Anderson, SP, ARI
Enny Romero, SP, TB
Tanner Scheppers, RP, TEX
Dylan Axelrod, RP, CIN

Released

Justin Masterson, SP, BOS
Cesar Puello, OF, NYM

Closer Watch

New York Yankees – It's nice to see Dellin Betances come through with a save now and then, like he did on Wednesday for the Yankees. Betances, who was filling in for Andrew Miller on a day he was rested, threw a clean ninth inning against the Twins. Betances struck out two hitters and closed out the inning on 15 pitches.

Philadelphia Phillies – Closer Ken Giles picked up his 8th save of the season on Wednesday as he closed out the game on seven pitches, six of which were strikes. Giles continues to thrive in the closer's role after taking over for Jonathan Papelbon after he was traded to the Nationals.

Key Matchups

Hot Batter Matchups – August 20, 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. Teixeira	1B	NYY vs CLE 7:05PM	J. Tomlin	13	4	2	2	3	1	0	.308	.357	.769	1.126
A. Pierzynski	C	ATL @ CHC 8:05PM	J. Arrieta	11	7	3	2	3	2	1	.636	.692	1.273	1.965
A. Pujols	1B	LAA vs CWS 10:05PM	J. Quintana	12	4	2	1	3	0	1	.333	.333	.667	1.000

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

Hot Pitcher Matchups – August 20, 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
Josh Tomlin	CLE @ NYY 7:05PM	69	13	7	2	8	1	13	.188	.200	.354	.554
Brad Hand	MIA vs PHI 7:10PM	67	12	2	0	2	5	11	.179	.246	.208	.454
Patrick Corbin	ARI @ CIN 7:10PM	61	12	6	1	4	8	15	.197	.298	.338	.636
Jake Arrieta	CHC vs ATL 8:05PM	65	12	6	2	7	6	17	.185	.262	.356	.618

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 – August 20, 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
J. Ellsbury	OF	NYY vs CLE 7:05PM	J. Tomlin	16	3	2	0	2	0	2	.188	.188	.313	.500
J. Bruce	OF	CIN vs ARI 7:10PM	P. Corbin	11	2	1	1	1	2	5	.182	.308	.455	.762
B. Phillips	2B	CIN vs ARI 7:10PM	P. Corbin	13	1	0	0	0	0	3	.077	.077	.077	.154
I. Suzuki	OF	MIA vs PHI 7:10PM	J. Williams	20	5	0	0	3	0	0	.250	.250	.250	.500
C. Utley	2B	PHI @ MIA 7:10PM	B. Hand	16	3	0	0	0	1	3	.188	.278	.188	.465
N. Swisher	1B	ATL @ CHC 8:05PM	J. Arrieta	18	0	0	0	1	0	4	.000	.000	.000	.000
J. Reyes	SS	COL vs WAS 8:40PM	M. Scherzer	11	2	0	0	0	0	3	.182	.182	.182	.364

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

Cold Pitcher Matchups – August 20, 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
There are no pitchers who qualify as "cold" today.

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

Recommended Pickup

Gregor Blanco, OF, San Francisco Giants – With the news of Hunter Pence recently joining the disabled list, Blanco is going to get full-time at-bats down the stretch. Pence could be back in just a couple of weeks, but Blanco is hitting well and isn't a bad replacement in the short term.
Blanco is getting on base, scoring runs and stealing bases and will be useful to your team if you need the outfield help.

Other Recent Recommendations:Raisel Iglesias, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Rodon, Eugenio Suarez, Danny Valencia and Khris Davis

DraftKings Value Picks

SP: Ivan Nova, NYY ($7,100)
C: J.T. Realmuto, MIA ($3,500)
1B: Victor Martinez, DET ($3,500)
2B: Rougned Odor, TEX ($3,500)
SS: Jose Iglesias, DET ($3,100)
3B: Jonathan Schoop, BAL ($3,900)
OF: Kole Calhoun, LAA ($3,800)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Dave Hunter plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: TheRolyPolyBoy, DraftKings: TheRolyPolyBoy.