This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters - A look at Thursday's matchups (all times Eastern)
Orioles (Ubaldo Jimenez – R) at Yankees (Masahiro Tanaka – R), 1:05
Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma – R) at Tigers (David Price – L), 1:08
Twins (Ervin Santana – R) at Angels (Garrett Richards – R), 3:35
Blue Jays (Drew Hutchison – R) at Athletics (Scott Kazmir – L), 3:35
Nationals (Doug Fister – R) at Pirates (Francisco Liriano – L), 7:05
White Sox (Jeff Samardzija – R) at Indians (Trevor Bauer – R), 7:10
Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw – L) at Mets (Bartolo Colon – R), 7:10
Royals (Jeremy Guthrie – R) at Cardinals (John Lackey – R), 7:15
Astros (Lance McCullers – R) at Red Sox (Wade Miley – L), 8:10
Brewers (Mike Fiers – R) at Diamondbacks (Zachary Godley – R), 9:40
Padres (Tyson Ross – R) at Marlins (Tom Koehler – R), 10:10
Day Game After Night Game: BAL/NYY, SEA/DET, MIN/LAA and TOR/OAK
Injuries
Day-to-Day
Drew Hutchison, SP, TOR (Illness) – Hutchison is questionable for Thursday's game due to flu-like symptoms.
Yunel Escobar, SS, WAS (Wrist) – X-Ray's came back negative on Escobar's hand and wrist.
Francisco Cervelli, C, PIT (Wrist) – Did not play on Wednesday.
Brett Anderson, SP, LAD (Achilles) – Expected to play catch on Thursday.
Michael Cuddyer, OF, NYM (Knee) – Expected to need an extended period of rest before returning to action.
Justin Upton, OF, SD (Oblique) – Did not start on Wednesday.
Maikel Franco, 3B, PHI (Elbow) – Did not start on Wednesday.
Players on the DL
Jered Weaver, SP, LAA (Hip) – May start a rehab assignment shortly, although he is still not 100 percent.
Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS (Elbow) – Received a PRP injection from Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday.
Jason Vargas, SP, KC (Elbow) – Requires Tommy John surgery on his torn UCL.
Steve Pearce, OF, BAL (Oblique) – Pearce was placed on the 15-day DL with a strain.
Mason Williams, OF, NYY (Shoulder) – Will continue his rehab at the team's spring training complex.
Gorkys Hernandez, OF, PIT (Shoulder) – Started a rehab assignment.
Brandon Morrow, SP, SD (Shoulder) – Threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and is expected to make a rehab start over the weekend.
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI (Ankle) – Took soft-toss batting practice and fielded ground balls on Wednesday.
Drew Smyly, SP, TB (Shoulder) – Smyly pitched well in a 41-pitch simulated game at High-A Charlotte on Wednesday.
Anthony Rendon, 3B, WAS (Quadriceps) – Expected to miss action through the weekend.
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, WAS (Foot) – Expected to miss action through the weekend.
Jayson Werth, OF, WAS (Wrist) – Expected to miss action through the weekend.
Wily Peralta, SP, MIL (Oblique) – Peralta could be activated off the DL during the Arizona series this weekend.
Denard Span, OF, WAS (Back) – Span has no clear timetable to resume baseball activities.
Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS (Oblique) – Expected to throw another bullpen session on Friday before heading out on a rehab assignment.
David Hale, RP, COL (Groin) – Threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday.
Nick Swisher, 1B, CLE (Knee) – Swisher will not be rushed back, with a likely return in early August.
Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.
Activated from the DL
Tony Cingrani, SP/RP, CIN
Jeremy Affeldt, RP, SF
Placed on the DL (15-day DL, unless otherwise noted)
Jason Vargas, SP, KC
Steve Pearce, OF, BAL
Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Clayton Richard, SP, CHC
Jayson Aquino, RP, PIT
Adam Liberatore, RP, LAD
Will Middlebrooks, 3B, SD
Wilfredo Boscan, RP, PIT
Ty Kelly, 2B, TOR
Josh Osich, RP, SF
Brian Johnson, RP, BOS
Called Up
Pedro Florimon, RP, PIT
Kevin Gausman, SP, BAL
Dallas Beeler, SP, CHC
Joe Kelly, SP, BOS
Ian Thomas, RP, LAD
Abraham Almonte, OF, SD
Yoervis Medina, RP, CHC
Yordano Ventura, SP, KC
Released
Wesley Wright, RP, BAL
Claimed
Ty Kelly, 2B, TOR - from the St. Louis Cardinals
Signed
Angelo Serrano, RP, HOU
Nichel Alcantara, RP, BAL
Eury Rodriguez, RP, TEX
Closer Watch
Tampa Bay Rays – It seems like I've been calling for Jake McGee to take over the Rays closing job for awhile now, although I don't discredit what Brad Boxberger has done this season in McGee's absence. Boxberger (4-6) took the loss against the Phillies on Wednesday, giving up one earned run on two hits in 1.2 innings, as he entered a tied game in the ninth inning. Look for McGee to get more chances to snag saves as the season wears on, so if he's out there for some nutty reason then pick him up stat! McGee has been outstanding since his return from injury, while Boxberger may be wearing down ever so slightly.
Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen picked up his 17th save of the year, as he allowed one walk and struck out two hitters in Atlanta on Wednesday pitching the ninth inning. Jansen secured a rare triumphant road game by starter Mike Bolsinger.
Key Matchups
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
C. Beltran | OF | NYY vs BAL 1:05PM | U. Jimenez | 18 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .389 | .476 | .833 | 1.310 |
C. Headley | 3B | NYY vs BAL 1:05PM | U. Jimenez | 24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | .292 | .433 | .500 | .933 |
G. Jones | 1B | NYY vs BAL 1:05PM | U. Jimenez | 11 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .455 | .538 | .636 | 1.175 |
Y. Cespedes | OF | DET vs SEA 1:08PM | H. Iwakuma | 27 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 7 | .407 | .407 | 1.037 | 1.444 |
I. Kinsler | 2B | DET vs SEA 1:08PM | H. Iwakuma | 26 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | .346 | .414 | .731 | 1.145 |
N. Cruz | OF | SEA @ DET 1:08PM | D. Price | 19 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | .368 | .429 | .684 | 1.113 |
M. Trumbo | OF | SEA @ DET 1:08PM | D. Price | 16 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | .375 | .375 | .688 | 1.063 |
M. Joyce | OF | LAA vs MIN 3:35PM | E. Santana | 18 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | .333 | .368 | .667 | 1.035 |
M. Bourn | OF | CLE vs CWS 7:10PM | J. Samardzija | 13 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .462 | .500 | .615 | 1.115 |
J. Abreu | 1B | CWS @ CLE 7:10PM | T. Bauer | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .462 | .462 | .538 | 1.000 |
A. Gonzalez | 1B | LAD @ NYM 7:10PM | B. Colon | 21 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | .429 | .429 | .810 | 1.238 |
R. Tejada | SS | NYM vs LAD 7:10PM | C. Kershaw | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .500 | .615 | .500 | 1.115 |
J. Heyward | OF | STL vs KC 7:15PM | J. Guthrie | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .400 | .400 | .700 | 1.100 |
J. Upton | OF | SD vs MIA 10:10PM | T. Koehler | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | .375 | .444 | .688 | 1.132 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
David Price | DET vs SEA 1:08PM | 174 | 42 | 16 | 4 | 23 | 8 | 49 | .241 | .281 | .389 | .671 |
Scott Kazmir | OAK vs TOR 3:35PM | 78 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 19 | .218 | .307 | .312 | .619 |
Doug Fister | WAS @ PIT 7:05PM | 68 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 21 | .294 | .332 | .325 | .657 |
Clayton Kershaw | LAD @ NYM 7:10PM | 70 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 14 | .243 | .312 | .277 | .589 |
Trevor Bauer | CLE vs CWS 7:10PM | 76 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 23 | .211 | .282 | .232 | .514 |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
B. Gardner | OF | NYY vs BAL 1:05PM | U. Jimenez | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .188 | .316 | .188 | .503 |
B. Ryan | SS | NYY vs BAL 1:05PM | U. Jimenez | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .154 | .214 | .154 | .368 |
M. Teixeira | 1B | NYY vs BAL 1:05PM | U. Jimenez | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | .167 | .231 | .250 | .481 |
C. Young | OF | NYY vs BAL 1:05PM | U. Jimenez | 43 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 17 | .163 | .217 | .233 | .450 |
A. Avila | C | DET vs SEA 1:08PM | H. Iwakuma | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | .083 | .000 | .083 |
R. Davis | OF | DET vs SEA 1:08PM | H. Iwakuma | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | .091 | .167 | .364 | .530 |
A. Jackson | OF | SEA @ DET 1:08PM | D. Price | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | .190 | .190 | .286 | .476 |
B. Miller | SS | SEA @ DET 1:08PM | D. Price | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .100 | .100 | .300 | .400 |
K. Seager | 3B | SEA @ DET 1:08PM | D. Price | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | .167 | .000 | .167 |
M. Zunino | C | SEA @ DET 1:08PM | D. Price | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .100 | .100 | .200 | .300 |
J. Bautista | OF | TOR @ OAK 3:35PM | S. Kazmir | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | .200 | .400 | .333 | .733 |
C. Colabello | 1B | TOR @ OAK 3:35PM | S. Kazmir | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .200 | .273 | .200 | .473 |
J. Smoak | 1B | TOR @ OAK 3:35PM | S. Kazmir | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .071 | .133 | .071 | .205 |
Y. Escobar | SS | WAS @ PIT 7:05PM | F. Liriano | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .100 | .182 | .300 | .482 |
M. Cabrera | OF | CWS @ CLE 7:10PM | T. Bauer | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
A. Ramirez | SS | CWS @ CLE 7:10PM | T. Bauer | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 |
C. Crawford | OF | LAD @ NYM 7:10PM | B. Colon | 36 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | .167 | .189 | .222 | .411 |
H. Kendrick | 2B | LAD @ NYM 7:10PM | B. Colon | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .091 | .091 | .091 | .182 |
M. Cuddyer | OF | NYM vs LAD 7:10PM | C. Kershaw | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .250 | .250 | .250 | .500 |
O. Infante | 2B | KC @ STL 7:15PM | J. Lackey | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | .200 | .294 | .333 | .627 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA @ DET 1:08PM | 120 | 38 | 21 | 13 | 19 | 7 | 33 | .317 | .359 | .717 | 1.076 |
Jeremy Guthrie | KC @ STL 7:15PM | 92 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 8 | .315 | .366 | .438 | .804 |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Jake McGee, RP, Tampa Bay Rays – By now you know I've already mentioned McGee in the closer section of Thursday's write-up but he's worth mentioning here again. Since McGee returned from injury on May 17, he's put up bitchin' numbers (1.25 ERA, 30 K in 21.2 IP, while allowing only one home run). McGee has four saves on the year in a limited closer's capacity, but he's been golden as an 8th inning guy. Plus, let's not forget that current closer Brad Boxberger may be wearing down some and McGee will see more closing opportunities down the line. Don't let your other leaguemates get to McGee before you do.
Other Recent Recommendations:Joe Ross, Alex Rios, Aaron Nola, Trevor Plouffe, Kyle Schwarber and C.J. Cron
DraftKings Value Picks
SP: Mike Fiers, MIL ($7,700)
C: Salvador Perez, KC ($3,200)
1B: Jon Singleton, HOU ($3,600)
2B: Luis Valbuena, HOU ($3,700)
SS: Jung Ho Kang, PIT ($3,400)
3B: Aramis Ramirez, MIL ($3,300)
OF: Brock Holt, BOS ($3,300)