Tuesday Lineup Card: Cheer Rios

Written by

Updated on July 21, 2015 2:07AM EST

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

Mets (Jacob deGrom – R) at Nationals (Joe Ross – R), 7:05
Orioles (Wei-Yin Chen – L) at Yankees (Nathan Eovaldi – R), 7:05
Rays (Nathan Karns – R) at Phillies (Aaron Nola – R), 7:05
Mariners (Taijuan Walker – R) at Tigers (Shane Greene – R), 7:08
Dodgers (Brett Anderson – L) at Braves (Alex Wood – L), 7:10
Cubs (Jason Hammel – R) at Reds (Raisel Iglesias – R), 7:10
Pirates (Gerrit Cole – R) at Royals (Jason Vargas – L), 8:10
Cardinals (Michael Wacha – R), at White Sox (Carlos Rodon – L), 8:10
Indians (Danny Salazar – R) at Brewers (Matt Garza – R), 8:10
Red Sox (Brian Johnson – L) at Astros (Vincent Velasquez – R), 8:10
Rangers (Matt Harrison – L) at Rockies (Kyle Kendrick – R), 8:40
Marlins (Mat Latos – R) at Diamondbacks (Jeremy Hellickson – R), 9:40
Twins (Kyle Gibson – R) at Angels (Matt Shoemaker – R), 10:05
Blue Jays (Mark Buehrle – L) at Athletics (Kendall Graveman – R), 10:05
Giants (Chris Heston – R) at Padres (Odrisamer Despaigne – R), 10:10

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-to-Day

Justin Upton, OF, SD (oblique) – Could miss multiple games, but expected to avoid DL
Maikel Franco, 3B, PHI (elbow) – Has soreness, but believes it's minor
Yasmani Grandal, C, LAD (head) – Needs two more days off
Mat Latos, SP, MIA (foot) – Will start Tuesday
Francisco Cervelli, C, PIT (undisclosed) – May have injured hand Monday
Michael Cuddyer, OF, NYM (knee) – Out Monday; has a bone bruise

Players on the DL

Brandon Morrow, SP, SD (shoulder) – Will start rehab games in Triple-A this weekend
Norichika Aoki, OF, SF (leg) – Could return from DL as soon as Friday
Carl Crawford, OF, LAD (oblique) – Will be activated Tuesday
Justin Morneau, 1B, COL (concussion/neck) – Still plans to return this year
Tim Lincecum, SP, SF (forearm/hip) – Received cortisone shots for hip issue
Tony Cingrani, P, CIN (shoulder) – Will be activated Wednesday and start in doubleheader
Aaron Sanchez, RP, TOR (back) – Will be used in bullpen when he returns
Rafael Montero, SP, NYM (shoulder) – Three scoreless in rookie-level rehab game Monday
Cory Spangenberg, 2B, SD (knee) – Improving, but still no timeline for return
Nate Jones, RP, CHW (elbow) – Moved rehab assignment to Triple-A
Josh Johnson, SP, SD (elbow) – Expected to start throwing again later in the week
Aaron Harang, SP, PHI (foot) – Threw 80-pitch sim game; may not need rehab assignment

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

Called Up

Aaron Nola, SP, PHI
Rafael Soriano, RP, CHC
Steven Wright, SP, BOS
Nick Martinez, SP, TEX
J.A. Happ, SP, SEA
Dylan Axelrod, RP, CIN
Austin Barnes, C, LAD
Brent Morel, 3B, PIT
Abel De Los Santos, RP, WAS
Anthony Recker, C, NYM

Sent Down (to Triple-A unless otherwise noted)

David Buchanan, SP, PHI
Tommy Pham, OF, STL
Jesus Montero, DH, SEA
Tyler Cravy, SP, MIL
David Carpenter, RP, ATL (outrighted)
Brandon Cunniff, RP, ATL
Anthony Ranaudo, SP, TEX
Sandy Leon, C, BOS (DFA)
Yohan Pino, RP, KC
Blake Treinen, RP, WAS
Johnny Monell, C, NYM
Ryan Kelly, RP, ATL
Jean Machi, RP, SF (DFA)
Edwin Jackson, RP, CHC (DFA)
Cory Rasmus, RP, LAA (called up and sent down)

Activated From DL

Tim Hudson, SP, SF
Kris Medlen, RP, KC
Blake Swihart, C, BOS
Jerome Williams, SP, PHI

Placed On DL

Manny Parra, RP, CIN (elbow)
Jordy Mercer, SS, PIT (knee)
Chad Billingsley, SP, PHI (elbow)
A.J. Ellis, C, LAD (knee)

Closer Watch

Cubs -- With Rafael Soriano getting the call to the majors, the potential-closer crowd just keeps growing, but Soriano did put a pair of men on in his season debut. Jason Motte has been a pretty credible closer since displacing Hector Rondon, but his meager 23 strikeouts in 34.2 innings aren't promising. Rondon is probably the best pitcher out of that trio, and he's the best bet to eventually emerge from that trio as the closer.

Braves -- Jim Johnson picked up his seventh save Monday, but it wasn't easy, as he gave up three hits and a run before finishing things off. With Jason Grilli out for the year and a low likelihood of the Braves acquiring another closer, Johnson has a reasonably strong chance to parlay his ninth-inning experience into holding the role for the duration of the season.

Phillies -- Jonathan Papelbon nailed down his 16th save of the year Monday, but it's now likely just a matter of days until he finds a new home. It's awful hard to imagine the Phillies not dealing Papelbon and turning to Ken Giles as the closer, but then again, Ruben Amaro has done a lot of things that are hard to imagine.

Rockies -- John Axford blew the save, then picked up the win Monday. It was just his second failed opportunity of the year, but it's worth noting that his WHIP is starting to look ugly at 1.30; meanwhile, fellow near-retiree LaTroy Hawkins owns a 1.08. Food for thought.

Pirates -- Mark Melancon now has 30 saves to go with a WHIP under 1.00. And you were worried.

Key Matchups

Hot Batter Matchups – July 21, 2015

Edit Matchup Criteria

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 7:05PM	W. Chen	18	5	3	1	5	2	7	.278	.381	.556	.937
J. Bruce	OF	CIN vs CHC 7:10PM	J. Hammel	10	3	2	1	4	0	4	.300	.300	.700	1.000
M. Bourn	OF	CLE @ MIL 8:10PM	M. Garza	19	10	0	0	2	1	4	.526	.550	.526	1.076
B. Moss	1B	CLE @ MIL 8:10PM	M. Garza	10	5	2	1	1	0	2	.500	.500	.900	1.400
S. Choo	OF	TEX @ COL 8:40PM	K. Kendrick	11	3	2	2	4	2	1	.273	.385	.818	1.203
B. Butler	1B	OAK vs TOR 10:05PM	M. Buehrle	67	22	7	3	17	4	5	.328	.361	.522	.883
B. Zobrist	2B	OAK vs TOR 10:05PM	M. Buehrle	30	11	2	1	5	1	2	.367	.375	.500	.875
G. Blanco	OF	SF @ SD 10:10PM	O. Despaigne	10	3	2	1	2	1	1	.300	.364	.700	1.064

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

Hot Pitcher Matchups – July 21, 2015

Edit Matchup Criteria

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Wei-Yin Chen	BAL @ NYY 7:05PM	118	26	11	4	11	11	28	.220	.295	.391	.686

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 – July 21, 2015

Edit Matchup Criteria

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
A. Rodriguez	3B	NYY vs BAL 7:05PM	W. Chen	13	2	1	1	2	3	5	.154	.353	.385	.738
M. Teixeira	1B	NYY vs BAL 7:05PM	W. Chen	11	2	1	1	1	1	1	.182	.250	.455	.705
J. Votto	1B	CIN vs CHC 7:10PM	J. Hammel	14	2	2	1	2	3	3	.143	.294	.429	.723
J. Rollins	SS	LAD @ ATL 7:10PM	A. Wood	17	1	0	0	0	0	3	.059	.059	.059	.118
E. Bonifacio	2B	CWS vs STL 8:10PM	M. Wacha	10	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
S. Rodriguez	2B	PIT @ KC 8:10PM	J. Vargas	21	3	1	0	2	2	5	.143	.217	.190	.408
I. Suzuki	OF	MIA @ ARI 9:40PM	J. Hellickson	16	2	0	0	0	0	0	.125	.125	.125	.250
B. Crawford	SS	SF @ SD 10:10PM	O. Despaigne	10	1	0	0	0	0	1	.100	.100	.100	.200
B. Posey	C	SF @ SD 10:10PM	O. Despaigne	12	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.077	.000	.077

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

Cold Pitcher Matchups – July 21, 2015

Edit Matchup Criteria

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Matt Garza	MIL vs CLE 8:10PM	72	24	5	3	8	3	13	.333	.365	.485	.850
Mark Buehrle	TOR @ OAK 10:05PM	123	40	12	6	25	9	11	.325	.366	.519	.884
Odrisamer Despaigne	SD vs SF 10:10PM	72	12	6	1	3	7	7	.167	.241	.279	.519

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
Alex Rios, OF, KC – Initial struggles followed by a DL stint got Rios cut to the wire in a lot of leagues, and with good cause – even now, after a significant warming period, his season stats still look hideous. But we don't pick guys up for today's stats; we're looking for tomorrow's, and all indications are that Rios has turned things around and could again be a major fantasy asset in the second half. He's hit safely in eight of his last nine games (and reached safely in all nine), and in that span he's gone 12-for-32 (.375) with a homer, two steals and eight runs scored. Remember, we're talking about a three-time 20-homer man who retains pop and speed even at age 34. Snag him in shallower formats where he's available and enjoy the hype-free stats.

Other Recent Recommendations:Aaron Nola, Trevor Plouffe, C.J. Cron, Nick Castellanos, Gerardo Parra

DraftKings Value Picks

SP: Joe Ross, WAS ($5,000)
C: Matt Wieters, BAL ($3,200)
1B: Ben Paulsen, COL ($3,200)
2B: Justin Turner, LAD ($3,200)
3B: Yasmany Tomas, ARI ($3,500)
SS: Addison Russell, CHC ($3,000)
OF: Kyle Schwarber, CHC ($3,200)

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.