Fantasy Freestyle: The... (05/05)
the archives are now free.
3 comments have been left for this article. BP Comment Quick Links
| |
|
|
May 5, 2014 Interleague ReportWeek Six
Please note that in the “DH” column, the player listed is the player that has been added or removed from the lineup, not necessarily the player in the DH slot. For example, if the Phillies move Dominic Brown to DH and put Tony Gwynn Jr. in the OF, then I will list Gwynn Jr. in the “DH” column because he is the player that is gaining at bats. Last Week AL at NL:
Brett Lawrie started two games at second base with Juan Francisco starting at third base. Against the lefty, Lawrie returned to third base with Steve Tolleson starting at second base. NL at AL:
The Pirates used the DH to start Ike Davis and Gaby Sanchez in both games. Managers love using the DH to use both sides of first-base platoons. All four of the big four outfielders started against the two righties. Because of a rainout, lefty Kris Johnson started a game; as a result, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier both sat and Justin Turner got a start at shortstop with Hanley Ramirez getting a day at DH. With Bryce Harper now on the disabled list, Tyler Moore started against the lefty and Nate McLouth started against the righty, with Kevin Frandsen getting two starts. This Week AL at NL:
Toronto: see notes under “Last Week.” This means that Lawrie most likely gets his third start at second base. Jose Abreu is not coming out of the lineup; thus, Adam Dunn will either start over Dayan Viciedo in the outfield or he will be on the bench. Robin Ventura has mentioned that Adam Dunn could see some time in the outfield. My guess is that Dunn starts game one, and unless he lights it up, we will see Viciedo in game two of the series. Absent the DH, and with Shin-Soo Choo healthy, it looks like Michael Choice and Mitch Moreland will both be relegated to bench duties. Ron Washington could choose to give Choo a day off against the lefty and start Choice in left field. It looks as if Billy Butler will get two starts at first base against the lefties, but he has been hitting so poorly that it would not surprise me if Eric Hosmer steals a start against a lefty. In the past, Hosmer has moved to the outfield to make room for Butler against righties, but I do not see that happening here, given the left-handed-ness of the two corner outfielders. My guess is that Alfonso Soriano is the odd man out for two out of three games, with one of the other outfielders getting one day off during Soriano’s lone start. NL at AL:
I think both Domonic Brown and Chase Utley get a day at DH, meaning that Tony Gwynn Jr. and Freddy Galvis each get a start. Against righties the Cubs have played Mike Olt at DH while putting Luis Valbuena at third base and have played Ryan Sweeney in the outfield while moving Nate Schierholtz to DH. With the injury to Ryan Sweeney, it looks like the former strategy will be employed against the righty. I think either Schierholtz or Ryan Kalish gets the extra start against the lefty. With Wilin Rosario now on the disabled list, my guess is that Carlos Gonzalez gets a start DH against the righty with Brandon Barnes starting in the OF. I think that Barnes gets a start at DH against the lefty. For our first interleague makeup game of the season, it looks like Chris Heisey will start in left field with Ryan Ludwick moving to DH. If Billy Hamilton has still not returned to the lineup, Skip Schumaker probably replaces him in the lineup and in the field. For Addison Reed’s return to Chicago, I imagine that Eric Chavez will get the start against the righty, and it is not clear who starts against the lefties. Arizona could move Miguel Montero to DH for a game and start real human Tuffy Gosewich at catcher, or start Cliff Pennington at second base, giving Aaron Hill a start at DH, for the other game. Given what we saw last week (see: Last Week section), we will most likely see Tyler Moore against the lefties, Nate McLouth against the righty, and Kevin Frandsen against all three. We could also see a Zach Walters start to give Danny Espinosa a day off or Ian Desmond a day at DH. Next Week AL at NL:
I think we see Raul Ibanez in the outfield against the righty and Grant Green against the lefty. Without the DH, newly called-up C.J. Cron will be on the bench. Similar to the Yankees’ bullet in “This Week,” my guess is that Alfonso Soriano is the odd man out for both games unless he gets hot. If so, one of the other outfielders will get a day off during Soriano’s lone start. NL at AL:
Against the righty, I think the Mets start all four outfielders by giving Eric Young Jr. a start at second base with Daniel Murphy moving to DH. Against the lefty, my guess is that both Josh Satin and Lucas Duda start. Give what we saw last week, it looks like we will see Ike Davis and Gaby Sanchez both starting in some combination of first base and DH.
Jeff Quinton is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @jjq01
|
Playoff Prospectus: PECOTA Odds and ALCS Gam...
Mostly unrelated to the AL/NL games but do you think Lawrie at 2B could become a regular thing? It's not like the Jays' 2B options are good.
I doubt it given what Lawrie and Gibbons are saying. But if getting Francisco's bat is advantageous enough that it warants moving Lawrie to 2B, then that same logic would suggest that they would do so once Lind is back. Will they continue to follow that logic? I do not know, but given what info there is right now, I would not bet on it.