Friday Lineup Card: Cesar's No Slouch

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Updated on September 19, 2013 11:54PM EST

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Projected Starters - A look at Friday's matchups (all times Eastern)
Braves (Paul Maholm – L) at Cubs (Scott Baker – R), 2:20 PM
Giants (Tim Lincecum – R) at Yankees (CC Sabathia – L), 7:05 PM
Mets (Daisuke Matsuzaka – R) at Phillies (Cole Hamels – L), 7:05 PM
Astros (Brett Oberholtzer – L) at Indians (Zach McAllister – R), 7:05 PM
Marlins (Jacob Turner – R) at Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann – R), 7:05 PM
Reds (Mat Latos – R) at Pirates (Francisco Liriano – L), 7:05 PM
White Sox (Andre Rienzo – R) at Tigers (Max Scherzer – R), 7:08 PM
Blue Jays (Esmil Rogers – R) at Red Sox (Jon Lester – L), 7:10 PM
Orioles (Jason Hammel – R) at Rays (David Price – L), 7:10 PM
Rangers (Martin Perez – L) at Royals (Ervin Santana – R), 8:10 PM
Cardinals (Shelby Miller – R) at Brewers (Johnny Hellweg – R), 8:10 PM
Diamondbacks (Randall Delgado – R) at Rockies (Jhoulys Chacin – R), 8:10 PM
Mariners (Erasmo Ramirez – R) at Angels (Matt Shoemaker – R), 10:05 PM
Twins (Andrew Albers – L) at Athletics (Bartolo Colon – R), 10:05 PM
Dodgers (Edinson Volquez – R) at Padres (Robbie Erlin – L), 10:10 PM

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Kyle Blanks, OF, SD – (Illness) Held out of the lineup Thursday for a second straight day.
Starling Marte, OF, PIT – (Personal) Left the team Thursday to be with his wife, who was to give birth to the couple's child in the morning.
Jean Segura, SS, MIL – (Hamstring) Missed Thursday's game after leaving Wednesday with the ailment.
Marco Scutaro, 2B, SF – (Finger/Back) Held out of the lineup again Thursday.
Logan Forsythe, 2B, SD – (Foot) Made another pinch-hit appearance Wednesday, but is a long shot to return to the lineup this season.
Matt Adams, 1B, STL – (Elbow) Recorded a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning of Thursday's game after being held out of the lineup.
Nolan Arenado, 3B, COL – (Thumb) Sat out again Thursday.
Michael Cuddyer, OF, COL – (Forearm) Banged up his arm making a diving catch Wednesday and missed Thursday's game as a result.
Wilin Rosario, C, COL – (Forearm) Missed a second straight start Thursday.
Khris Davis, OF, MIL – (Wrist) Dealing with lingering soreness and missed Thursday's game as a result.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, LAD – (Quadriceps) Felt "something in his quadriceps" Thursday and was held out of the lineup, but is expected to be available this weekend.
Chris Withrow, P, LAD – (Personal) Left the team Thursday to attend to the birth of his child.
Stephen Strasburg, P, WAS – (Forearm) Appears on track to start Saturday against the Marlins.
Welington Castillo, C, CHC – (Knee) Set to be examined by a doctor Friday after leaving Thursday's game with soreness.
Boone Logan, P, NYY – (Elbow) Felt "good" after completing a bullpen session Wednesday and could return to the Yankees as soon as Friday.
Brad Miller, SS, SEA – (Hamstring) Held out of the lineup Thursday for a fifth straight day.
Felix Hernandez, P, SEA – (Back) On track to start Sunday against the Angels after getting through a bullpen session Thursday without issue.
Phil Coke, P, DET – (Elbow) Experienced soreness in his elbow following Wednesday's outing and will be shut down for a few days.
Bruce Rondon, P, DET – (Elbow) Reported no problems while throwing long toss the past two days.
Shane Victorino, OF, BOS – (Thumb) Exited Wednesday's game with a jammed thumb and missed Thursday's game as a result.
Jose Iglesias, SS, DET – (Hand) Diagnosed with a contusion after X-rays came back negative.
Miguel Gonzalez, P, BAL – (Groin) Completed a bullpen session Thursday without issue and could be an option to start Saturday.
Jered Weaver, P, LAA – (Forearm) Scratched from Friday's start due to tightness.
Yoenis Cespedes, OF, OAK – (Shoulder) Received a cortisone shot in his shoulder Wednesday and missed Thursday's game, but is expected to be ready to go Friday.

Players on the DL
David Wright, 3B, NYM – (Hamstring) Completed running and fielding drills Thursday for a third consecutive day and is optimistic about returning to the lineup this weekend.
Corey Hart, 1B, MIL – (Knee) Said Thursday that he would be open to re-signing with the Brewers at a discounted rate in the offseason.
Arodys Vizcaino, P, CHC – (Elbow) Will not participate in the Arizona Fall league.
Jason Castro, C, HOU – (Knee) Underwent a minor procedure Thursday to remove a cyst from his right knee and will miss the rest of the season.
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, TOR – (Wrist) Underwent successful surgery Thursday and will miss the rest of the season.
John Jaso, C, OAK – (Concussion) Could play in instructional league games next week.

Out
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS – (Foot) May not return until next weekend's series against the Orioles.
Ruben Tejada, SS, NYM – (Leg) Manager Terry Collins indicated Thursday that the starting shortstop gig for next season is Tejada's for the taking.

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

Designated for Assignment
Blake Lalli, 1B, MIL

Claimed off Waivers
Josh Ravin, P, MIL (from CIN)

Closer Watch

St. Louis – Edward Mujica quickly squandered a one-run lead in the ninth inning of Thursday's game by serving up a solo homer Todd Helton, marking his second blown save in his last six appearances. The right-hander was able to get out of the frame and avoid the loss, but the Cardinals ended up going down in 15 innings. As good as Mujica has been this year, he's been struggling lately, with 12 hits and five runs allowed over his last seven outings. It seems he may be running out of steam a bit, which is a bad sign for a Cardinals team fighting to avoid a one-game playoff, but a change at this stage seems highly unlikely. Mujica's earned a certain level of trust, and the team will give him every opportunity to regain his confidence over the remainder of the year. That said, those in dynasty league should keep an eye on left-hander Kevin Siegrist, who has been absolutely dominant since joining the big club in June (0.49 ERA, 50 strikeouts over 36.2 innings).

Hot Batter Matchups			At-Bats	AVG	HR	XBH	RBI	BB	K	SLG	OBP	OPS
KEY MATCHUPS: HOT
Starlin Castro - SS	CHC vs ATL 9/20 2:20 PM	Paul Maholm	9-21	.429	0	3	1	0	2	.571	.429	1.000
Logan Morrison - OF	MIA @ WAS 9/20 7:05 PM	Jordan Zimmermann	3-12	.250	2	3	3	1	5	.833	.308	1.141
Giancarlo Stanton - OF	MIA @ WAS 9/20 7:05 PM	Jordan Zimmermann	3-13	.231	3	3	5	0	4	.923	.231	1.154
Adam Dunn - 1B	CWS @ DET 9/20 7:08 PM	Max Scherzer	6-21	.286	2	2	3	4	10	.571	.400	.971
Dayan Viciedo - OF	CWS @ DET 9/20 7:08 PM	Max Scherzer	4-12	.333	1	2	2	0	5	.667	.333	1.000
Brian Roberts - 2B	BAL @ TB 9/20 7:10 PM	David Price	3-10	.300	0	1	3	2	1	.500	.385	.885
Danny Valencia - 3B	BAL @ TB 9/20 7:10 PM	David Price	7-10	.700	0	1	2	2	1	.800	.750	1.550
James Loney - 1B	TB vs BAL 9/20 7:10 PM	Jason Hammel	9-29	.310	3	5	8	0	1	.690	.310	1.000
Rajai Davis - OF	TOR @ BOS 9/20 7:10 PM	Jon Lester	5-21	.238	1	4	5	2	8	.619	.304	.923
Adrian Beltre - 3B	TEX @ KC 9/20 8:10 PM	Ervin Santana	12-54	.222	5	6	15	4	9	.537	.288	.825
Ian Kinsler - 2B	TEX @ KC 9/20 8:10 PM	Ervin Santana	19-54	.352	1	8	6	3	5	.556	.407	.962
Mitch Moreland - 1B	TEX @ KC 9/20 8:10 PM	Ervin Santana	5-17	.294	1	1	3	3	5	.471	.400	.871
David Murphy - OF	TEX @ KC 9/20 8:10 PM	Ervin Santana	7-29	.241	3	4	9	0	3	.586	.241	.828

Hot Pitcher Matchups			At-Bats	Opp AVG	HR Allow	XBH Allow	RBI Allow	BB	K	Opp SLG	Opp OBP	Opp OPS
Mat Latos	CIN @ PIT 9/20 7:05 PM	Pirates Batters	16-92	.174	2	7	8	18	28	.313	.313	.627
Jon Lester	BOS vs TOR 9/20 7:10 PM	Blue Jays Batters	19-111	.171	5	11	15	8	35	.379	.227	.606

Cold Batter Matchups			At-Bats	AVG	HR	XBH	RBI	BB	K	SLG	OBP	OPS
KEY MATCHUPS: COLD
Gerald Laird - C	ATL @ CHC 9/20 2:20 PM	Scott Baker	2-10	.200	0	1	2	1	1	.300	.273	.573
B.J. Upton - OF	ATL @ CHC 9/20 2:20 PM	Scott Baker	2-14	.143	0	0	0	0	5	.143	.143	.286
Lucas Duda - OF	NYM @ PHI 9/20 7:05 PM	Cole Hamels	1-10	.100	0	0	0	2	6	.100	.250	.350
Mark Reynolds - 1B	NYY vs SF 9/20 7:05 PM	Tim Lincecum	3-21	.143	1	1	2	3	13	.286	.250	.536
Clint Barmes - SS	PIT vs CIN 9/20 7:05 PM	Mat Latos	1-14	.071	0	1	0	1	4	.143	.133	.276
Garrett Jones - 1B	PIT vs CIN 9/20 7:05 PM	Mat Latos	2-15	.133	0	0	0	0	7	.133	.133	.267
Neil Walker - 2B	PIT vs CIN 9/20 7:05 PM	Mat Latos	2-12	.167	0	1	2	3	2	.250	.333	.583
Alejandro De Aza - OF	CWS @ DET 9/20 7:08 PM	Max Scherzer	4-17	.235	1	1	2	1	7	.412	.278	.690
Paul Konerko - 1B	CWS @ DET 9/20 7:08 PM	Max Scherzer	8-29	.276	2	2	4	1	12	.483	.300	.783
Alexei Ramirez - SS	CWS @ DET 9/20 7:08 PM	Max Scherzer	3-30	.100	0	1	0	3	3	.133	.182	.315
Alexi Casilla - 2B	BAL @ TB 9/20 7:10 PM	David Price	1-10	.100	0	0	0	0	0	.100	.100	.200
Adam Jones - OF	BAL @ TB 9/20 7:10 PM	David Price	5-29	.172	0	2	2	1	7	.241	.200	.441
Yunel Escobar - SS	TB vs BAL 9/20 7:10 PM	Jason Hammel	2-15	.133	0	0	1	1	3	.133	.188	.321
J.P. Arencibia - C	TOR @ BOS 9/20 7:10 PM	Jon Lester	5-26	.192	2	2	5	2	12	.423	.250	.673
Brett Lawrie - 3B	TOR @ BOS 9/20 7:10 PM	Jon Lester	2-14	.143	1	2	1	2	2	.429	.250	.679
Adam Lind - 1B	TOR @ BOS 9/20 7:10 PM	Jon Lester	3-27	.111	0	1	0	1	10	.148	.143	.291
Gerardo Parra - OF	ARI @ COL 9/20 8:10 PM	Jhoulys Chacin	2-15	.133	0	0	0	2	3	.133	.235	.369
Alex Rios - OF	TEX @ KC 9/20 8:10 PM	Ervin Santana	8-27	.296	0	3	2	1	7	.407	.321	.729

Cold Pitcher Matchups			At-Bats	Opp AVG	HR Allow	XBH Allow	RBI Allow	BB	K	Opp SLG	Opp OBP	Opp OPS
None

Recommended Pickup
Cesar Hernandez, OF, PHI - Those looking for a boost in runs and average should consider Hernandez, who has gone for multiple hits in five of his last six starts and has touched home plate 12 times in 15 games since his Sept. 1 recall. The 23-year-old has been a fixture atop the Phillies' batting order since returning, and manager Ryne Sandberg recently praised Hernandez, a converted infielder, for his defense in center field. The team seems high on Hernandez and will continue his extended audition over the final weeks, so while Hernandez packs little power and speed, his batting and on-base skills should help him retain some fantasy value.

Other Recent RecommendationsAndrew Cashner, Marcus Semien, Esmil Rogers and Tanner Roark

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DraftStreet Value Picks

SP – Ervin Santana, KC ($11,694)
C – Jonathan Lucroy, MIL ($5,726)
1B – Logan Morrison, MIA ($4,583)
2B – Brian Roberts, BAL ($5,449)
SS – Alcides Escobar, KC ($6,201)
3B – Pedro Alvarez, PIT ($5,562)
OF – Ryan Ludwick, CIN ($4,553)

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.

Friday Lineup Card: Cesar's No Slouch

KEY MATCHUPS: HOT

KEY MATCHUPS: COLD