Friday Lineup Card: A Starling Is Born

Friday Lineup Card: A Starling Is Born

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Friday's Starters
Cardinals (Lance Lynn – R) at Cubs (Travis Wood – L), 2:20
Athletics (Jarrod Parker – R) at Orioles (Zach Britton – L), 7:05
Red Sox (Aaron Cook – R) at Yankees (Phil Hughes – R), 7:05
Tigers (Rick Porcello – R) at Blue Jays (Carlos Villanueva – R), 7:07
Padres (Kip Wells – R) at Marlins (Carlos Zambrano – R), 7:10
Phillies (Cole Hamels – L) at Braves (Ben Sheets – R), 7:35
Pirates (Jeff Karstens – R) at Astros (Jordan Lyles – R), 8:05
White Sox (Chris Sale – L) at Rangers (Yu Darvish – R), 8:05
Nationals (Ross Detwiler - L) at Brewers (Michael Fiers - R), 8:10
Indians (Josh Tomlin – R) at Twins (Scott Diamond – L), 8:10
Reds (Bronson Arroyo – R) at Rockies (Drew Pomeranz – L), 8:40
Mets (Jon Niese – L) at Diamondbacks (Josh Collmenter – R), 9:40
Rays (Alex Cobb – R) at Angels (Dan Haren – R), 10:05
Royals (Jeremy Guthrie – R) at Mariners (Blake Beavan – R), 10:10
Dodgers (Stephen Fife – R) at Giants (Matt Cain – R), 10:15

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Pablo Sandoval, 3B, SF (hamstring) – Giants will wait until Friday to decide on DL
Lance Berkman, 1B, STL (knee) – Out of the lineup Thursday after pinch-hitting Wednesday
Carlos Beltran, OF, STL (undisclosed) – Out of the lineup Thursday, but could just be a rest day
Trevor Plouffe, SS, MIN (thumb) – Expected back in the lineup Friday
David Freese, 3B, STL (calf) – Cramps not serious; hopes to be back in Friday
Kevin Youkilis, 3B, CHW (ankle) – Could be back in the lineup Friday
J.J. Hardy, SS, BAL (ribs) – X-rays negative; could be back in Friday
Nick Swisher, OF, NYY (hip) – Definitely out Friday, but possible for Saturday
Chris Tillman, SP, BAL (illness) – Caught the Orioles' clubhouse flu
Drew Pomeranz, SP, COL (arm) – Good side session; confirmed for Friday's start
Yunel Escobar, SS, TOR (back) – Out of Thursday's lineup; could be back this weekend
Hisashi Iwakuma, SP, SEA (personal) – Will return from Japan in time to start Monday
Miguel Gonzalez, SP, BAL (illness) – Was sick for Wednesday start; it showed
Scott Elbert, RP, LAD (shoulder) – Has soreness; could hit DL

Disabled List
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL (groin) – Hitting off a tee and running lightly; still hopes to return this year
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY (hand) – Out 6-8 weeks with fracture
Ted Lilly, SP, LAD (shoulder) – Closing in on rehab assignment
Jaime Garcia, SP, STL (shoulder) – Throwing again Friday, then maybe rehab assignment
Brandon Morrow, SP, TOR (oblique) – Will make first rehab start Sunday
Neftali Feliz, SP, TEX (elbow) – Will make fourth Triple-A start Sunday; could be activated after
Frank Francisco, RP, NYM (oblique) – Had rough first rehab outing, but seemingly no setback
Andy Dirks, OF, DET (Achilles) – Scratched from Wednesday's rehab game
Vernon Wells, OF, LAA (thumb) – Will be back with the Angels on Friday
Joba Chamberlain, RP, NYY (ankle) – Moving up to Double-A to continue rehab
Jonathan Herrera, SS, COL (wrist) – Starting Triple-A rehab trip Friday
Chris Nelson, SS, COL (chest) – Cleared to return to baseball activities
Aubrey Huff, 1B, SF (knee) – Improving; could swap roster spots with Pablo Sandoval

Transactions

Placed on DL
Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI (back)
Adam Kennedy, 2B, LAD (groin)
Anthony Swarzak, RP, MIN
J.P. Arencibia, C, TOR (hand)

Activated from DL
Jonathan Lucroy, C, MIL

Optioned to Triple-A
Chad Beck, RP, TOR
Evan Meek, RP, PIT
Mike Nickeas, C, NYM
Rudy Owens, RP, HOU
George Kottaras, C, MIL (DFA)
Jeff Bianchi, SS, MIL
Gorkys Hernandez, OF, PIT

Called Up
Starling Marte, OF, PIT
Rob Johnson, C, NYM
Joel Carreno, RP, TOR
Evan Crawford, RP, TOR
Jim Henderson, RP, MIL
Shawn Tolleson, RP, LAD
Luis Perdomo, RP, MIN

Closer Watch

Padres – San Diego's talking extension with Huston Street, so don't go running out to buy shares of Luke Gregerson – whose name has been thrown around in trade talks as well.

Brewers – The Francisco Rodriguez Disaster Tour continued in Philadelphia on Wednesday, as K-Rod amazingly managed to notch his sixth blown save, giving up two runs in the bottom of the 10th. That's seven runs in his last three appearances, opening the door for John Axford to find his way back to the role. Axford threw two scoreless with three strikeouts Wednesday and has strung together five straight scoreless outings overall. See if Axford was cut loose in your league.

KEY MATCHUPS: HOT

Hot Batter MatchupsAt-BatsAVGHRXBHRBIBBKSLGOBPOPS
Omar Vizquel - 3BTOR vs DET
7/27 7:07 PM
Rick Porcello7-15.46700302.467.438.905
Chipper Jones - 3BATL vs PHI
7/27 7:35 PM
Cole Hamels9-30.30026665.633.4171.050
Juan Pierre - OFPHI @ ATL
7/27 7:35 PM
Ben Sheets10-30.33301312.367.355.722
Ty Wigginton - 3BPHI @ ATL
7/27 7:35 PM
Ben Sheets12-36.33324763.556.429.985
Carlos Gonzalez - OFCOL vs CIN
7/27 8:40 PM
Bronson Arroyo4-10.40000022.400.500.900
Jeff Keppinger - 2BTB @ LAA
7/27 10:05 PM
Dan Haren4-11.36401021.455.462.917
Carlos Pena - 1BTB @ LAA
7/27 10:05 PM
Dan Haren4-17.23534518.824.2781.102
B.J. Upton - OFTB @ LAA
7/27 10:05 PM
Dan Haren8-23.348343010.783.3481.131
Chone Figgins - 3BSEA vs KC
7/27 10:10 PM
Jeremy Guthrie7-20.35002413.450.364.814
Andre Ethier - OFLAD @ SF
7/27 10:15 PM
Matt Cain22-44.50002345.568.5201.088
Jerry Hairston Jr. - 3BLAD @ SF
7/27 10:15 PM
Matt Cain3-10.30001232.400.462.862
James Loney - 1BLAD @ SF
7/27 10:15 PM
Matt Cain14-39.359061042.538.419.957
Hanley Ramirez - SSLAD @ SF
7/27 10:15 PM
Matt Cain6-17.35313124.647.4211.068
 
Hot Pitcher MatchupsAt-BatsOpp
AVG
HR
Allow
XBH
Allow
RBI
Allow
BBKOpp
SLG
Opp
OBP
Opp
OPS
None

 

KEY MATCHUPS: COLD

Cold Batter MatchupsAt-BatsAVGHRXBHRBIBBKSLGOBPOPS
Carl Crawford - OFBOS @ NYY
7/27 7:05 PM
Phil Hughes2-15.13300121.133.235.368
Dustin Pedroia - 2BBOS @ NYY
7/27 7:05 PM
Phil Hughes3-15.20012323.467.294.761
Andruw Jones - OFNYY vs BOS
7/27 7:05 PM
Aaron Cook2-12.16701101.250.231.481
Russell Martin - CNYY vs BOS
7/27 7:05 PM
Aaron Cook1-18.05600123.056.143.199
Adam Lind - 1BTOR vs DET
7/27 7:07 PM
Rick Porcello2-10.20011120.500.333.833
Jason Heyward - OFATL vs PHI
7/27 7:35 PM
Cole Hamels2-10.20000013.200.273.473
Dan Uggla - 2BATL vs PHI
7/27 7:35 PM
Cole Hamels6-43.140123413.233.224.457
Chase Utley - 2BPHI @ ATL
7/27 7:35 PM
Ben Sheets2-13.15400004.154.154.308
Shane Victorino - OFPHI @ ATL
7/27 7:35 PM
Ben Sheets1-10.10000103.100.100.200
Tyler Colvin - OFCOL vs CIN
7/27 8:40 PM
Bronson Arroyo1-12.08300003.083.083.166
Ben Zobrist - 2BTB @ LAA
7/27 10:05 PM
Dan Haren1-17.05900106.059.056.115
Tony Gwynn Jr. - OFLAD @ SF
7/27 10:15 PM
Matt Cain3-16.18800003.188.188.376
Matt Kemp - OFLAD @ SF
7/27 10:15 PM
Matt Cain9-35.25704118.400.278.678
 
Cold Pitcher MatchupsAt-BatsOpp
AVG
HR
Allow
XBH
Allow
RBI
Allow
BBKOpp
SLG
Opp
OBP
Opp
OPS
Kip WellsSD @ Mia
7/27 7:10 PM
Marlins Batters19-65.29227151411.479.413.892
Matt CainSF vs LAD
7/27 10:15 PM
Dodgers Batters61-184.332117182028.452.395.848
 

Recommended Pickup
Starling Marte, OF, PIT – Marte made his MLB debut Thursday and homered on the first pitch he saw. He added a single and was caught stealing home – hey, he gets points for trying. Marte was having a fine season in Triple-A, hitting .286 with 12 homers, 13 triples (!) and 21 steals. His lack of plate discipline will depress his batting average in the short term, but Marte has plus-plus speed and good pop. He's a star in the making – get in on the action.

Other Recent Recommendations: Matt Harvey, Travis Snider, Casper Wells, Lorenzo Cain, Christian Friedrich

DraftStreet Competition

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Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com today and start practicing. Remember to use bonus code Rotowire on your first deposit to get some extra cash released into your account as you play.

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Be sure to come back to RotoWire's Daily Lineup Card every day for all the analysis you need to dominate the competition and take home cash on DraftStreet.

DraftStreet Lineup
C: Matt Wieters, BAL ($4,050)
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS ($8,625)
2B: Robinson Cano, NYY ($8,470)
3B: Brett Lawrie, TOR ($7,395)
SS: Zack Cozart, CIN ($5,768)
OF: Drew Stubbs, CIN ($8,702)
OF: Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS ($7,826)
OF: Curtis Granderson, NYY ($7,311)
UT: Andre Ethier, LAD ($6,744)
UT: Jhonny Peralta, DET ($5,361)
SP: Michael Fiers, MIL ($13,146)
SP: Jarrod Parker, OAK ($12,688)
RP: Ernesto Frieri, LAA ($1,985)
P: Jonathan Broxton, KC ($2,146)

Total: 99,857

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Fiorentino
Managing hockey editor, talent wrangler, football columnist, FSWA's 2015 fantasy hockey writer of the year. Twitter: @akfiorentino
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