Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

Last Night Rewind

• DL news continues to top the list. Dustin Pedroia feels he will be back in a week. This came after a successful workout with some full-speed running. Pedroia will work out this week and make two rehab appearances over the weekend in Triple-A. Rafael Furcal was placed on the DL by the Dodgers with a lower back strain following last night's game.
• Ian Kinsler is not likely to come off the DL on Thursday when eligible. Kinsler still has inflammation in his groin that is keeping him away from much baseball activity. The second baseman is likely now to be sidelined until the end of the month.
• There was a rookie with a stellar performance last night, and this time it was not Stephen Strasburg. Jeremy Hellickson worked seven innings for the Rays last night against the Tigers to record the win. It took just 86 pitches for him to work seven innings and record seven strikeouts without allowing a walk on three hits.
• When it comes to making bad calls, there were a few in the notes yesterday. None worse than the idea that Freddy Garcia should be able to control the Twins. Garcia came into the game with a 5-2 home record but could not get out of the third inning last night. He surrendered three home runs and six earned runs to Minnesota. Just an ugly outing. Got the Jason Kubel part right anyway...a small silver lining.
• Kyle Kendrick had been dominant of late but fell victim to the Dodgers. Kendrick had given up only four earned runs in a span of 19.1 innings, but last night gave up five earned runs on eight hits and a walk in just 3.1 innings. Jay Gibbons announced his return to the majors with authority last night, hitting his first home run since 2007.

Wednesday Notes

• There certainly needs to be some concern in throwing Javier Vazquez right now. Vazquez had a dead arm against Boston, an outing where he could not touch 90 with any of his pitches. Much of his success has been a result of his fastball. With that not there, be wary. Jorge Cantu is 5-for-11 against Vazquez.
• Brandon Phillips is just 3-for-19 against Adam Wainwright. Surprisingly, he is the only player on the Reds with any sort of reliable track record against the St. Louis starter. Wainwright is 5-6 on the road this year. Overall, he has allowed one earned run or less in eight of his last 10 starts. His two blowups in that stretch? On the road.
• Any Cardinals batters you would start should be good to go against Arroyo. Felipe Lopez is the big winner. He checks in at .417 with two home runs in 36 at-bats. Rasmus, Ryan, Pujols, and Schumaker are all hitting better than .300 with Matt Holliday not far behind at .273. Randy Winn is just 4-for-26, but he is likely not on your radar.
• The Twins have raked against John Danks. Michael Cuddyer is the big winner, posting a .474 average and five home runs in 38 at-bats against him. Only Jason Kubel checks in below .300 of the regulars you are likely to start and his average is at .296. Danks has allowed 24 hits in 19 innings pitched against the Twins this season.
• While everything went right for Zack Greinke last season, that has not been the case this year. Erick Aybar has pounded Greinke, going 7-for-14 against him overall. Torii Hunter may only be a .267 hitter, but he does have three home runs in 30 at-bats against the Kansas City starter. Greinke has struggled on the road this season, posting just a 2-6 record.
• Clay Buchholz has been stellar this season, but the Blue Jays have some decent numbers against him. Adam Lind is 6-for-18 with two home runs while Lyle Overbay is 6-for-17. Aaron Hill has been red-hot all month, but he is only 5-for-21 against Buchholz and has hit just .108 in 27 at-bats against Boston this year.
• Adrian Beltre is the big winner against Shaun Marcum. Beltre is 7-for-18 with two home runs against the righty. Mike Lowell and Victor Martinez are the only other decent options available. Look to avoid the 4-for-19 of David Ortiz and the 3-for-14 of J.D. Drew.
• Chone Figgins might own Dallas Braden. Figgins is 8-for-16 against the Oakland starter. Ichiro has 13 at-bats against Braden and a .308 average to show for it. Not much else to report for Seattle in this one. Braden is only 2-3 on the road this year and has surrendered six home runs in 43 innings while allowing batters to hit .283 against him.
• Wandy Rodriguez has allowed just one earned run over his last three starts, covering 21.1 innings of work. Look to avoid Alex Gonzalez in this one, as he is only 2-for-17 against Rodriguez. Troy Glaus and Matt Diaz both are hitting better than .300 and would make decent plays in this one. David Ross may get the start behind the plate given his 5-for-15 number and the 0-for-8 of Brian McCann.
• Spot Starts: Correia, Volstad, Bush

Thursday Notes

• Gavin Floyd is 6-1 in his last 10 and has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of those starts. In that span, he has lowered his ERA from 5.20 down to 3.49. Look to Denard Span, who is 9-for-17, and Jason Kubel, who is 10-for-28, as your best options. Delmon Young has really struggled, posting only three hits in 16 at-bats.
• Francisco Liriano will be pitching against the White Sox on six days rest. Liriano is experiencing a bit of a dead arm and needed the additional day for recovery. This is a tough start given the way it could impact his overall speed and location. Liriano is only 4-4 on the road this season with a 4.57 ERA in 11 starts.
• Ricky Nolasco is coming off a rough start against the Cardinals, and he is 0-2 against the Nationals this season. In two starts, he has only worked 9.1 innings but surrendered nine runs on 15 hits and two home runs. Josh Willingham is 4-for-10 against him and Ryan Zimmerman has three home runs in 27 at-bats to go with a .296 average.
• Hanley Ramirez and Wes Helms are your best options on the Marlins against Livan Hernandez. These two are the only regulars with averages north of .300. Dan Uggla has been on a tear, but he is 4-for-25 against Hernandez. Cody Ross is just 4-for-16.
• Adam LaRoche is the only option worth starting against Randy Wolf. LaRoche is 6-for-19 with a home run. Mark Reynolds has ugly numbers with just a .182 average in 22 at-bats. Chris Young is 4-for-17 while Stephen Drew is just 1-for-10 and Justin Upton only 3-for-13. Wolf has only given up five runs over his last three starts, a total of 19.2 innings
• Spot Starts: Hammel, Wolf, Duke

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