Ubaldo Jimenez
Jimenez had his worst outing of 2015 on Friday, allowing seven runs (a season high) in just 4.2 innings with the long ball being Jimenez's biggest enemy. Giving up home runs to Victor and J.D. Martinez is one thing, but a three-run home run to Jose Iglesias is another. Those three home runs are the equivalent to how many home runs Jimenez had allowed in his prior seven starts before Friday, and are a season high, as well. The good news for Jimenez owners is that even when Jimenez has hit low points in previous seasons, it's never really been the long ball that did him in, meaning that this was likely a fluke game and not the beginning of a collapse. What has done in Jimenez in the past - and what he has improved on this season in his revival - is his control. Jimenez didn't walk a single Tiger despite the rough outing, and as long as the rough outing doesn't scare him into attacking further away from the center of the plate, this looks like one rough outing instead of something for owners to worry about.
Wade Miley
Miley made the first steps towards moving his ERA closer to his FIP on Friday, starting the post-All-Star Break with seven innings of one-hit, two-walk shutout baseball. Miley didn't get the win thanks to an equally sharp outing from C.J. Wilson, but the start has to be heartening for Miley and the Red Sox. Miley's FIP at the AS Break (3.95) painted a picture of a pitcher who could have sneaky value in AL-only leagues, or as a starter in good match ups in more common leagues. Miley is never going to rack up the strikeouts, but given that his hard hit ball rate coming into Friday was a mere 23.1 percent his opposing line drive rate was the lowest it has been in his entire career, better results seemed destined on the horizon. We shouldn't read toooo much into this one start, but with his next start coming against the strikeout-happy and recently cold-hitting Astros next Wednesday, he is worth a spot start to see if he can continue to build on Friday's excellent outing.
Delino DeShields
DeShields has been solid since his return from the DL, and posted another multi-hit game on Friday, going 2-for-5, albeit an empty 2-for-5. DeShields, who has the nickname "Snacks" according to baseball-reference, is 7-for-25 for a .280 average since his return from injury, pretty much right in line with where he was before the missed time. DeShields only has one steal in that time, but steals are obviously more prone to small sample size fluctuations, and DeShields could easily three-stolen base game like he did on May 7 to make his stolen base rate right in line with before the injury. That's what DeShields' owners will be looking for, as his value comes mostly from his base stealing, with a small sampling of run scoring and batting average ability as well. DeShields is under-owned right now in fantasy baseball, as he is available in nearly three-quarters of all ESPN leagues, despite having some real value, even in shallower leagues. If you're struggling at the outfield spot, feel free to grab DeShields and enjoy his .270ish average, 35ish runs and 10-15 steals the rest of the way.
Jeff Samardzija
The latest victim to lose to the almighty Chris Young, Samardzija had an aggressively mediocre outing on Friday, giving up four runs (and two home runs) on seven hits and three walks to go along with just three strikeouts in seven innings against the Royals. Samardzija's statistics are down across the board this season, as his ERA is more than a run higher than last season (4.08 in 2015 vs. 2.99 in 2014), and his stirkeout rate is down over a hitter per inning. This dropping strikeout rate is troubling for Samardzija, as he struck out 9.01 batters per nine in 2013, 8.28 last season, and just 7.14 this season. That drop in strikeout rate has coincided with a slight drop in velocity, but not enough to explain the big drop off in K rate. This drop off in ability to put hitters away is especially troubling for Samardzija this season, as the White Sox have some of the most horrendous fielding in all of baseball, meaning that Samardzija should be putting more value on the strikeout than ever. With the White Sox porous defense, his low win rate (6), and an ERA over 4.00, Samardzija has dropped down to the "Play if the match up is right" pitcher, and could even be dropped in standard, ten-team mixed leagues without too much worry. Part of the allure of Samardzija is that he is supposedly a big name, but given that this is a pitcher who has never had a season with a FIP below 3.20, and his strikeout rate is on par with Rick Porcello, the draw for owning Samardzija has never been lower.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Jose Quintana
Picking a White Sox pitcher is always dangerous given the odds he won't get the victory, and knowing that he won't get any real support from his defense. The White Sox have the second worst defense in all of baseball, which explains away pretty much the entire 0.40 gap between Quintana's ERA and FIP, meaning he is accurately a 3.69 pitcher. However, in his last nine starts, Quintana has an ERA of 2.82, with all nine starts being quality starts. He's striking out nearly a batter an inning, and has looked much more consistent than earlier in the season. Quintana faces the Royals, who although they don't strike out much, are far from an imposing group of power hitters. If Quintana can avoid any big innings, something he has done very well over the past month and a half, he should be in good shape. As an added bonus, he gets to face off against Jeremy Guthrie, quite possibly the worst pitcher in baseball right now.
$9,200
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