Avisail Garcia- OF- CHA- Idea- Garcia has a .284/.338/.379 slash line against LH pitching. C. C. Sabathia has had his problems with RH hitting this year, borne out in his .302/.360/.499 slash line against them. Garcia has an edge in this matchup. Value play- DraftKings salary $3400
Zach Britton- RP- BAL- FYI- With the Orioles all but out of wild card contention and
Britton suffering from a sore lat he may be done for the season. It was quite a season, with 34 saves in 38 chances. Britton was arguably more effective this year with his fastball/change repertoire, increasing his K/9 to 11.09 from 7.31 in 2014. His ERA rose a bit from 1.65 to 2.04 but his FIP went down significantly from 3/13 to 1.99. Britton showed improvement in his GB/FB ratio, going from 6.35 to 7.73. His first strike percentage jumped from 55.1% to 63.3%. The conversion from starter to reliever has a second year in the books and with 71 saves in those two years, Britton is in the top level of closers heading into 2016.
Cole Hamels- P- TEX- Great Player- Even when he doesn't have strikeout stuff working, Hamels delivers solid performance lately. He has failed to notch a quality start only once in his last 8 outings. Yesterday he allowed just an unearned run in 6 IP while giving up 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out only 2. His ERA with the Rangers heading into yesterday was 3.73. Hamels appears to have adapted well to the AL West after failing to post a quality start in his first two outings after his trade.
Chris Bassitt- P- Oak- Cold- Bassitt made his first start in almost a month and his return from shoulder woes was not a success. He lasted 3 IP and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk. Bassitt did strike out 3 in his brief appearance. He has been better in a starting rather than relief role this season, with a 3.46 FIP as a starter before yesterday. Bassitt notched a 2.72 FIP at AAA Nashville this season. His velocity was up over his time with the White Sox in 2014. Bassitt could have some sleeper potential in 2016.
Adam Eaton- OF- CHA- Hot- A game after his 11-game hitting streak was snapped, Eaton went 3-for-4 with a run scored. It is the 7th time in his last 13 games he has recorded multiple hits. Eaton's career BABIP is .335, so you might think his current .343 is due for some late season regression to the mean. However, that career number is dragged down by some low numbers in his first two partial major league seasons. In his first full time season last year, Eaton had a .359 BABIP. So the high level could be his norm. Eaton has scored 93 runs and swiped 15 bases so he is an asset in multiple categories when evaluating him for 2016.
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