Saturday Daily Fantasy Baseball Notes

For those of you who haven't seen what we do on the weekends, this is the first installment. Basically, we take a question that has been asked over the week and provide our perspective. At the bottom you'll find the daily notes and some thoughts for Saturday's games. Today's question involves Matt Garza and how to use him next week. 

Coming tomorrow, The Roundtable's Top Five's of May.

Q: How do you think Matt Garza will do next week vs Boston and Texas? He did very well vs Texas last time with 10ks 2ER and 8 innings of work. Do you predict he'll get better or experience a set back in these two match-ups?

A: Matt Garza doesn't get a lot of respect across fantasy baseball so it's good to see a solid question on him. I wouldn't compare him to how other pitchers will do so much as the team itself.

Breaking it down that way, his game against Boston will be on the road at night. Garza has struggled away from the Trop. In four games, he's running an ERA of 5.64 and a WHIP of 1.50. His numbers at home, however, are much better. He has an ERA of 2.40 and a WHIP of about 1.23. Significant difference, especially in ERA. Batters are also hitting 60 points better against him on the road. Something about being away seems to bother the guy. In his only other start against Boston this season, Garza only went five innings at home, giving up three runs. I don't really like the match up here, especially with the way Boston has played to this point and how Ortiz and Ramirez are hitting much better now than in their last meeting. Expect at least four earned over 6 innings. I won't call a win or loss, especially against Wakefield, because you just don't know what he'll bring.

His game against Texas is also on the road. The Rangers have a very hitter friendly park, but Garza has already pitched well against them once. This one is much more up in the air. If it's a weekly league, you probably have a 50-50 shot with this one. I'd use him because you will still see strikeouts that will largely help you and he likely will control the Rangers bats more than his road numbers would indicate, just based on his two previous meetings with them. Using an untested pitcher against a Boston lineup is always high risk, but potential for high reward. Daily leagues, I'd bench him against Boston and use him against Texas.

Quick Hits from Last Night:

• Derek Jeter is mired in a 3-37 slump and is zero for his last 10 since being hit on the wrist. Jason Varitek is struggling just as badly, having going zero for his last 18.
• Expect JD Drew to be out of the lineup for the weekend. The human injury experienced another setback and missed last night's game with what is being described as vertigo.
• Joba Chamberlain will get the start for the Yankees on Tuesday. Go ahead and use him, but expect him to be limited to 65-70 pitches. The team will still be careful with him, as he hasn't been stretched out enough to throw much beyond that.
• Important to note that Dan Wheeler was given the ball late in the tie game against the White Sox last night. Joe Maddon seems to trust him more and more, which bodes well if you're still on the hunt for saves. I'd give Wheeler a shot in any format as long as Percival's out.
• A lot of people have been hard on Brett Myers. Rightfully so, as he can't seem to find the same consistency we saw when he was at the end of the bullpen last season. That said, he has looked good at home, holding batters to a .240 average. Sure, his ERA is still over four at home, but it's a hitters park and that still is around the league average. He's worth a start nearly every time at home, we just have to watch the road match ups.

Notes for Saturday Games:

• Justin Verlander has been very successful against Seattle and has pitched well his last two outings. Start him with confidence.
• Find options other than your Royals against CC Sabathia. He holds them to a .227 batting average and has been solid all month long. This holds for Alex Gordon as well, since he struggles against left-handed pitching.
• John Lackey obviously should be starting against Toronto, but don't be afraid to put Shannon Stewart in your lineup. He's 14-41 lifetime against Lackey, good for a .341 average. In the same game, Vlad Guerrero is 4-9 against Shaun Marcum with two home runs.
• Ian Kinsler is only 3-16 against Joe Blanton, but the rest of the Rangers seem to like what they see against the A's pitcher. I'd be wary of putting him in my lineup, especially in a park that generates that much offense.
• I'm not too high on Ryan Dempster normally, but he pitches very well against every Rockies player not named Todd Helton. While Helton is a .353 hitter, the rest of the lineup only hits .167 against Dempster.
• Curtis Granderson is 8-12 against Felix Hernandez
• It's very likely you do not have better options than Hanley Ramirez or Dan Uggla, but it could be worth exploring. Cole Hamels has held the Marlins to a .221 average and has been nearly unhittable at home.
• Jair Jurrjens struggled in his last start, but that's been the only one in the last 7 that he hasn't been able to get out of the fifth inning. He's pitching very well in May, sporting an ERA of 2.60. His command isn't great, as evidenced by the walks, but his road numbers show a WHIP of just over 1.00 even when those are counted. Start him with confidence against Josh Fogg.
• Spot starts today? I like Jurrjens, Billingsley, Jason Bergmann, and (gulp) Sidney Ponson in that order.

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