Sunday Lineup Card: The Return Of Avisail

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Updated on August 17, 2014 2:18AM EST

Sunday Lineup Card:
Projected Starters - A look at Sunday's matchups (all times Eastern)
Orioles (Kevin Gausman – R) at Indians (Danny Salazar – R) , 1:05
Mariners (Chris Young – R) at Tigers (Robbie Ray – L), 1:08
Cubs (Jake Arrieta – R) at Mets (Rafael Montero – R), 1:10
Diamondbacks (Josh Collmenter – R) at Marlins (Tom Koehler – R), 1:10
Astros (Collin McHugh – R) at Red Sox (Joe Kelly – R), 1:35
Yankees (Hiroki Kuroda – R) at Rays (Jeremy Hellickson – R), 1:40
Blue Jays (Drew Hutchison – R) at White Sox (Scott Carroll – R), 2:10
Royals (Jeremy Guthrie – R) at Twins (Tommy Milone – L), 2:10
Padres (Odrisamer Despaigne – R) at Cardinals (Adam Wainwright – R), 2:15
Angels (Hector Santiago – L) at Rangers (Nick Tepesch – R), 3:05
Phillies (David Buchanan – R) at Giants (Tim Lincecum – R), 4:05
Brewers (Wily Peralta – R) at Dodgers (Dan Haren – R), 4:10
Reds (Mat Latos – R) at Rockies (Jordan Lyles – R), 4:10
Pirates (Edinson Volquez – R) at Nationals (Doug Fister – R), 5:05
Athletics (Jon Lester – L) at Braves (Mike Minor – L), 8:00
Reds (Dylan Axelrod – R) at Rockies (Yohan Flande – L), 9:10

Day Game After Night Game: BAL/CLE, MIL/LAD, PIT/WAS, SEA/DET, HOU/BOS, TOR/CWS/, KC/MIN, CHC/NYM, ARI/MIA, SD/STL, LAA/TEX

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Jordy Mercer, SS, PIT – (Forearm) Did not play Saturday.
Jayson Werth, OF, WAS – (Shoulder) Did not play Saturday.
Neil Walker, 2B, PIT – (Back) Slated to start each of the next three days.
Jean Segura, 2B, MIL – (Hand) Did not start Saturday's double-header.
David Wright, 3B, NYM – (Shoulder) Left Saturday's game after he was hit by a pitch.
Anthony Swarzak, P, MIN – (Ankle) Could avoid DL stint.

Players on the DL

Allen Craig, 1B, BOS – (Foot) Slated to start a rehab assignment Monday.
David Ross, C, BOS – (Heel) May not require a rehab assignment.
Masahiro Tanaka, P, NYY – (Elbow) Threw fastballs without pain Friday.
Gerrit Cole, P, PIT – (Back) Will either start Wednesday or Friday.
Shae Simmons, P, ATL – (Shoulder) Made first rehab appearance Saturday.
Jacob deGrom, P, NYM – (Shoulder) Could throw off mound Monday.
Michael Wacha, P, STL – (Shoulder) Threw off mound Saturday.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, PIT – (Ribs) Took batting practice and ran the bases Saturday.
Chris Owings, SS, ARI – (Shoulder) On track to rejoin team in early September.
Matt Garza, P, MIL – (Oblique) Played catch Saturday for second straight day.

Activated from Disabled List (15-day DL, unless otherwise noted)
Avisail Garcia, OF, CWS – (Shoulder)

Placed on the DL (15-day DL, unless otherwise noted)

Moises Sierra, OF, CWS – (Back)
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN – (Quad) Transferred to the 60-day DL
Tommy Kahnle, P, COL – (Shoulder)
Juan Uribe, 3B, LAD – (Hamstring)

Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Called Up

Vincent Belnome, 2B, TB
Kyle Drabek, P, TOR
Eric Surkamp, P, CWS
Brooks Brown, P, COL
Michael Morin, P, LAA
Carlos Triunfel, SS, LAD
Jim Johnson, P, DET

Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)

Ben Paulson, 1B, TB
Melvin Merceded, P, DET

Released

Jo-Jo Reyes, P, PHI

Closer Watch

New York Mets – Despite suffering from a hernia, Jenrry Mejia continues to churn out succcessful outings for the New York Mets. He picked up his 18th save of the season Friday, working a perfect ninth inning in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Mejia has been dealing with the injury for the past three weeks and also dealt with a calf strain, but the young hurler has the confidence of his manager, who declared him available to pitch last week. Terry Collins has not been shy in deploying Mejia in high-leverage situations since mid-May. With no other viable threat to his role as the end-game pitcher on the roster, Mejia will continue to plug away for as long as his health will allow. The 24-year-old sports a 3.79 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 76 innings pitched this season for the Mets.

Hot Batter Matchups – August 17, 2014

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
C. Granderson	OF	NYM vs CHC 1:10PM	J. Arrieta	22	9	5	3	8	1	2	.409	.417	.955	1.371
S. Drew	SS	NYY @ TB 1:40PM	J. Hellickson	10	4	1	0	0	1	2	.400	.455	.500	.955
M. Teixeira	1B	NYY @ TB 1:40PM	J. Hellickson	16	6	3	0	0	2	1	.375	.474	.563	1.036
M. Joyce	OF	TB vs NYY 1:40PM	H. Kuroda	20	7	3	3	3	2	4	.350	.409	.800	1.209
E. Longoria	3B	TB vs NYY 1:40PM	H. Kuroda	21	9	2	1	5	0	2	.429	.409	.619	1.028
B. Zobrist	2B	TB vs NYY 1:40PM	H. Kuroda	18	5	5	2	4	4	2	.278	.409	.833	1.242
J. Mauer	C	MIN vs KC 2:10PM	J. Guthrie	24	8	2	2	3	4	1	.333	.429	.583	1.012
K. Suzuki	C	MIN vs KC 2:10PM	J. Guthrie	15	6	3	1	3	0	2	.400	.438	.733	1.171
A. Beltre	3B	TEX vs LAA 3:05PM	H. Santiago	10	4	3	2	2	2	1	.400	.500	1.100	1.600
R. Howard	1B	PHI @ SF 4:05PM	T. Lincecum	31	8	6	4	7	5	12	.258	.361	.710	1.071
A. LaRoche	1B	WAS vs PIT 5:05PM	E. Volquez	16	6	3	1	4	3	5	.375	.474	.688	1.161

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Hot Pitcher Matchups – August 17, 2014

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Tommy Milone	MIN vs KC 2:10PM	81	17	8	0	2	4	13	.210	.247	.335	.582
Tim Lincecum	SF vs PHI 4:05PM	143	32	15	6	13	12	44	.224	.289	.422	.711
Doug Fister	WAS vs PIT 5:05PM	61	16	2	1	2	1	18	.262	.289	.331	.620

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Batter Matchups – August 17, 2014

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
M. Cabrera	3B	DET vs SEA 1:08PM	C. Young	12	2	1	1	1	0	4	.167	.167	.417	.583
D. Jeter	SS	NYY @ TB 1:40PM	J. Hellickson	13	2	0	0	0	0	1	.154	.154	.154	.308
B. Ryan	SS	NYY @ TB 1:40PM	J. Hellickson	12	1	0	0	0	0	6	.083	.083	.083	.167
I. Suzuki	OF	NYY @ TB 1:40PM	J. Hellickson	16	2	0	0	0	0	0	.125	.125	.125	.250
A. Escobar	SS	KC @ MIN 2:10PM	T. Milone	13	2	2	0	1	0	4	.154	.154	.308	.462
B. Dozier	2B	MIN vs KC 2:10PM	J. Guthrie	12	2	1	0	2	0	2	.167	.167	.250	.417
T. Plouffe	3B	MIN vs KC 2:10PM	J. Guthrie	15	3	2	0	0	0	1	.200	.200	.400	.600
A. Amarista	2B	SD @ STL 2:15PM	A. Wainwright	12	2	1	0	2	0	2	.167	.167	.333	.500
W. Venable	OF	SD @ STL 2:15PM	A. Wainwright	21	4	1	0	0	2	4	.190	.261	.238	.499
E. Andrus	SS	TEX vs LAA 3:05PM	H. Santiago	12	2	0	0	0	1	2	.167	.231	.167	.397
J. Bruce	OF	CIN @ COL 4:10PM	J. Lyles	11	2	1	1	5	1	0	.182	.250	.455	.705
T. Frazier	3B	CIN @ COL 4:10PM	J. Lyles	10	2	1	1	2	0	2	.200	.273	.500	.773
D. Barney	2B	LAD vs MIL 4:10PM	W. Peralta	11	1	0	0	2	1	1	.091	.167	.091	.258
G. Parra	OF	MIL @ LAD 4:10PM	D. Haren	20	3	1	0	1	0	3	.150	.150	.200	.350
T. Snider	OF	PIT @ WAS 5:05PM	D. Fister	13	2	0	0	0	0	4	.154	.154	.154	.308
E. Bonifacio	2B	ATL vs OAK 8:05PM	J. Lester	10	1	0	0	0	1	4	.100	.182	.100	.282
G. Laird	C	ATL vs OAK 8:05PM	J. Lester	17	4	2	0	0	0	6	.235	.235	.353	.588

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Pitcher Matchups – August 17, 2014

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Hiroki Kuroda	NYY @ TB 1:40PM	126	37	15	7	19	10	23	.294	.343	.539	.882

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Recommended Pickup

Avisail Garcia, OF, CWS – Garcia returned to the lineup Saturday four months after he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum. He slotted into the cleanup spot in the White Sox lineup against the Toronto Blue Jays. There might not be a better place in a major league lineup to hit than behind Jose Abreu. The only way to improve the pitches Garcia sees would be to utilize him second in the order, in front of Abreu. Coincidentally, manager Robin Ventura had discussed moving Garcia to the two hole in the White Sox batting order. Whether he hits in front of or behind the Cuban slugger, Garcia will help anchor the heart of one of baseball's orders in front of the faithful at U.S. Cellular, one of the game's most hitter-friendly parks. Enjoy the early return of a young hitter who was not expected to be back this season.

Other Recent Recommendations :Mike Fiers, Norichika Aoki, Derek Jeter, David Peralta and Rymer Liriano

Draft Kings Value Picks

SP: Dan Haren, LAD ($6,400)
C: Evan Gattis, ATL ($3,400)
1B: Kennys Vargas, MIN ($3,900)
2B: Daniel Murphy, NYM ($4,000)
SS: Alcides Escobar, KC ($3,500)
3B: Casey McGehee, MIA ($3,500)
OF: Marcell Ozuna, MIA ($3,300)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.