Kritik und Lob » Matt Wieters last week, but they didnt mis

Coming off a Thursday that was filled with multiple elite options and high-end hurlers in the middle tier, Friday feels like a bit of a letdown. Sure, theres a bona fide ace at the top (Scherzer) and some high-upside names in the middle (Velasquez, Matz), but some less-than-ideal matchups mean there arent necessarily any no-brainer cash options this time around. Theres still enough depth available to offer plenty of lineup options; itll just take some work. With that in mind, lets get to it.PitchingEliteNot surprisingly, Max Scherzer draws the top Game Score of the day with a road start at San Francisco. That said, the Giants present a pretty unappealing matchup. Not only are the Giants above average offensively against right-handed pitching, they strike out just 17 percent of the time, which is the lowest rate in the National League. Armed with an 11.5 K/9 that ranks second best in baseball behind only Jose Fernandez, Scherzer carries high strikeout potential into every start. Still, youll want to keep expectations in check given the Giants ability to make contact. Scherzer still carries a safe floor for cash games, but the upside is lower than usual.Its rare that Kenta Maeda joins the elite tier, but thats where he finds himself on Thursday with a home matchup against Arizona. The Diamondbacks have been unimpressive versus righty pitching this season, putting up an 89 wRC+ and 23 percent strikeout rate, so its obviously a much friendlier spot than what Scherzer is matching up against. Then again, in his last six outings, Maeda has whiffed more than six batters just once and has just two quality starts, so hes not as safe, either.SolidOne of the days most appealing matchups belongs to Steven Matz, who is set to square off against the Rockies at Citi Field. In addition to being helpless against left-handed pitching this season, evidenced by an 86 wRC+ and 23 percent whiff rate, the Rox offense goes dormant whenever it leaves Coors Field (80 wRC+, 23 percent strikeout rate). After a rough June (5.74 ERA), Matz has settled down in July (3.24 ERA), and this is a matchup he should exploit. I like him in both cash games and tournaments on Friday.Just missing the elite tier is Vince Velasquez, who gets a road start against Atlanta. Its a terrific matchup. Although the Braves arent a big strikeout team, they have the worst offense in baseball against right-handed pitching (75 wRC+). For his part, Velasquez has high-end whiff potential (10.1 K/9) and owns a 2.70 ERA since returning from the DL in late June. However, his cash appeal is somewhat limited by the fact that hes pitched past the sixth inning just twice in 17 starts this season and has not fared well on the road (4.89 ERA).Over his last seven starts, Jon Lester owns a 5.89 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. He also sports a 4.7 walk rate with 10 homers allowed in those seven outings. Needless to say, Lester seems to be in a bit of a funk. With a decent home matchup against Seattle on tap, the southpaw is worth some GPP consideration given that hes likely to be underowned. However, his recent performance is making me steer clear in cash for now. Granted, with the days only afternoon start time, his DFS availability will be limited anyway.After a brilliant June (2.01 ERA), Trevor Bauer has stumbled a bit so far in July (5.66 ERA). However, Fridays matchup against Oakland might be what needs to get back on track. The As have been the worst team in the American League against righties this season (88 wRC+), and things havent been any better in July (87 wRC+). If youre looking to save cap space, hes worth consideration as an SP2 on multi-pitcher sites.Jose Quintana continues to make sense as a solid cash-game play if you dont want to pay top dollar for one of the elite arms. He offers great start-to-start stability from a run prevention standpoint and still misses enough bats to matter. With the Twins on the schedule, Quintana gets an offense thats slightly above average against lefties but also strikes out at a healthy 23 percent clip. Maybe hes a little boring, but boring is OK in cash games.StreamersJake Odorizzi is coming off his best start of the season, as he tossed eight shutout innings against Oakland last Friday. Hes in another spot to thrive this Friday with the Yankees coming to town. New York has put up an 88 wRC+ versus righties this season, which is something Odorizzi should be able to exploit. Hes still a free agent in more than half of ESPN leagues.Colin McHughs ESPN.com ownership is just 42 percent, but its no surprise that that number is on the rise. After all, the right-hander has posted a 2.49 ERA and 9.0 K/9 over his last seven starts. Detroit may have a lineup that can do some damage, but the Tigers have been struggling offensively in July (86 wRC+) and strike out 22 percent of the time versus right-handed pitching.Available in 57 percent of ESPN.com leagues, Mike Leake carries some streaming appeal against a Marlins team thats below average against right-handed pitching. The Cardinals righty has been a bit up-and-down of late, but hes in a decent spot if you need innings or are chasing wins.Tyler Chatwood doesnt get much attention in fantasy due to being a Colorado Rockies pitcher, but he becomes interesting when hes away from Coors Field. In eight road starts this season, the right-hander owns a pristine 1.30 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. Traveling to Citi Field to take on a Mets team thats below average versus righties and strikes out a lot puts Chatwood in a very nice spot on Friday.AvoidBrandon Finnegan has struggled mightily this season but a start against the lowly Padres would at least make him a decent streaming option, right? Wrong. While the Padres lineup is one of the worst in baseball against right-handed pitching (82 wRC+), it might surprise you to learn that its actually been the best in baseball against lefty pitching (119 wRC+). Keep the Reds lefty on the waiver wire.HittingTim Lincecum is the worst-ranked starter of the day. He has been hammered by both left- (.377 wOBA) and right-handed (.584 wOBA) bats. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have been the most lethal team in baseball versus right-handed pitching this season. This one could get ugly in a hurry, so youll definitely want some exposure to the Boston bats. Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. are all top-tier plays here. Go nuts.We already discussed avoiding Finnegan against the Padres, who hammer left-handed pitching, so it stands to reason that theyll have some bats worth targeting. Youll want to focus on righty swingers, with Wil Myers and Matt Kemp being the most desirable targets.Edwin Jackson has made only two starts this season, and he holds a 2.92 ERA in those two starts. That said, hes also walked more than hes struck out in 23 innings this season and owns a 6.24 xFIP, which hasnt caught up to his 4.30 ERA just yet. Take a look at lefty sluggers Jay Bruce and Joey Votto in this one.The Cardinals lineup has been the best in the NL this season against right-handed pitching (113 wRC+), and that could spell trouble for Jose Urena on Friday. The Dodgers righty owns a 5.28 ERA in 38 career appearances (11 starts) to go along with an ugly 4.7 K/9. There are plenty of Cardinals bats worth considering here regardless of platoon advantage, making this a good time to stack.Most likely to go yard: Chris CarterOriginally this call was made when Jeff Locke was scheduled, but hes since been replaced by Steven Brault. Brault is also a lefty and Miller Park greatly inflates right-handed power. Still sounds like a great time for Carter to muscle up.Most likely to swipe a bag: Mookie BettsIm high on Matz on Friday, but the fact remains that hes allowed 15 stolen bases this season, the third most in baseball. With the Rockies in town, Charlie Blackmon will be off to the races if he reaches first base. Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Black NFL Jerseys For Sale . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. http://www.officialnflteamgears.com/ . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Black NFL Jerseys 2018 . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Youth Black NFL Jerseys . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. BALTIMORE -- Injuries and illness have crippled the Baltimore Orioles in recent days, and life will not get much easier when they face the American League Central-leading Cleveland Indians on Friday night at Camden Yards.The Indians send out right-hander Trevor Bauer (7-3, 3.36 ERA) against rookie right-hander Dylan Bundy (2-2, 3.70), making just his second start. Bauer is one of four strong starting pitchers who have given the Indians a big lead in the AL Central early in the second half of the seasonCleveland last played on Wednesday and Tyler Naquin belted two homers and finished with six RBI as the Indians hit five homers in an 11-4 victory over the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals. The Indians held a 7 1/2-game lead over Detroit before the Tigers played Thursday night.The solid starting pitching could give the power-hitting Orioles trouble in this series. Cleveland.com reported Thursday that the Indians rank second in the AL in strikeouts, something that has been a problem for Baltimore at times this season.MLB.com reported that Naquin has hit all 12 of his homers since coming from the minors on June 2 and that hes hitting .327 in 113 at-bats and giving the Indians plenty of punch.I believe that if you put in the right work, if you work for something and it happens, you shouldnt be surprised at all, he said on MLB.com.Home runs were an issue when Bundy made his first start last weekend against the Rays. He gave up three in 3 1/3 innings in a loss to Tampa Bay after turning in several longer relief appearances.Its doubtful that Bundy would make it past five innings as 3 1/3 innings is his longest effort thiss season.dddddddddddd. The Orioles turned to him as theyre desperately looking for a starter to give some solid early innings and then they could turn it over the bullpen while Bundy would eventually stretch himself out as time goes on.What makes everything even tougher is that the Orioles have been hit with a number of injury and illness issues in recent days, a big reason they slid out of first place after losing Wednesday. They ended a four-game slide with a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday afternoon.A stomach bug/virus is working its way through the clubhouse and has sidelined Chris Davis (three games), Manny Machado (Wednesday, but he came back Thursday) and manager Buck Showalter (out Wednesday, back Thursday).It also hit closer Zach Britton and Matt Wieters last week, but they didnt miss any time. A few coaches also got knocked down by with the virus.As for the injuries, Hyun Soo Kim got put on the disabled list earlier in the week. Adam Jones (back spasms) missed Thursdays game as did fellow outfielder Joey Rickard (thumb injury). Matt Wieters (sore foot) sat out for a third straight game but might return Friday, if all goes well.Wieters is close. Im hoping its kind of day to day, Showalter told MASN.com after Thursdays win. Adam, Im hoping its not very long. Im hoping he can play tomorrow, but he had some back spasms. It was toward the end of the game last night.He actually felt it a little bit early. Chris worked his way through. He knew we were short. We only had 10 players. ' ' '