2012 Fantasy Baseball, Week 18 Sit Em/Start Em: Scott Diamond Gets The Nod
Salvador Perez | Kansas City Royals | (38.3%) – Salvador Perez will be a great option this week for those of you who need depth in the catching position. This week Perez and the Royals face 4 left-handed starting pitchers. Perez has been a lefty slayer. While hitting against lefties this year Perez is hitting .414 with a .452 OBP. Perez will also have the benefit of playing the road for the entire week. While on the road this year he’s hitting .362, 60 points higher than at home.
Jesus Montero | Seattle Mariners | (61.8%) – Jesus Montero will continue this week’s theme of depth at catcher. This is especially important for those of you who are falling behind in your maximum games started category at the position. This week Montero will escape the abyss of Safeco Field for a week-long road trip. On the road this year Montero is hitting .305 with a .340 OBP, 91 and 87 points higher than his home splits respectively. Montero will also be facing two left-handed starting pitchers. Against lefties this year Montero is hitting .359 with a .406 OBP.
Hitters To Sit
Andre Ethier |Los Angeles Dodgers| (100%) – Ethier has been cold of late. Over the course of the last 30 days Ethier has been hitting .266 with a .715 OPS, hardly Ethier-like numbers. This week Ethier and the Dodgers are scheduled for 6 games. 4 of those 6 games will come against left-handed pitchers. Ethier struggles in this category. This year against left-handed pitching Ethier’s batting average is 108 points lower against lefties and his OBP is 107 points lower when compared to his right-handed pitching splits. Ethier has only 4 hits in 38 at-bats against the scheduled starts for the Rockies that he will face, a .105 average. His week ends in Miami. On the road this year Ethier is only hitting .251, 69 points lower than his home split.
Chris Davis |Baltimore Orioles| (64.9%) – This season’s enigma, Chris Davis has been the definition of streaky. Davis should benefit from an upswing in his performance by being able to stay at home for the entirety of next week’s schedule. At Camden Yards this year Davis has hit .90 with a .333 OBP. What’s more important is his ability to hit for power at home. Let’s face it, the reasons this hot and cold player is on your team is to benefit from the power surges that he’s known for. This year Davis has twice as many homeruns at home than on the road. In 169 at-bats combined against both Seattle and Kansas City Chris Davis is hitting .331 and has 12 homeruns. That equates to a 14.1 AB/HR ratio. His career average for at-bats to homeruns is 21.8.
Two-Start Pitchers To Start
Wade LeBlanc | Miami Marlins | (0.3%) – Wade LeBlanc is your super sleeper pick of the week. He starts his week in New York against the Mets who are 9th in the National League against left-handed pitching. In 2 starts against the Mets LeBlanc has a 3.18 ERA. His next start of the week takes place at home in Miami against the Dodgers. The Dodgers are 12th in the National League against left-handed pitching. In 85 at-bats against LeBlanc the Dodgers are hitting a meager .212 with an OBP of .269. LeBlanc has kept Kemp baffled. Kemp is hitting .188 in 16 at-bats against LeBlanc.
Scott Diamond |Minnesota Twins| (34.9%) – Scott Diamond is a lock this week. The left-handed pitcher will be facing two of the worst left-handed hitting lineups. Diamond starts his week against the Indians. This year the Indians are hitting .224 against lefties, 2nd worst in the majors. In 4 career starts against the Indians Diamond has a 2.28 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. He ends his week against Tampa Bay. The Rays are 3rd worst in baseball when it comes to hitting left-handed pitching. The team is hitting a combined .225 against lefties on the year. He’ll be facing the Rays at home this week where in 12 career starts Diamond has a 2.91 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.
Two-Start Pitchers To Sit
Edwin Jackson | Washington Nationals | (64.8%) – This week Edwin Jackson takes his show to the road for two starts. He starts the week out in Houston and finishes in his old home Arizona. The relatively inexperienced Houston lineup has been able to get a lot of experience hitting off of Jackson. The roster is hitting .324 in a combined 34 at-bats against Jackson. Jackson will end the week on an even worse note in Arizona. Jackson’s career ERA at Chase Field is 5.24.
Jason Vargas | Seattle Mariners | (63.2%) – Take caution this week if you have been one of the managers jumping on the hot Vargas bandwagon. Vargas makes both of his starts on the road this week. Pitching outside of Safeco Field, Vargas’ ERA climbs more than 2 runs (from 2.63 to 4.67). August also happens to be Vargas’ worst-performing month on the mound. His career August ERA is 5.35, a full run higher than his career average. His second start of the week comes against the Angels who are 3rd in the junior circuit in hitting against lefties.
Written by James Bryce (@BoltLife4me) exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com
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Photo Credit: July 15, 2012 – Source: Ed Zurga/Getty Images North America
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