Welcome back folks! Another beautiful night of baseball is approaching us tonight. Just a quick note before I jump into the content, be aware that since teams have clinched playoff berths you may see some young guys get more at-bats while the regulars get some rest. Don’t be so quick to just plug a guy in your lineup, always double check!

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Weather

There is a small potential for some weather in Oakland tonight, but nothing to concern me enough to stay away from the game. Free for all!

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Positional Breakdown (Disregarding 4:00 Games)

Starting Pitchers

We’re plagued by some unusual circumstances regarding today’s baseball slate. The pitchers that are available are absolutely nuts. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen as many top-notch arms (aside from Opening Day) all at once. As a result of the matchups, there is no point in me even breaking down anything for you, any of the following are exceptional plays tonight.

David Price, Cole Hamels, Adam Wainwright, Alex Wood and Chris Sale.

My guess is that if you’d like to be different in a GPP, Wood will be the lowest percentage owned guy. Good Luck! All five should have plus, plus games tonight.

Catcher

Poor Andrew Chafin. After throwing five scoreless innings against the Indians about a month ago, he returns to make a spot start tonight and faces the San Francisco Giants. Normally, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to earn a major league start, except tonight, Chafin has to face Buster Posey. Buster Posey is awesome. I love Buster Posey, and Buster Posey mashes lefties. Posey homered in last night’s contest and has a decent chance of doing the same tonight and increasing his .206 ISO against southpaws.

First Baseman

Anthony Rizzo is back!! Ironically enough, he was dealing with a back injury, but he’s back in full swing. Rizzo hit a walk-off homerun a few nights ago and got a night of rest last night, but I expect him to back in the lineup tonight against young right-hander Daniel Corcino. Rizzo was awesome all season long, there is no denying that, and the Cubs are finally putting pieces in place in front and behind him in the order. He’s a stud, don’t worry about this one, the Cubbies will score tonight.

Second Baseman

Yeah, Detroit needs to keep winning, and really can’t afford to let off the gas pedal in the AL Central. After rallying, and then proceeding to blow a lead last night, the Tigers should be pretty fired up behind David Price tonight. The other good news is that Kyle Gibson is garbage and Ian Kinsler is a pretty solid big leaguer. Kinsler hasn’t been too great over the past week, but has had some success in limited numbers against Gibson. He’s a spark plug to the offense, expect him to get on base in front of the big guns and score some runs tonight.

Third Baseman

Hey, Derek Holland is back! That’s good for the Texas Rangers and for baseball, and also good for Josh Donaldson tonight. Donaldson is incredible against left-handed hurlers, there really is not much more to it. He’s scorched the ball against them this season and has posted a .450 wOBA and .380 ISO against them respectively. You don’t have to over think it when the A’s face a left-handed guy.

Shortstop

Dang man, with so many good pitchers on the mound today, it’s tough to find someone at shortstop with such little positional depth. Essentially by default, Jose Reyes has to take the cake tonight against Bud Norris. The Orioles clinched the AL East last night and the Blue Jays are still clinging to a small chance at a Wild Card spot. Every game is meaningful at this point for the Blue Jays and Reyes is the offensive catalyst. Look for him to succeed against Bud Norris and the O’s tonight, a night after celebrating a title.

Outfield

Although the O’s just clinched the AL East title, I don’t expect all their stars to sit right away. That is a good thing for us tonight as they get to face J.A. Happ at home in a very hitter friendly environment. The O’s offense is going to need to find it’s stride with the loss of Chris Davis, and Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz should both help do that. Both of these guys are monsters against left-handed pitching and have helped lead the team to a division title. They’re not going to slow down entirely, use ‘em up!

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