Sunday Lineup Card: The Return Of Avisail

Sunday Lineup Card: The Return Of Avisail

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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
Matchup Info
Career Matchup Stats
Batter
Pos
Game
Pitcher
AB
H
XBH
HR
RBI
BB
K
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
C. GrandersonOFNYM vs CHC
1:10PM
J. Arrieta22953812.409.417.9551.371
S. DrewSSNYY @ TB
1:40PM
J. Hellickson10410012.400.455.500.955
M. Teixeira1BNYY @ TB
1:40PM
J. Hellickson16630021.375.474.5631.036
M. JoyceOFTB vs NYY
1:40PM
H. Kuroda20733324.350.409.8001.209
E. Longoria3BTB vs NYY
1:40PM
H. Kuroda21921502.429.409.6191.028
B. Zobrist2BTB vs NYY
1:40PM
H. Kuroda18552442.278.409.8331.242
J. MauerCMIN vs KC
2:10PM
J. Guthrie24822341.333.429.5831.012
K. SuzukiCMIN vs KC
2:10PM
J. Guthrie15631302.400.438.7331.171
A. Beltre3BTEX vs LAA
3:05PM
H. Santiago10432221.400.5001.1001.600
R. Howard1BPHI @ SF
4:05PM
T. Lincecum318647512.258.361.7101.071
A. LaRoche1BWAS vs PIT
5:05PM
E. Volquez16631435.375.474.6881.161
Hot Pitcher Matchups – August 17, 2014
Matchup Info
Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher
Game
AB
H
XBH
HR
RBI
BB
K
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Tommy MiloneMIN vs KC
2:10PM
8117802413.210.247.335.582
Tim LincecumSF vs PHI
4:05PM
14332156131244.224.289.422.711
Doug FisterWAS vs PIT
5:05PM
6116212118.262.289.331.620
Cold Batter Matchups – August 17, 2014
Matchup Info
Career Matchup Stats
Batter
Pos
Game
Pitcher
AB
H
XBH
HR
RBI
BB
K
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
M. Cabrera3BDET vs SEA
1:08PM
C. Young12211104.167.167.417.583
D. JeterSSNYY @ TB
1:40PM
J. Hellickson13200001.154.154.154.308
B. RyanSSNYY @ TB
1:40PM
J. Hellickson12100006.083.083.083.167
I. SuzukiOFNYY @ TB
1:40PM
J. Hellickson16200000.125.125.125.250
A. EscobarSSKC @ MIN
2:10PM
T. Milone13220104.154.154.308.462
B. Dozier2BMIN vs KC
2:10PM
J. Guthrie12210202.167.167.250.417
T. Plouffe3BMIN vs KC
2:10PM
J. Guthrie15320001.200.200.400.600
A. Amarista2BSD @ STL
2:15PM
A. Wainwright12210202.167.167.333.500
W. VenableOFSD @ STL
2:15PM
A. Wainwright21410024.190.261.238.499
E. AndrusSSTEX vs LAA
3:05PM
H. Santiago12200012.167.231.167.397
J. BruceOFCIN @ COL
4:10PM
J. Lyles11211510.182.250.455.705
T. Frazier3BCIN @ COL
4:10PM
J. Lyles10211202.200.273.500.773
D. Barney2BLAD vs MIL
4:10PM
W. Peralta11100211.091.167.091.258
G. ParraOFMIL @ LAD
4:10PM
D. Haren20310103.150.150.200.350
T. SniderOFPIT @ WAS
5:05PM
D. Fister13200004.154.154.154.308
E. Bonifacio2BATL vs OAK
8:05PM
J. Lester10100014.100.182.100.282
G. LairdCATL vs OAK
8:05PM
J. Lester17420006.235.235.353.588
Cold Pitcher Matchups – August 17, 2014
Matchup Info
Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher
Game
AB
H
XBH
HR
RBI
BB
K
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Hiroki KurodaNYY @ TB
1:40PM
12637157191023.294.343.539.882

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.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Kennedy
Kennedy covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for RotoWire. A veteran reporter, Kennedy has covered sports for various newspapers in the Southeast.
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