Splitsville welcomes you to the final full scoring period in August with only five weeks remaining in the Fantasy Baseball season.
How is your playoff push coming? Might be better had you been checking Splitsville regularly. For those who have frequented our little town of statistics, you must be in the hunt so good luck in winning your league.
Now, on to the Week 21 splits.
Five Strikes (Positive Splits)
Gio Gonzalez, SP, Athletics
Upcoming Schedule:
Aug. 24 start at Cleveland, Aug. 29 start at Texas
Gonzalez has gone
at least six innings in seven consecutive starts and is 3-2 over that
span with a 2.49 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 47 innings pitched. He has
done well for the A's recently and that should only continue in the
upcoming scoring period. Gonzalez (10-8) is pitching on the road in Week
21. While he would prefer to be in Oakland, Gonzalez shouldn't have too
much trouble against the opponents he's facing, even though the Rangers
have one of the more dangerous lineups in baseball. Gonzalez has gone
2-1 against Texas over six appearances and four starts with a 1.69
career ERA. He's 1-1 this season against the Rangers with a 2.65 ERA in
three outings. Gonzalez loves pitching in Cleveland. Progressive Field
has been a home away from home as Gonzalez has gone 2-0 there in two
starts with a 1.42 ERA and 13 strikeouts spanning 12 2/3 innings.
Overall against the Tribe, Gonzalez is 3-0, including 2-0 this season,
with a 1.16 ERA in four starts with 19 Ks in 23 1/3 innings.
Ryan Theriot, 2B, L.A. Dodgers
Upcoming Schedule:
Three games at Milwaukee, Three games at Colorado
Theriot is happy
with the Dodgers. He is playing every day and has thus, entering
Saturday's games, gone 22 for 76 (.289) with a homer and five RBI in 20
games since coming over from the Cubs. And the good news is that the
upcoming scoring period could prove to be one of his best. That is
because Theriot will be spending three games in Milwaukee's Miller Park.
Already having gone 13 for 30 (.433) there this season over six games,
Theriot is a career .368 hitter at Miller. Also, Theriot has stolen
eight bases at Miller Park in the last three seasons alone. Many hitters
perform well at Coors Field and Theriot is no different there. He is a
career .327 hitter in Colorado. He's gone 0 for 2 there this season in
one game, but Theriot went 8 for 18 (.444) last year at Coors.
Ian Desmond, SS, Nationals
Upcoming Schedule:
Three games vs. Chicago Cubs, Four games vs. St. Louis
Fantasy owners
need to realize that Desmond might be finally coming into his own
offensively for the Nationals. Entering Saturday, Desmond had gone 27
for 68 (.397) in August over 19 games with five doubles, two homers,
five RBI and five stolen bases. Desmond, a former third-round draft pick
and top prospect, is hotter than he's ever been right now and is facing
two of his favorite teams to hit against in the upcoming Week 21 scoring
period. While there isn't much history for such a young player, Desmond
has definitely found success against the Cubs and Cardinals. In three
games against Chicago, Desmond has gone 4 for 12 (.333) with two RBI and
two stolen bases. Desmond met the Cardinals for two games earlier in the
season and St. Louis simply could not get him out as he went 6 for 8
against them.
Kyle Lohse, SP, Cardinals
Upcoming Schedule: Aug.
24 start at Pittsburgh, Aug. 29 start at Washington
Lohse has only
made one start since returning earlier than expected from a forearm
injury that had him out since May 22. He did not fare well against the
Cubs, giving up seven runs on six hits, including two homers, over three
innings. Lohse could begin to turn it around in Week 21, however. First
of all, he is pitching against too porous offensive teams and, secondly,
he has owned those teams in the past. Lohse has gone 4-0 over six career
starts against the Pirates and his career ERA of 2.14 against them is
his lowest against any team in the majors by a wide margin. He has had
no trouble pitching at PNC Park in the Steel City, going 1-0 there over
two starts and three appearances with a 2.20 ERA and 13 strikeouts
spanning 16 1/3 innings. Lohse has made one career start at Washington's
Nationals Park and won that outing, allowing one run and four hits over
five frames. Overall against the Nats, Lohse has gone 3-1 with a 4.65
ERA. Still, since 2008, Lohse is 3-0 against them in three starts with
just two runs allowed over 18 innings for an ERA of 1.00.
Alex Rios, OF, Chicago White Sox
Upcoming Schedule:
Three games vs. Baltimore, Three games vs. N.Y. Yankees
Rios is
playing like he's back in the American League East with the Blue Jays
lately. Entering Saturday, Rios was batting just .234 in August with one
homer and 10 RBI in 18 games. Still, he's had a great season in his new
digs and the AL East could actually play to his advantage in Week 21.
Facing two very familiar opponents could re-awaken his bat. Especially
considering Rios has always hit well against the Yankees and Orioles.
Rios, 2 for 4 against New York this year, is a career .302 hitter
against the Yankees over 344 at-bats. The Yankees are the only team in
the division Rios has a career average above .300 against. He's only
homered against them six times, however. When it comes to HRs, he has
always had Baltimore's number. A career .284 hitter against the Birds,
Rios' 15 homers against them are three more than the next closest
major-league opponent.
Five 7-10 Splits (Negative Splits)
Stephen Drew, SS, Diamondbacks
Upcoming Schedule:
Three games at San Diego, Three games at San Francisco
Fantasy owners
generally would keep Drew active through thick and thin considering he's
got immense power from the shortstop position. We can't argue with that
logic, but we can still suggest other options in Week 21 due to the
splits screaming against his use. Drew, who isn't exactly hot at the
moment with a .250 average over 20 games in August, will be playing in
two of his more unfriendly confines in the upcoming scoring period. San
Diego's PetCo Park and San Francisco's AT&T Park represent nightmares
for J.D.'s brother. Drew is a career .206 hitter at PetCo over 33 games
with only one home run. This season, Drew has gone 2 for 19 (.105) in
San Diego and is a career .216 hitter against the Padres overall in 259
at-bats. Drew has gone 0 for 9 thus far this season in San Francisco. He
is a career .220 hitter at AT&T Park and has just one home run there in
33 games.
Fausto Carmona, SP, Indians
Upcoming Schedule:
Aug. 24 start vs. Oakland, Aug. 29 start vs. Kansas City
The
Cleveland starter has dropped three straight decisions and has not
looked good in doing so. He has been solid in the past and pitches twice
in the Week 21 scoring period and we know that makes him an attractive
option. Think about it, though. Carmona (11-11) has a 7.24 ERA against
the Royals with a 2-3 record over the last three seasons, including
going 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA this year. In fact, Carmona just lost to the
Royals back on Wednesday in Kansas City in his last start. He allowed
seven runs and didn't strike out a batter over five innings in that one.
Since 2007, Carmona has gone 3-4 against the A's and his ERA is up there
at 6.82. He is 1-1 against them this season, but, again, the last time
he faced them, July 4, he lost. He would have to snap a whole lot of
down trends to have a solid week.
Matt Joyce, OF, Rays
Upcoming Schedule: Three
games at L.A. Angels, Three games vs. Boston
Joyce has been getting
more regular playing with the Rays in August and has hit .296 over his
last 10 games. Fantasy owners are beginning to recognize him as an
option in AL-only and the deepest of mixed Fantasy leagues and rightly
they should. Only, not in Week 21. Unfortunately for Joyce, he would
need to record a major-league first in order to have a solid scoring
period. That is because Joyce has never gotten a base hit against the
Angels. Joyce has played seven games against the Angels and has seen 20
at-bats, going hitless with 12 strikeouts. The Rays might not even give
him at-bats in that series because his splits are so poor against L.A.
For what it is worth, Joyce also struggles against Boston with a career
.207 average over 29 at-bats.
Jason Kubel, OF, Twins
Upcoming Schedule: Four
games at Texas, Three games at Seattle
Kubel is riding a scorching
wave right now in August. Entering Saturday, Kubel was batting .292 for
the month with six home runs and 23 RBI in just 19 games. So why should
you not be starting him in Week 21? Splitsville doesn't like the
location he will be hitting in over his two series. Kubel has never hit
well in Texas or Seattle. The Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is Kubel's
second least-favorite place to play in the American League. He is a
career .182 hitter there over 44 at-bats and that comes with an on-base
percentage of just .280. For his career, Kubel has been better at Safeco
Field. He is a career .261 hitter there, except over the last two
seasons has gone just 3 for 26 (.115) with Puget Sound in the background
and that comes with only one RBI.
Russell Branyan, 1B, Mariners
Upcoming Schedule:
Three games at Boston, Three games vs. Minnesota
Branyan homered
three times in a two-game span against the Yankees last week which will
gain him some popularity for Week 21. Unfortunately, the splits don't
read so well for the Seattle first baseman in the upcoming scoring
period. Branyan may have hit the longest home run to date in new Yankee
Stadium, but Fenway Park has always kept him grounded. That's right,
Branyan, who has played Major League Baseball for 12 full seasons, has
never homered in only four ballparks: Long-gone Veterans Stadium in
Philadelphia, Washington's new Nationals Park, Minnesota's new Target
Field and one of the oldest ballparks in the history of the game, Fenway
Park. Branyan is a career .127 hitter over 55 at-bats in Boston, his
lowest average in any American League stadium. Also, Branyan has gone
just 5 for 24 (.208) against the Twins this season.
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