Splitsville: No go after a no-no?

Splitsville was closed last week due to the residents being on vacation but they return with a vengeance in Week 13 and this time there are no interleague matchups to hide behind.

Interleague is a memory and Fantasy owners no longer have to worry about lineup changes due to the addition or subtraction of the designated hitter. That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of stunning splits to go around to help us predict the players who will do well -- and not so well -- as we rocket towards the All-Star break. Division races are heating up with the summer, teams are seeing opponents for the second and third times and we can begin to use this season's numbers to help make our predictions.

And now, on to the Week 13 splits.

Five Strikes (Positive Splits)

Brennan Boesch, OF, Tigers
Upcoming Schedule: Three games at Minnesota, Three games vs. Seattle
The rookie refuses to slow down and is currently underowned in Fantasy at 78 percent of leagues with his .346 average, 11 homers and 39 RBI over 185 at-bats. Boesch will return to Target Field this week for the first time since taking over the brand new ballpark earlier in the year. Boesch went 5 for 11 (.455) with a homer during a three-game series there in early May. He's only played two games against Seattle but is 3 for 8 (.375) against the Mariners. Although he's hit well virtually everywhere he's played, Minnesota's new ballpark afforded him his highest average in any AL venue thus far in his career.

Nick Blackburn, SP, Twins
Upcoming Schedule: June 29 start vs. Detroit, July 4 start vs. Tampa Bay
Blackburn has lost four of his last five starts with all four of those losses coming on the road. The one start he pitched at home was like night and day. That isn't a coincidence, either. Blackburn's splits pitching on the road versus pitching at home are alarming. Why Minnesota even starts him away from Target Field is a mystery. Blackburn is 19-7 with a 3.50 career ERA when pitching at home but his record drops to 9-22 away from his home ballpark with a 5.33 ERA. Blackburn is 4-0 at home this season with a 3.19 ERA but is 2-5 on the road with a 9.40 ERA. Those are amazing differentials but the good news is that Blackburn starts twice at Target Field in Week 13 and could be in his first best scoring period of the season. If you trust the splits, you'll start Blackburn this week.

Miguel Montero, C, Diamondbacks
Upcoming Schedule: Three games at St. Louis, Three games vs. L.A. Dodgers
Any way you slice it, Montero is a solid play in Week 13. The Diamondbacks' catcher was on the DL from mid-April until mid-June and prior to Saturday's game had just 49 at-bats under his belt. Well, he was hitting .429 with two homers and 10 RBI. Montero's splits are also top-notch for the upcoming scoring period as he is a career .393 hitter in St. Louis. Montero's average at Busch is his highest in any ballpark with at least 30 plate appearances by almost 90 points. His four homers there are the most in any stadium other than his home of Chase Field. What's more, Montero hit .395 with two homers over 43 at-bats against the Dodgers last season.

Pat Burrell, OF Giants
Upcoming Schedule: Three games vs. L.A. Dodgers, Four games at Colorado
Fantasy owners should know the power of Coors Field already but the mile-high ballpark has had quite the effect on Burrell's career. With four games coming up against the Rockies in Denver during Week 13, it should be noted that Burrell is career .354 hitter at Coors, 21 points better than at his next best ballpark. Through 99 at-bats in Colorado, Burrell has eight homers and 30 RBI with a slugging percentage of .667. He has yet to really get on track with the Giants and Week 13 could see it happen.

Dallas Braden, SP, Athletics
Upcoming Schedule: June 29 start at Baltimore, July 3 start at Cleveland
Braden's last start in Cleveland came back in 2007 and it didn't go well, but that seems like too small a sample size to pass judgment. Sure, Braden hasn't won since throwing his perfect game on May 9 and is 0-5 since, only getting out of the seventh inning once over that span of eight starts. Like spinach for Popeye, so are the Orioles, especially in Baltimore, for Braden. Braden has started at Oriole Park at Camden Yards three times in his career and has effectively dominated them every time out. Braden is 2-0 in Baltimore with a 1.20 ERA, easily his lowest in any opposing stadium. In fact, against the Orioles overall, Braden is 5-1 lifetime with a 1.41 ERA over seven appearances and six starts and that includes going 1-0 against them this season in two chances. The splits don't believe Baltimore has much of a chance and Braden could finally get that monkey off his back.

Five 7-10 Splits (Negative Splits)

Delmon Young, OF, Twins
Upcoming Schedule: Three games vs. Detroit, Three games vs. Tampa Bay
Young has been pretty hot of late to raise his batting average up over .300 and his eight homers and 47 RBI as of Saturday's games are pretty impressive as well. Young will play six games against two teams he has not had much success against in recent times, however. He is a career .300 hitter against the Tigers but this season has gone just 3 for 15 (.200) against the AL Central foes. That is without an extra-base hit and comes with just one RBI. He hasn't faced the Rays yet this year but went just 2 for 14 (.143) against them in 2009, also without an extra-base hit and with just one RBI. The Rays struck him out eight times, however, and we fear it could be more of the same this time around.

Edwin Jackson, SP, Diamondbacks
Upcoming Schedule: July 2 start vs. L.A. Dodgers
It seems like half the managers around Major League Baseball agree with A.J. Hinch's decision to leave Jackson in the ballgame through 149 pitches to throw his no-hitter last Friday against Tampa Bay. Others say that no-hitter would have never happened under them. In either case, the Diamondbacks have decided to push Jackson's next start back until Friday against the Dodgers. Throwing no-hitters have historically resulted in that pitcher's next few starts being poorer than usual. Jackson now has another split against him, however. Pitching on six or more days rest, Jackson is 3-7 for his career with a 5.40 ERA. He's 1-6 since 2005. He lasted just five innings -- and gave up three runs in a loss -- in his only start this season thus far pitching with six or more days rest. We know you want to start pitchers after they throw no-hitters but in many cases the splits really have proven against the idea.

Will Venable, OF, Padres
Upcoming Schedule: Three games vs. Colorado, Four games vs. Houston
Venable is hot right now with six hits over his last 17 at-bats, including two homers, over his last six games entering Friday. If you were hoping to use him this week, the splits suggest this hot streak could fizzle fast. Venable has seen 80 career at-bats against Colorado and has hit just .238, but he's been really bad against the Astros. One of his worst averages against any opponent, Venable has just three hits over 20 career plate appearances against Houston for a .167 career average with only one RBI and nine strikeouts.

Ted Lilly, SP, Chicago Cubs
Upcoming Schedule: June 29 start vs. Pittsburgh, July 4 start vs. Cincinnati
We know the Cubs are in shambles but you have to agree a quick glance at Lilly's upcoming schedule and you immediately think must-start, don't you? Well, the splits are literally screaming otherwise in one of the more interesting histories we've seen thus far. Lilly is 2-6 on the season but has a solid 3.28 ERA. He's been mostly solid but has imploded a few times. We suspect an impending implosion in Week 13 because he's facing two of his biggest nemeses. Lilly has gone 2-6 against the Reds for his career with an ugly 4.06 ERA. He's been slightly better against the Pirates at 4-4, but the ERA is considerably worse at 4.31. In fact, Lilly has already faced the Bucs three times this season and is 0-2 with a 4.35 ERA and just 12 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings pitched.

Ian Stewart, 3B, Rockies
Upcoming Schedule: Three games at San Diego, Four games vs. San Francisco
Unfortunately for the Rockies' third baseman, Week 13 doesn't figure to end his trials and tribulations at the plate. His average down to .256 on the season, Stewart has a tough seven-game schedule in the upcoming scoring period. Through 40 at-bats at San Diego's PetCo Park, Stewart is just a .200 hitter and has as many strikeouts (14) as runs and hits combined. Facing the tough pitching of the Giants, Stewart has managed just one hit in 12 plate appearances this season with six strikeouts and is a career .216 hitter against San Francisco overall.

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