Joel Dorcas |June 13th, 2019
For our Thursday edition of Around the Horn, we will focus directly on the night games. Our pitching options are whittled down to two or three reliable starters. As for position players, we will do our best to target the most consistent and reliable offenses given match-up context and previous performance. Let’s get it going and round the bases!
PITCHER
Matthew Boyd, DET
With names like Kershaw, Price, deGrom, and Greinke available to us as SP1’s, you may think Matthew Boyd? Really? Well, the re-tooled and re-focused Matthew Boyd has shown us something this year and with a plus match-up versus the Kansas City Royals, we can’t discount him. Of the pitchers mentioned, Boyd carries a fantastic K/BB ratio of 105/15 and all other pitchers have tougher match-ups. My favorite, if I had one for a pivot option, would be deGrom versus a Cardinals squad that just hasn’t been performing as expected.
INFIELD
Gleyber Torres, NYY 2B/SS
The Yankees profile really well as they will draw Ivan-Not So Super-Nova. Middle infield or really the entirety of the Yankees infield is in play. LeMahieu continues to be rock-solid( he will likely man third base), Didi is already contributing after his long stint on the Injured List and Luke Voit is legit. Ivan Nova carries a 6.28 ERA and is (3 – 5) on the year. In his last two outings, he allowed seven earned runs in 12 innings of work to the Royals and Indians.
Xander Bogaerts, BOS SS
Much like the Yankees, the Bo-Sox are in a good spot Thursday as they will draw the Texas Rangers and right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson. Sampson will face a premier lineup at Fenway and will be in for another challenge as proven by his performances of late on the road. He has given up 13 earned runs in his last 13-and-one-third-innings of work wearing road grays.
OUTFIELD
Will Myers, SD OF
This selection has two factors behind it, Coors Field and BvP (Batter vs. Pitcher). Myers has been mostly a disappointment this season given the paltry .219 batting average, but a trip to Coors Field can sometimes cure the most struggling of players. In his career, Myers is 12-for-31 with a 1.203 OPS off of Rockies pitcher Jon Gray.
Hunter Pence, TEX OF
The resurgence of Hunter Pence is for real. We have some good head-to-head numbers to back us here as well. Pence has slashed .333/.385/.667 in just 12 at-bats off of David Price. Of late Pence has brought the boomstick, smashing three dingers (HR) in his last seven games.
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