MLB Projected Starting Lineups, Matchups and Injury News 3/30/19

This is a daily post to jumpstart your MLB research for the day. Focusing on matchups, injuries, and lineups you can enhance your knowledge for fantasy, betting, or showing up your friends and family. Follow Lineups on Twitter for live updates on everything you need for sports.

Injury News

• We will need to double back around on the Pirates lineup, as Starling Marte was scratched Opening Day with a migraine. While we expect him back, keep an eye on the Pittsburgh lineup.
• Carlos Correa is nearing a return, which could come Saturday.
• Corey Knebel will undergo Tommy John surgery. This is a blow to the Brewers bullpen.
• Lorenzo Cain jammed his thumb in last night’s game, but doesn’t expect to miss any time.

Today’s MLB Matchups

Underneath each game you will find game and lineup notes, alongside betting and fantasy tips. Clicking into each team will bring you to their team hub where you can look at news, stats, projected lineups, schedule, and more.

Baltimore Orioles (0-1) @ New York Yankees (1-0)

Starting Pitchers: Nate Karns (R) vs. James Paxton (L)

• James Paxton will make his Yankees debut, and it could not have be a better matchup for him. The Orioles were second to last in wRC+ as a team against LHP. They were 24th in ISO.
• The Yankees get home run prone right-hander at home. Nate Karns has a career 1.36 HR/9.
• The over has hit in six of the last ten games between these two teams.

New York Mets (1-0) @ Washington Nationals (0-1)

Starting Pitchers: Noah Syndergaard (R) vs. Stephen Strasburg (R)

• With these two names on the hill, the public is leaning heavily on the under at 7 runs. In five of the last six that these two pitchers have squared off against these opposing teams, it has gone under.
• Hitters found it tough to generate any power against Syndergaard last season. He held both sides of the plate to under a .120 ISO.

Pittsburgh Pirates (0-1) @ Cincinnati Reds (1-0)

Starting Pitchers: Trevor Williams (R) vs. Sonny Gray (R)

• Public is heavy on the 8.5 over, with Trevor Williams and Sonny Gray pitching in Cincy.
• This game has some rain on the radar, and it looks iffy in terms of playing.

Cleveland Indians (0-1) @ Minnesota Twins (1-0)

Starting Pitchers: Trevor Bauer (R) vs. Jake Odorizzi (R)

• Trevor Bauer tallied 25 strikeouts in 18 innings against Minnesota last season.
• While this is a different Cleveland team, Jake Odorizzi had a 7.23 ERA in five meetings with Cleveland last year.
• The under has hit in seven of the last ten meetings. The under is being heavily bet at 7.5.

Chicago White Sox (0-1) @ Kansas City Royals (1-0)

Starting Pitchers: Reynaldo Lopez (R) vs. Jake Junis (R)

• Reynaldo Lopez is a heavy flyball arm, sitting at 48% last season. In a friendly ballpark for pitchers and very cold weather, he should be able to get away with it in this matchup.
• Jake Junis is a boom or bust arm, relying heavily on his slider last season. He had a 37% whiff rate on it, using it 38% of the time against right-handed bats. When it was on, he dialed up the strikeouts.

Detroit Tigers (1-1) @ Toronto Blue Jays (1-1)

Starting Pitchers: Spencer Turnbull (R) vs. Aaron Sanchez (R)

• Despite high totals in the first two games, and public heavy on the over, both have gone under. Tonight’s total sits at 8.5.
• Aaron Sanchez had an xFIP over 5.00 last season, and struggled with blisters. Tread lightly those looking to stream or use him in DFS.
• Turnbull showed some decent stuff in a limited sample size last season, showing a 30%+ whiff rate on three of his pitches.

Atlanta Braves (0-1) @ Philadelphia Phillies (1-0)

Starting Pitchers: Bryse Wilson (R) vs. Nick Pivetta (R)

• Bryse Wilson will make his second big league start. He is one of the Braves young arms they will rely on until their regular starting pitchers get healthy.
• Weather is warm in Philly for March, and the wind is blowing out 10-15 mph to center. This is a bump to the bats.
• The over/under is set at nine, with the public looking for a shootout. Six of the last ten meetings, the under has hit.

Colorado Rockies (2-0) @ Miami Marlins (0-2)

Starting Pitchers: Tyler Anderson (L) vs. Pablo Lopez (R)

• Tyler Anderson was only mildly better on the road last season, as his splits were pretty bad either way. He does get a bottom five offense against left-handed pitching from 2018.
• Pablo Lopez is a young arm, and made ten starts last season. He has good groundball stuff, but lacks on missing bats.
• The under continues to hit between these two teams when they are in Miami.

Houston Astros (1-1) @ Tampa Bay Rays (1-1)

Starting Pitchers: Collin McHugh (R) vs. Tyler Glasnow (R)

• Many will have their eyes on Tyler Glasnow, who makes his 2019 debut. Many have been chasing the Glasnow ceiling, and he had a 29% strikeout rate in 2018. That isn’t the issue as his 11% walk rate is.
• Collin McHugh shook things up out of the bullpen last season. He will make a start tonight against Tampa Bay. A slider was added to his pitch mix, and he used it 39% of the time against right-handed bats. It will be interesting to see if he uses it that much as a starter.
• The under has hit eight times in the last ten meetings between these two teams.

St. Louis Cardinals (1-1) @ Milwaukee Brewers (1-1)

Starting Pitchers: Dakota Hudson (R) vs. Brandon Woodruff (R)

• Dakota Hudson is making his first big league start. He did have 27.1 innings in relief last year, sporting a 2.63 ERA, but a 4.76 xFIP.
• Considering Brandon Woodruff has been used in short inning roles the last few seasons, he draws the start but tough seeing him go past 4-5 innings here.
• Paul Goldschmidt is coming off a 3 HR night and every ball he hit had an exit velocity over 100mph.

Chicago Cubs (1-0) @ Texas Rangers (0-1)

Starting Pitchers: Yu Darvish (R) vs. Edinson Volquez (R)

• Yu Darvish had a blister issue in his last Spring Training start, and overall his last few seasons have been very injury prone. He will start tonight where it all started.
• Outside of the Yankees, Chicago has the next highest implied total on the slate (5).
• Edinson Volquez is making his first start since 2017. At 35 years old, hard to say he is going to rebound. Look for the Cubs to tee off in a favorable spot.

San Francisco Giants (0-2) @ San Diego Padres (2-0)

Starting Pitchers: Dereck Rodriguez (R) vs. Nick Margevicius (L)

• Dereck Rodriguez averaged 23.5 DK points in two starts against San Diego last season.
• Who is Nick Margevicius? He is a lanky 22-year-old lefty making his MLB debut. He has shown high strikeout stuff and strong control in single-A, but that is all we have seen from him.

Los Angeles Angels (1-1) @ Oakland Athletics (1-3)

Starting Pitchers: Felix Pena (R) vs. Brett Anderson (L)

• The over hit again last night, making it seven of the last ten times between these two teams.
• Felix Pena held right-handers in check last season, but struggled against lefties. Oakland only has a few to send up, putting Pena in a spot to potentially succeed.
• Brett Anderson had one of the highest groundball rates in baseball last season, sitting at 57%. While he still allowed some production, he doesn’t walk hitters, and gets guys to roll it on the ground.

Boston Red Sox (1-1) @ Seattle Mariners (3-1)

Starting Pitchers: Eduardo Rodriguez (L) vs. Mike Leake (R)

• The over has hit in three of the first four games for Seattle this season.
• We were waiting for a save situation as the Red Sox went with a committee approach, but Matt Barnes got the save chance last night.
• Eduardo Rodriguez will look to be the arm that actually has a good start to start the season for Boston. Seattle’s projected lineup had a .305 wOBA, .133 ISO, and .22.5% strikeout rate against left-handers last season. However, they also just teed off on Chris Sale.

Arizona Diamondbacks (0-1) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (1-0)

Starting Pitchers: Zack Godley (R) vs. Kenta Maeda (R)

• Arizona has the second lowest implied total on the slate, sitting at 3.2 runs.
• Zack Godley saw his velocity drop last season, and there were no signs of it coming back in Spring Training. This could be a downward trend for Godley.
• Kenta Maeda was excellent in the first half of 2018, but struggled in the second half allowing a 5.35 ERA.