Every year it seems like the quality of starting pitchers plummets when rosters expand in September, but I haven’t felt that as much this year. Wednesday’s slate is a good example of that. While guys like Brandon Woodruff and Gabriel Ynoa may not be lighting the world on fire, they haven’t been terrible, either. Mostly the pitching in September has been just okay. That being said, there are some pitchers going Wednesday who have been pretty terrible all season long, and I welcome the opportunity to stack against them one last time. As always, my stacks are listed in order of preference.
Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit Tigers (Jordan Zimmermann, R)
Whit Merrifield, Lorenzo Cain, Melky Cabrera, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez
Among pitchers with at least 150 innings pitched, only Wade Miley has a higher WHIP than Jordan Zimmermann. Zimmermann allowed three earned runs in four innings last week in his first start back from a neck injury, and if he can’t go deep into this game, that means more work for a bullpen that sports a league-worst 5.64 ERA. The Royals’ hitters are finishing the season strong, with Salvador Perez, Lorenzo Cain and Melky Cabrera all batting .333 or better over the last week.
Colorado Rockies vs. Miami Marlins (Adam Conley, L)
Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story, DJ LeMahieu, Jonathan Lucroy, Mark Reynolds, Ian Desmond
Only the Tigers and Astros have a higher OPS against lefties than the Rockies, and no team has been better at home. Nolan Arenado leads all qualified hitters with a .531 wOBA against lefties. Trevor Story is seventh at .433 while DJ LeMahieu is 18th at .410. Any Rockies stack probably needs to include those three bats. Mark Reynolds is a strong consideration as well, as he has batted fourth or fifth in each of the last three games, going 5-for-12 over that span and 9-for-21 over his last seven games. For his part, Conley has allowed a .362 wOBA this season. He is coming off an awful performance five days ago, allowing seven earned runs in 1.2 innings at Arizona.
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Cincinnati Reds (Homer Bailey, R)
Stephen Vogt, Eric Thames, Orlando Arcia, Neil Walker, Ryan Braun, Domingo Santana, Travis Shaw, Eric Sogard, Brett Phillips
In case you thought it couldn’t get any worse than Jordan Zimmermann, you were wrong. Homer Bailey has a 6.96 ERA and 1.75 WHIP this season, and he has allowed a .390 wOBA. The Brewers have some decent value plays to go with their studs, especially if Eric Sogard leads off again. Speaking of studs, Ryan Braun is 16-for-44 with four home runs against Homer Bailey.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres (Clayton Richard, L)
Corey Seager, Kike Hernandez, Austin Barnes, Chris Taylor, Justin Turner, Logan Forsythe, Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger
The Dodgers have a .785 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season, thanks in part to scoring six earned runs in 4.2 innings against Travis Wood on Monday (I believe I had that). The Dodgers also have a .346 wOBA over the past seven days. Clayton Richard’s 1.50 WHIP is nearly as bad as Jordan Zimmermann’s, and he has allowed a .380 wOBA against right-handed batters this season. The Dodgers have had success against Richard, as Cody Bellinger is 5-for-10 with a home run and five RBI, Justin Turner is 8-for-17 with a homer and Logan Forsythe is 5-for-9. Richard has allowed at least 11 baserunner in each of his last two starts against the Dodgers, and if he does that again Wednesday, I doubt he will escape with just three earned runs.