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The Top Three Pitchers

Yusmeiro Petit – Our numbers love the journeyman Petit. Specifically, they love the 11.94 K/9 he’s put up in two starts for the Giants this year. He’s pitching well enough that San Francisco may consider him as a candidate for next year’s rotation – one that will likely be without Tim Lincecum. Petit’s got a 3.12 ERA, but a 1.83 FIP, which suggests that he’s pitched even better. (Albeit with a microscopic sample size.) He faces the Diamondbacks tonight.

Jose Fernandez – Fernandez is the likely N.L. Rookie of the Year winner, would be a viable Cy Young candidate if not for Clayton Kershaw, is the only bright spot for the lowly Marlins this year, and is the maker of this incredible, GIF-worthy play. To the numbers: Fernandez has got a 2.33 ERA (3rd in baseball) and a 9.81 K/9 (also 3rd in baseball). He’s facing the Nationals tonight, who rank just 19th in the majors in runs scored, but strike out 20 percent of the time. And Fernandez has been even more lights out in the second half: He has a 1.50 ERA in 54 innings and a mind-boggling .208 wOBA allowed.

Cliff Lee – With all the hype over the stellar young crop of pitchers in baseball, and the Phillies general stinkiness, it can be easy to forget about Cliff Lee. If Ruben Amaro had any clue what he was doing, Lee would probably be shipped off to a contender, but there’s no evidence of that, so Lee is destined to continue pitching for a Philadelphia squad that will offer no run support. Lee has been just as good as ever, with a 3.09 ERA, 8.23 K/9 and just 1.52 BB/9. Tonight Lee faces an Atlanta team that always seems to struggle against left-handed pitching and whose two best offensive players (Freeman and McCann) are lefties.

Top High-Priced Hitters

David Ortiz – David Ortiz isn’t facing a righty and we still have him in our optimized lineup! Not to fear though, he’s facing Andy Pettite, and history favors Ortiz in that matchup. In 62 at-bats versus Pettitte, Ortiz has hit .371/.431/.548.

Robinson Cano – The crown jewel of Roc Nation Sports (sorry Geno Smith) is also the best offensive second baseman in the game. A quick reminder that Cano is hitting .307/.384/.514 on the year, with 26 home runs. And those numbers rank 2nd, 1st, 1st and 1st among qualified big league second basemen.

Cost-Effective, Mid-Range Hitters

B.J. Upton – Most people see Upton’s newly-signed $75 million contract and his .199 batting average, put two and two together, and label him a disaster. Well, yeah, he hasn’t played like the player the Braves thought they were getting, but he has turned it around a bit since a truly horrid start to the season. In the second half, he’s hitting .275/.333/.363, which is getting closer to resembling a respectable baseball player. He’s back from injury, and he’s never going to be cheaper than he is now. Prime buy-low candidate.

Jimmy Rollins – Rollins is well past the prime of his career, hitting just .242/.309/.332 in 2013. But if nothing else, he can be a decent, cheap source of steals – his 18 rank tied for fifth among shortstops. Yeah, it’s grasping for straws, but that’s pretty much when you get when you scraping for bottom of the barrel middle infielders.