Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller struggled in an 8-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Keller allowed eight runs on eight hits over five innings while striking out two and walking two to take the loss. Most of the damage came via a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third. Keller has mostly pitched well this season but he's really struggled over his past two starts, having allowed 15 earned runs in nine innings over that span. Overall, he has a 10-7 record, 3.95 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 125 strikeouts over 141 1/3 innings of work. Keller will look to get back on track in his next start which is set for Tuesday against the Texas Rangers. Fantasy gamers might want to leave him on the bench for that outing, thanks to his recent rough stretch.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (lat) made another minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of work. The results in the box score were not pretty, but Jones' velocity looks to be back up to normal. The Pirates could opt to have him make one more appearance in the minors to sharpen things up, but he did throw 67 pitches in Thursday's outing, meaning he could be ready to rejoin Pittsburgh's rotation early next week. Working his way back from a Grade 2 right lat strain, the 22-year-old rookie right-hander owns a promising 3.56 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 98 strikeouts and 27 walks through 91 innings (16 starts) this season. There's no reason for him to be on waiver wires in any fantasy leagues.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen and first baseman Rowdy Tellez are out of the lineup on Wednesday for the series finale against the hosting San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Catcher Joey Bart is serving as the designated hitter and batting cleanup, while Connor Joe will start at first and bat third against Padres left-hander Martin Perez. Yasmani Grandal is behind the dish and is hitting eighth. Fantasy managers will be said to see the 37-year-old McCutchen sitting, as he's opened the month of August by going 10-for-27 (.370) with three homers, a double, nine RBI and six runs scored in eight games. It's not a big surprise that Tellez is riding pine, as he's only seen 38 plate appearances this year against left-handed pitching, going 6-for-33 (.182) with two of his nine homers on the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz is taking the day off at Petco Park on Wednesday in the series finale against the hosting San Diego Padres. Cruz will be replaced at shortstop by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who is batting leadoff against veteran left-hander Martin Perez. Although he's hit only one home run in 10 August games, Cruz is batting .395 (15-for-38) during the month and has added three doubles, five RBI and three stolen bases in the month. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Dominican has one of the fastest bat speeds in the big leagues and is a must-start in fantasy lineups when he's active. Kiner-Falefa has hit .238 (10-for-42) with two doubles and two triples in 10 games since joining the Bucs at the trade deadline and will be an interesting DFS play in the leadoff spot. He's hit .286 against Perez in seven career at-bats.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen went 2-4 on Sunday with two homers and four RBI in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Compared to his legendary standards, the veteran is having a down year, slashing just .234/.335/.408. Although, he has been better as of late, slashing .360/.448/.760 in his last seven games. Hopefully, this power-filled day at the plate can give McCutchen and the Pirates more momentum down the stretch. Fantasy managers can use McCutchen (7% rostered in Yahoo! leagues) as a streamer while he's swinging a hot bat.