ker Justin Tipuric to start against Australia.Wales will wait

Saturdays slate is a bit unusual. Sixteen games are on the schedule, as the Pirates and Reds are suiting up for a doubleheader, with six early games and eight late. While there are three elite options at the top of the rankings, theyre all pitching in games with afternoon start times, which leaves the late slate fairly sparse. Thats just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, though, so lets push forward and try to make some sense of it all.PitchingEliteThe Brewers have established themselves as a popular team to target starting pitchers against, and its easy to see why. Not only is Milwaukees lineup below average (91 wRC+), but the teams 25 percent strikeout clip is the worst in baseball. Needless to say, Jake Arrieta is in an incredibly appealing spot on Saturday. The right-handers production has tapered off in the second half, and the collapsing whiff rate is somewhat concerning (9.5 K/ in the first half, 6.9 K/9 in the second half). Still, this matchup is too good to ignore. With an afternoon start time, the Cubs righty will be limited to early and all-day slates.Also in the early slate is Carlos Carrasco, who draws a home matchup against Detroit. Like Arrieta, Carrasco has been less effective since the All-Star break (4.17 ERA). In his past four outings, hes registered only one quality start. That said, the lone quality start included 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball with 11 Ks against Miami. Carrasco has elite stuff when hes on his game, but his recent struggles give me some hesitancy in cash games, especially considering the Tigers lineup is no pushover. I like him better in tournaments.David Price rounds out the elite tier with a home tilt against the Yankees -- and yes, this game has an early start time, too. The leftys 3.81 ERA is disappointing, but his 9.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 are identical to 2015, when he held a 2.45 ERA. In fact, Prices recent numbers are a callback to last year, as hes 7-0 with 2.16 ERA and 0.82 WHIP over his past seven starts. Against a Yankees team thats not good against left-handed pitching (84 wRC+), Price should stay on a roll. The only downside is that the Yanks make plenty of contact, which keeps Prices strikeout ceiling in check.SolidFacing off against Carrasco on Saturday afternoon is Justin Verlander. The right-hander has been carving through lineups, posting a 2.29 ERA and 10.5 K/9 since the All-Star break. A matchup against the Indians, who handle right-handed pitching well and have produced one of baseballs best offenses since the break (108 wRC+), is far from ideal. It also doesnt help that two of Verlanders worst beatings this season were handed down by the Indians. Then again, that version of Verlander isnt the same version were seeing now. I prefer Verlander to Carrasco on Saturday despite the game score ratings.Is every quality option on Saturday pitching in the afternoon? Most, but not all. Thankfully, Yu Darvish, who draws a favorable home matchup against Oakland, is a late-slate option. While the As are a high-contact team, theyre also the worst team in the American League against right-handed pitching. Look for Darvish to be a very popular cash-game target for those playing the late slate on Saturday.Ill never use a Coors Field hurler in cash games, but Im open to the idea in tournaments. Jon Grays matchup against San Diego is exactly the type of spot where it might be worth rolling the dice. Theres no denying that Coors has given Gray trouble this year (4.82 ERA). However, its Grays 9.4 K/9 rate, combined with the Padres 25 percent whiff rate versus righties, that offers plenty of GPP intrigue. Granted, the game was in San Diego, but Grays highest strikeout performance (12 Ks) this season came against the Padres back in June.With a wRC+ of 75, the Braves are downright brutal against lefty pitching. Enter Gio Gonzalez, who finds himself in a highly intriguing spot. The Washington southpaw has been inconsistent this season, but hes pitched better in the second half and has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his past four turns. There are other cash options I like more, but Gonzalez is at least in the discussion.Slated to start the first game of Saturdays doubleheader against Cincinnati, Jameson Taillon owns a 3.00 ERA and 1.02 WHIP since the break. Only once in his past 11 starts has he allowed more than three earned runs. That gives him a safe floor against a Reds team that has been below average against right-handers this season.StreamersThe Rays have been hitting well since the break (105 wRC+), but they are still striking out at a 24 percent clip versus righties, which gives Chris Tillman some nice upside on Saturday. He hasnt whiffed double-digit batters in any game this year, but one of his nine-K performances came against Tampa earlier this year.Seth Lugo sports a 2.27 ERA in five starts since joining the Mets rotation, and hell look to keep on rolling with a home date against Minnesota. The Twins lineup has been hot lately, but theyre also striking out 25 percent of the time so far in September and will be without a DH. Lugo is available in nearly half of ESPN.com leagues.Squaring off against Lugo is Ervin Santana, who has been an underrated fantasy option over the past couple of months. Since the break, the righty holds a 2.82 ERA over 70-plus innings. The Mets are in the thick of the playoff race, but their lineup has still been below average in the second half. Santana is ripe for the picking in 60 percent of leagues.A free agent in 81 percent of leagues, James Paxton travels to Houston to take on the Astros. The Astros can be a dangerous team against left-handed pitching, but they can also be a very exploitable team, thanks to their 24 percent strikeout rate. So if you dont mind a little risk with your upside, Paxton might be worth a look here.AvoidSome people are still drawn in by Francisco Lirianos high strikeout and ground ball profile, but he remains a no-go for me. While the whiffs and grounders are nice, the walks (5.0 BB/9) and homers (1.6 HR/9) are not. Against an Angels team that rarely strikes out and is above average against southpaws, it should be an easy decision to steer clear here.HittingEdwin Jackson owns a 5.21 ERA as a starter this year. He also has a 7.59 ERA away from home. Now consider that he has to face the Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday. This one could get ugly in a hurry. Left-handed bats Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez and David Dahl are definitely great plays here, and Im not shying away from DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado even though they hit from the right side.I highlighted Liriano above as a guy Im avoiding, so it only makes sense to target hitters against him. With the Angels on the schedule, right-handed swingers Yunel Escobar, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are all in play.Shelby Miller still hasnt figured things out. Since rejoining Arizonas rotation, hes allowed 12 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings, good for a 7.04 ERA. Maybe hell get back on track eventually, but we might as well stack hitters against him until that happens. Left-handed swingers Chase Utley, Corey Seager, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Reddick and switch-hitter Yasmani Grandal are all enticing options.The lowest-ranked pitcher of the day is the Yankees Bryan Mitchell, who owns a 4.88 ERA over 48 big league innings. The righty had made only two starts this year, and while the first one went well, he didnt make it out of the third inning in the second outing. This is spot where the Red Sox, who have one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball, could put up a crooked number. All of Bostons big bats are in play here, though lefty David Ortiz is the top play of the bunch.Raul Alcantara has only two big league starts under his belt, but all he has to show for it is a 7.27 ERA and 4.2 K/9. The Rangers, who have put up a 117 wRC+ so far in September, wont go easy on the righty in start No. 3. Lefty Rougned Odor and switch-hitter Carlos Beltran are the top plays, but Ian Desmond, Adrian Beltre and Jonathan Lucroy are also in the mix.Most likely to go yard: Albert PujolsEntering this season, Liriano had allowed 20 homers just once in his career, back in 2009. Hes on pace to threaten 30 dingers this year. Pujols is a good bet to help the lefty get closer to that number this weekend.Most likely to swipe a bag: Hernan PerezArrieta may be the top pitcher of the day, but hes also the easiest to run against, having allowed 21 stolen bases this season, fourth-most in the NL. Jonathan Villar would be the easy call here, but were going with Perez, who already has 30 swipes of his own. Air Jordan 1 Scontate . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Air Jordan 1 Scontate Uomo . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. http://www.airjordan1scontate.it/ . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Air Jordan 1 Italia . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. Scarpe Air Jordan 1 Scontate . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Shaun Edwards has urged Wales to improve their ranking to avoid a tough World Cup draw.Skipper Sam Warburton has been ruled out of Wales opening autumn game against Australia on Saturday, with the Cardiff Blues flanker returning to his region to get game-time this weekend following a neck injury.But Wales have identified home games with Australia, Argentina, Japan and South Africa as a means of improving on their current fifth-placed ranking ahead of the 2019 World Cup draw in Tokyo next May.New Zealand currently lead the way in the World Rugby rankings with England second, Australia third and South Africa fourth.The highest four ranked teams come May will be the top seeds at the 2019 World Cup and should, in theory, present them with an easier path to the knockout stages of that tournament.Wales have special motivation to be as seeded as high as possible as they slipped to ninth place in the rankings just before the 2015 World Cup and ended up in the same section as Australia and England.And, although Wales eventually qualified from that group by finishing above hosts England, defence coach Edwards said: Its about six or seven teams vying for those top four spots in the world rankings.Weve only been in that top four 4% of the time since the world rankings came to fruition 15 or 16 years ago.So if we can push our way into the top four that will be a big effort from our boys, and thats what were aiming to do.That would be mission accomplished with the World Cup draw on the horizon.Wales have failed to beat Australia since 2008 with the Wallabies winning the last 11 matches between the two countries.Those games have often been settled by a handful of points, but Australias indifferent summer form has raised the prospect of a Wales side coached by Rob Howley in the absence of British and Irish Lions boss Warren Gatland putting an end to that losing run.dddddddddddd.But Edwards warned: They have had some criticism over the summer but they came second in the Rugby Championship.At the moment New Zealand are obviously number one by a distance, but the rest of the competition they basically won.So what Ive tended to do looking at Australias form is to watch the games when theyve not played New Zealand.People talk about their two sevens, but they have other outstanding players other than [Michael] Hooper and [David] Pocock.Warburtons failure to recover from the injury suffered playing for the Blues has opened the door for Ospreys flanker Justin Tipuric to start against Australia.Wales will wait on full-back Liam Williams and lock forward Jake Ball and naming a captain in Warburtons absence, with the team announcement pushed back 48 hours to Thursday.Liam was in a boot last week, it did look serious, but well wait until the last minute with the medics, Edwards said.Were hopeful hell play, but hell definitely play some part in the series over the next month.Jake has started light training, so well see if hes available for selection later in the week.Sam will go back to the Blues to get some game time under his belt, but Im a big fan of Justin Tipuric.Our defensive system is very reliant on people having speed and Justin really helps our line speed when he plays.Edwards confirmed teenage wing sensation Keelan Giles would not play against Australia but could possibly win his first cap later this autumn.The 19-year-old, who has been called up to train with the Wales squad ahead of the autumn internationals, has scored eight tries in four matches for the Ospreys. ' ' '