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Welcome to Thursday. Your slate is short. But not that short and it’s actually loaded with some really nice pitching options. Unfortunately, the better match-ups are, pretty much, all found in the upper tiers of pricing so you better put those scouting goggles on and find some nice bargain bats to use. Here’s a look at the data and some hurlers I’ll be using tonight:
| vs L | vs R | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | Hand | H/A | Opp | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | BAA | SwStr% | ERA | xFIP | WHIP | GB% | FB% | GB/FB | wOBA | wOBA | $FD | $DK | $Aces |
| Max Scherzer | WSH | R | H | BAL | 174.0 | 11.22 | 2.22 | 1.29 | .196 | 16.5% | 3.05 | 3.01 | 0.96 | 36.3% | 45.0% | 0.81 | 0.315 | 0.217 | $10900 | $11600 | $7800 |
| Cole Hamels | TEX | L | H | CLE | 160.2 | 8.91 | 3.36 | 1.06 | .238 | 13.5% | 2.80 | 3.79 | 1.28 | 51.1% | 28.9% | 1.77 | 0.251 | 0.320 | $10000 | $9800 | $7800 |
| J.A. Happ | TOR | L | H | LAA | 150.1 | 7.97 | 2.63 | 1.08 | .230 | 10.9% | 3.05 | 3.87 | 1.14 | 45.5% | 33.7% | 1.35 | 0.290 | 0.296 | $9800 | $10900 | $7750 |
| Drew Pomeranz | BOS | L | A | TB | 140.1 | 8.22 | 3.40 | 1.03 | .257 | 11.6% | 4.23 | 3.51 | 2.42 | 50.3% | 35.8% | 1.40 | 0.271 | 0.277 | $9000 | $11500 | $7350 |
| Robbie Ray | ARI | L | H | ATL | 140.0 | 11.19 | 3.09 | 1.16 | .264 | 12.1% | 4.31 | 3.24 | 1.41 | 48.8% | 27.3% | 1.78 | 0.290 | 0.340 | $8800 | $10400 | $7350 |
| Jake Odorizzi | TB | R | H | BOS | 148.2 | 8.17 | 2.42 | 1.33 | .245 | 10.8% | 3.63 | 4.07 | 1.21 | 38.0% | 40.7% | 0.93 | 0.255 | 0.352 | $8600 | $6800 | $6600 |
| Matt Moore | SF | L | A | LA | 153.0 | 7.54 | 3.35 | 1.29 | .251 | 10.8% | 4.09 | 4.45 | 2.75 | 39.7% | 42.4% | 0.94 | 0.299 | 0.317 | $8400 | $6700 | $6500 |
| Adam Wainwright | STL | R | H | NYM | 151.0 | 7.09 | 2.44 | 0.77 | .282 | 9.2% | 4.71 | 4.14 | 1.36 | 47.7% | 28.1% | 1.70 | 0.351 | 0.315 | $8400 | $6900 | $6750 |
| James Paxton | SEA | L | A | CWS | 81.2 | 8.05 | 1.76 | 0.66 | .279 | 12.6% | 3.53 | 3.61 | 1.32 | 50.0% | 29.2% | 1.71 | 0.320 | 0.313 | $7300 | $9700 | $6650 |
| Tom Koehler | MIA | R | H | KC | 139.0 | 7.06 | 3.56 | 0.78 | .255 | 10.5% | 3.82 | 4.64 | 1.39 | 45.0% | 30.5% | 1.48 | 0.325 | 0.307 | $7300 | $7100 | $6550 |
| Edinson Volquez | KC | R | A | MIA | 151.2 | 6.64 | 3.20 | 1.07 | .278 | 9.1% | 5.04 | 4.33 | 1.46 | 54.5% | 24.9% | 2.19 | 0.332 | 0.336 | $7200 | $5400 | $6350 |
| Ross Stripling | LA | R | H | SF | 71.1 | 6.69 | 2.78 | 0.76 | .240 | 8.4% | 4.04 | 4.15 | 1.25 | 52.9% | 25.3% | 2.09 | 0.241 | 0.343 | $7100 | $5300 | $6150 |
| Chad Kuhl | PIT | R | A | MIL | 37.1 | 5.30 | 2.17 | 0.96 | .250 | 8.2% | 3.62 | 4.64 | 1.18 | 41.9% | 35.0% | 1.20 | 0.357 | 0.248 | $7000 | $6600 | $6250 |
| Josh Tomlin | CLE | R | A | TEX | 141.1 | 6.44 | 1.02 | 2.04 | .271 | 8.1% | 4.39 | 4.05 | 1.21 | 43.9% | 34.6% | 1.27 | 0.304 | 0.363 | $7000 | $5500 | $6300 |
| Daniel Norris | DET | L | A | MIN | 28.1 | 7.62 | 3.49 | 1.27 | .319 | 8.0% | 3.81 | 4.61 | 1.73 | 40.9% | 32.3% | 1.27 | 0.437 | 0.364 | $6400 | $6100 | $6100 |
| Matt Wisler | ATL | R | A | ARI | 122.0 | 6.71 | 2.43 | 1.62 | .265 | 10.1% | 5.16 | 4.54 | 1.34 | 41.1% | 38.8% | 1.06 | 0.341 | 0.323 | $6400 | $4000 | $6650 |
| Jose Berrios | MIN | R | H | DET | 32.0 | 9.00 | 5.06 | 1.97 | .328 | 9.3% | 9.28 | 5.10 | 1.94 | 38.0% | 37.0% | 1.03 | 0.359 | 0.489 | $6100 | $5900 | $5600 |
| Wily Peralta | MIL | R | H | PIT | 84.0 | 5.79 | 3.43 | 1.50 | .337 | 7.9% | 6.00 | 4.80 | 1.74 | 52.1% | 23.9% | 2.18 | 0.401 | 0.413 | $5900 | $4600 | $6200 |
| Anthony Ranaudo | CWS | R | H | SEA | 13.4 | 4.22 | 8.16 | 3.14 | .244 | 6.1% | 6.75 | 6.75 | 4.13 | 45.8% | 39.6% | 1.16 | 0.348 | 0.440 | $5700 | $4200 | $5500 |
| Jered Weaver | LAA | R | A | TOR | 138.1 | 4.49 | 2.28 | 1.95 | .314 | 8.6% | 5.47 | 5.61 | 1.53 | 29.1% | 45.6% | 0.64 | 0.384 | 0.386 | $5700 | $4300 | $5350 |
| Seth Lugo | NYM | R | A | STL | 23.2 | 7.23 | 2.28 | 0.00 | .218 | 11.7% | 3.04 | 4.23 | 1.01 | 46.3% | 31.3% | 1.48 | 0.266 | 0.243 | $5500 | $4500 | $6250 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | R | A | WSH | 94.2 | 8.27 | 5.51 | 1.05 | .309 | 8.8% | 6.94 | 4.84 | 1.91 | 50.5% | 28.1% | 1.80 | 0.428 | 0.346 | $5500 | $4000 | $5700 |
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Cole Hamels, TEX – I don’t often use Hamels and I was still a little on the fence give that the Tribe has hit lefties fairly well this season. But the Tribe has been struggling at the plate late and their 24.8-percent strikeout rate shows they’re up there hacking away. That’s led to a 27th-ranked .287 wOBA over the past week which puts Hamels into my cash games.
J.A. Happ, TOR – A little piece of me dies each time I recommend Happ, but even though the Angels are right at league-average against southpaws this season, their inconsistency at the plate lately has me thinking he can get the better of them in this match-up. After all, the Angels are still struggling for power as evidenced by their .111 ISO over the past week and that has helped contribute to a 25th-ranked .301 wOBA in that span.
Drew Pomeranz, BOS – Remember when the Rays used to dominate left-handed pitching? Not even close to that anymore. In fact, their overall wOBA against them has dropped to .310 which now ranks 23rd in the majors. Couple that with a 25.6-percent strikeout rate against lefties and the run support the Sox should give him, Pomeranz makes the list of playable pitchers.
Robbie Ray, ARI – There’s a little piece of me that says this is a trap. The pricing on Ray is pretty high on all three main sites, so there’s really no value with regard to savings. But the Braves continue to be one of the worst-hitting teams against southpaws this season with a .286 wOBA, a .102 ISO and a 20.5-percent K-rate. I’ll have a couple of lineups in with him, but I’m not spending big money at all.
Matt Moore, SF – Save for a slight stumble against the Pirates recently, Moore has enjoyed his time in the National League. Now he gets his first taste of the Giants/Dodgers rivalry and would be wise to stay focused for his teammates and the fans. The Dodgers have been swinging the sticks well lately, but they’ve struggled against lefties all year long. In fact, they have just a .291 wOBA versus southpaws this year and that comes with a 21.1-percent K-rate and below-average .132 ISO.
Daniel Norris, DET – Here’s my big dart for the day. I’m not the biggest fan of Norris right now, but I’ll give a look as a long shot in a GPP to help me play some of the bigger bats. The match-up certainly works in his favor as the Twins are ice-cold right now with a .235 wOBA over the past week which also comes with a .114ISO and 20.6-percent strikeout rate.
The Coin Flip
Tom Koehler, MIA/Edinson Volquez, KC – I think both are actually worth using right now and the win is a total coin flip at this point. Both clubs are struggling to hit right now and we’ve seen two shutouts and a total of just four runs in their first two games. The Marlins recent wOBA numbers and ISO rates have been worse but the Royals are striking out more. I’m using both in my lineups tonight and really have no preference of one over the other as their prices are fairly comparable. OK, maybe I’ll use Volquez more on DK given his $5,400 bargain price.