I cannot wait until Friday. It has been awhile since Jennifer and I have gotten away. No kids, no cat, no bar, just a trip to New York City to spend two nights sitting in the field box right next to the Dodger dugout at Citi Field. These seats are so close you can actually hear the players in the dugout talking between innings when it is quiet. It is not cheap but this is the one thing I do each year. I do not ask for much out of my life, just a few Dodger games.

Contest selection is rather thin today if you want to play in single-entry GPPs. Especially on the early-only and all-day slate. The night slate has the usual GPPs to choose from. The pitching situation is also rather precarious if you are playing on DraftKings today. I find that we have around five or six starters who are all top-tier options and then a major drop off into GPP land.

So with a full day of baseball action ahead of us, I bring you today’s Pitching Coach Article.

Top Cash Game Plays

These players are the tops plays on FanDuel for cash games and on DraftKings today. I highly recommend pairing two of these players together if at all possible.

Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs

Jake Arrieta has been a little off as of late. Over his last two starts versus the Giants on the road and the Pirates at home, he only has 19 strikeouts over 15 innings while allowing three earned runs. Three earned runs? Really? A player has really raised the bar when you see he has allowed three earned runs and you can call it regression. Today, Jake from State Farm is facing the dangerous Cardinals in the pitcher friendly Busch Stadium that is 25th in runs scored and 22nd in HR allowed in MLB. St. Louis, without a doubt, has one of the top offenses in the bigs. They are striking out 20 percent of the time, have a .353 wOBA (second in MLB behind the Boston Red Sox), and wRC+ of 122 (also second in MLB) versus RHP. They also have a .333 home wOBA and are batting .252 over the last seven days. Arrieta, however, does keep the ball on the ground 55 percent of the time and opponents are batting a pathetic .153 on the season versus him. Last season Arrieta was 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA versus St. Louis with 25 strikeouts over 26 innings. The price is high but I will take his 0.3 HR/9 and 9.0 K/9 any day of the week versus pretty much any opponent and without a doubt he is the top option on the slate today.

Danger Zone

The current Cardinals roster is batting .178 (24-for-135) off of Arrieta with five XBH, five RBI, no HR, and 38 strikeouts. All of this I can handle.

Steven Matz, New York Mets

Much like Arrieta today Steven Matz is another great starting pitcher with a tough matchup on paper. The Washington Nationals are striking out 19.4 percent of the time with a .368 wOBA (second in MLB) and are leading the league in wRC+ at 129 versus LHP. Certainly all of this is ugly for sure. Matz does, however, keep the ball on the ground 54.2 percent of the time and has a current K/9 of 9.29. Matz has only allowed six earned runs over his last 33 innings with 33 strikeouts. The toughest of these opponents being the San Francisco Giants on April 29 where he pitched six innings with four strikeouts and no earned runs. This will be his first time pitching in the historically pitcher friendly Nationals Park and with his stats being elite in pretty much every category I find no way, even versus the Nationals, for under $10k on both sites you do not take a chance on him.

Danger Zone

He has what is known as “reverse splits” where LHB are hitting .306 and RHB are only hitting .214 off the young southpaw. This, of course, raises considerable concern when it comes to Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy.

Steven Wright, Boston Red Sox

The night slate is really thin as far as cash game options go for SP. With little to choose from, recently struggling Steven Wright becomes the top play. Tonight he is home in the hitter friendly Fenway Park that is third in runs scored in MLB. The Colorado Rockies are only striking out 17.8 percent of the time and have a .334 wOBA versus RHP on the season. I realize this looks scary but when you need to keep in mind when you take out the “Coors Field effect” they only have a .303 wOBA on the road. Over the last seven days they are also ice cold batting a pathetic .230 and striking out 21.1 percent of the time. Wright over his last two starts, as earlier mentioned, has struggled allowing eight earned runs over his last 12 1/3 innings with only nine strikeouts versus the Royals on the road and Astros at home (who I now know can hit a knuckleball). With the Red Sox putting up football scores on a nightly basis facing Chad Bettis tonight the bonus for the win looks good and he is the player I will use in 50/50’s tonight on FanDuel and the first pitcher I insert on DraftKings.

Danger Zone

The big question today is how well the current Rockies lineup can hit a knuckleball. It is really one of those pitches where if a player can hit it he will really mash it. Otherwise, if they cannot hit the knuckleball Wright will be in for a great outing.

Sometimes good things come in pairs (Cash and GPP).

When using these plays keep in mind that I find these better GPP plays on FanDuel and possible selections to be paired on two-pitcher sites. When choosing these plays I put more consideration into the pricing on DraftKings over FanDuel.

Scott Kazmir, Los Angeles Dodgers

No matter how hard I try I just cannot find another player I prefer to pair with one of the players above more than Scott Kazmir. Tonight he is facing the horrible Cincinnati Reds. How horrible are they? At first glance you will notice the Reds are only striking out 18.2 percent of the time and have a decent .324 wOBA versus LHP which both look anything but inviting. When you dig deeper you will find that outside of the Great American "Smallpark," the Reds are dead last in road wOBA at .278. It gets better. Over the last seven days the Reds also are only batting .175 while striking out 24.8 percent of the time and are 29th in wRC+ at 39, yes 39. Kazmir has looked a little better lately but the numbers are still not pretty. He has, however, only allowed five earned runs over his last two home starts versus the heavy hitting Cardinals and New York Mets while striking out 12 batters over 14 1/3 innings. It also helps that Dodgers Stadium is 30th MLB in runs scored. By night's end the Reds will all be putting Kazmir sweaters on their bats to try and keep them warm.

Danger Zone

We have minimal BVP here and little to worry about I believe in Dodger Stadium.

GPP plays that will make or break your wallet.

Of course, anytime you take players in this section you are doing so with risk. That is why they are here and are not for the faint of heart.

Mike Foltynewicz, Atlanta Braves

Yes, you have read that right. Mike Foltynewicz. He is my favorite GPP play tonight by far. Although at times “Filthy Folty” is terrible, the Milwaukee Brewers are more so. The Brewers are second in MLB in strikeouts doing so 26.1 percent of the time and have a decent .324 wOBA versus RHP. You take them outside of the hitter friendly park in Milwaukee and they get much worse. They have a low .292 road wOBA and over the last seven days are batting .179 striking out 33.3 percent of the time and are 29th in wRC+. Foltynewicz historically gets a positive park shift pitching at home in Turner Field where in his last start versus the Diamondbacks on May 8 he only allowed two earned runs with eight strikeouts and followed it by another great start in Kansas City before being touched up a bit in Pittsburgh in his last one. His price is cheap and I will be using him for sure today.

Danger Zone

LHB crush Foltynewicz batting .371. The beauty of the matchup is the bigger boppers are all RHB.

Jake Peavy, San Francisco Giants

How crazy am I? I can tell you right now that today I will have at least one lineup with Jake Peavy on FanDuel and another on DraftKings pairing Peavy with Filthy Folty. Why would I use a pitcher who is 1-5 with an 8.21 ERA? It’s easy. He is pitching at home in the pitcher friendly AT&T Park which is 27th in MLB in HR allowed. This is important because the San Diego Padres are real RHB heavy and Peavy has allowed eight HR to RHB on the season to go with zero to LHB and currently has a terrible 1.7 HR/9. The Padres are also striking 24.1 percent of the time, are dead last in wOBA (.278), and are 29th in wRC+ at 75. On the road the Padres have a .299 wOBA and are batting a pathetic .163 over the last seven days and are dead last in wRC+ at 38, even worse than the Reds. Prior to being slaughtered by the Cubs (who slaughter most) in his last home start in the two previous home starts he allowed five earned runs over 12 innings striking out 10 versus the Blue Jays and Marlins who both are much tougher than the Padres. All signs point to Peavy having a great start and I am jumping on board. Or, sinking if he implodes…which of course is always a strong possibility.

Danger Zone

The BVP is actually favorable. The current Padres are batting .156 (14-for-90) with one HR (Matt Kemp), two RBI, and 22 strikeouts. Keep in mind he did not get the 8.21 ERA because he is shutting opponent’s down.

NameTeamWLGIPK/9BB/9HR/9BABIPLOB%GB%ERAxFIPHard%AVG FD$  DK$  Aces$ 
Aaron NolaPhillies339609.61.650.750.24766.70%56.80%2.852.5322.00%0.193 $    8,900 $   10,700 $     6,400
Aaron SanchezBlue Jays419597.933.20.610.28575.70%58.10%3.23.3329.00%0.186 $    6,800 $      7,600 $     6,250
Carlos MartinezCardinals448486.563.190.940.24376.50%52.20%3.564.332.60%0.216 $    8,500 $      6,600 $     6,500
Chad BettisRockies429566.751.930.960.29169.80%50.60%4.183.6132.00%0.255 $    6,200 $      6,100 $     5,250
Colby LewisRangers309596.711.831.530.26192.30%37.00%2.754.236.60%0.242 $    7,400 $      8,100 $     6,050
Collin McHughAstros44947.17.232.281.140.36570.60%42.90%5.134.2725.50%0.315 $    7,600 $      7,100 $     5,700
Corey KluberIndians35959.18.82.280.760.28865.60%52.20%4.13.3529.70%0.229 $    9,200 $   11,400 $     6,900
Dan StrailyReds211047.17.84.370.950.2385.20%40.80%2.854.729.00%0.198 $    6,700 $      6,800 $     5,500
Dillon GeeRoyals119317.553.481.160.27387.90%44.30%2.94.2629.40%0.237 $    6,900 $      5,300 $     5,800
Hector SantiagoAngels32952.27.013.251.710.2480.80%40.90%3.934.8233.30%0.228 $    7,900 $      6,000 $     5,700
Hisashi IwakumaMariners24955.17.162.770.980.32574.40%42.10%4.394.3227.40%0.279 $    8,600 $      7,500 $     6,050
Ivan NovaYankees31930.14.450.891.190.26581.60%66.70%3.263.5629.40%0.256 $    6,800 $      5,900 $     5,750
Jake ArrietaCubs8096392.860.290.20785.90%55.00%1.293.0123.00%0.153 $  12,300 $   13,100 $     7,750
Jake PeavyGiants15941.27.783.671.730.38861.10%40.60%8.214.8538.10%0.339 $    5,900 $      6,400 $     5,850
James ShieldsPadres26958.27.673.381.070.30683.80%48.80%3.073.9631.10%0.258 $    8,100 $      8,600 $     6,350
Jeff LockePirates238456.24.61.20.30272.30%50.00%54.8225.70%0.273 $    7,000 $      5,600 $     5,550
Jose QuintanaWhite Sox539597.931.680.150.29378.50%41.50%1.983.3831.50%0.226 $    9,300 $   10,300 $     6,650
Junior GuerraBrewers304258.642.880.720.25464.70%33.30%3.963.835.40%0.202 $    7,200 $      7,400 $     5,450
Justin NicolinoMarlins22529.11.843.380.920.23368.10%45.60%4.35.7636.80%0.241 $    6,100 $      5,200 $     5,400
Marco EstradaBlue Jays12851.28.713.310.70.23176.50%40.70%2.614.0632.60%0.231 $    8,400 $      8,400 $     6,400
Matt AndrieseRays30321.14.642.110.420.16776.90%44.30%2.114.7931.20%0.153 $    7,600 $      8,100 $     5,500
Mike FoltynewiczBraves12421.27.060.832.080.32482.60%40.30%4.573.8728.80%0.3 $          63 $            64 $     5,800
Rubby de la RosaDiamondbacks441043.19.353.121.040.2372.10%52.60%3.533.6431.40%0.19 $    6,700 $      7,600 $     6,100
Scott KazmirDodgers33951.28.363.482.090.25973.40%42.80%5.234.4221.90%0.241 $    8,600 $      7,900 $     6,200
Steven MatzMets61741.29.291.730.650.379.00%54.20%2.812.7823.90%0.231 $    9,900 $      9,600 $     6,750
Steven WrightRed Sox34853.27.883.190.50.2575.70%41.40%2.524.0927.90%0.201 $    9,500 $      8,800 $     5,850
Tanner RoarkNationals339568.523.540.480.2974.50%54.30%2.893.5822.20%0.227 $    8,300 $      8,700 $     6,400
Tyler DuffeyTwins135307.51.80.90.30471.80%46.80%3.33.8729.50%0.258 $    6,000 $      7,100 $     5,500
Tyler WilsonOrioles22836.24.422.450.980.23772.20%45.10%3.684.7827.90%0.229 $    7,200 $      5,500 $     5,400
Zachary NealAthletics00136030.338.50%36.40%93.8236.40%0.308 $    5,000  $     5,250

I will be back tomorrow and then as mentioned will be gone for the weekend. Good luck today.

Go Dodgers!

Follow me on Twitter @RealJerryColvin or email me at TheRealJerryColvin@yahoo.com