I cannot remember a slate this terrible for starting pitching. After Jose Fernandez I cannot find one pitcher who is cash game viable. Everyone seems to be better for a GPP or as a complimentary pitcher on a two-pitcher site. You add in the split slate today and lack of single entry GPPs and I feel like this is a “play light” kind of day.

Besides going out of town for three days for a cookout at Brian Ambos' and a few Dodger games I will also be on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius210/XM87) this weekend at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with the Legend Lenny Melnick talking some DFS baseball. Tune in if you have a few minutes.

So with a whole slate of risky starting pitching ahead of us, I bring you today’s Pitching Coach Article.

Top Cash Game Plays

Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins

The Tampa Bay Rays are striking out 26.4 percent of the time (first in MLB), have a low .303 wOBA, and are 22nd in wRC+ at 93 versus RHP on the season. Now you add in the low and I mean real low .288 home wOBA and I see no way you do not attack them today. Fernandez has been electric lately allowing only two earned runs over his last three starts versus the Brewers and Nationals (twice) while striking out 31 batters over 20 innings. He gets a positive park shift pitching at Tropicana Field which is 28th in runs scored and 21st in HR allowed in MLB. This game has the lowest expected run total at 6.5 and Fernandez is the -110 favorite and gets my call as the top cash game play of the day on the early and all-day slates.

Danger Zone

The current Rays roster is batting .217 (5-for-23) with one HR, one RBI, and 9 strikeouts. My biggest concern is the Rays' bats are hot right now hitting .271 over the last seven days.

Matt Wisler, Atlanta Braves

You know selection is thin when Matt Wisler makes the cash game section. The reality is that Wisler is dirt cheap and has the best matchup tonight. The Brewers are striking out 26.1 percent of the time with a .322 wOBA versus RHP. Do not let the .322 wOBA fool you, on the road the Brewers have a low .292 wOBA and over the last seven days are batting .203 while striking out 33 percent of the time and have a wRC+ of 48. All this spells success for Wisler who in his last two starts versus the Royals and Phillies on the road has three earned runs over 14 innings with 14 strikeouts. He gets what used to be a positive park shift at home in Turner Field which so far this season is more neutral coming in at 12th in runs scored and 15th in HR allowed. Vegas also believes in Wisler as he is the -135 favorite pitching in a game with a low 7.5 expected run total. He is the top cash game play on the night slate for sure and on FanDuel at his price is a real steal tonight.

Danger Zone

Two things I find concerning with Wisler and neither has anything to do with the Brewers as we have minimal BVP. Wisler does, however, have a GB rate of 34.8 percent compared to his 47 percent FB rate which always raises a red flag for me.  He also has allowed eight earned runs in his last two home starts compared to three earned runs over his last three road starts but one of those home starts was a five run game versus the Boston Red Sox who are beating the crap out of everyone right now.

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

You want to talk thin? At first I had Matt Wisler in this section and decided that he was far enough above the other starting pitchers tonight to get the bump up to the cash game section with Fernandez. The thing is, I am not going to force feed you plays to fill up an article so there is only one player in this section today and most would put him into the cash game category.

Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates

I am not a big Gerrit Cole fan. As a matter of fact, I rarely use him in DFS and do not own him in one seasonal league. But with little to choose from today he deserves serious consideration with the way he has been pitching as of late. Over his last two starts versus the Rockies at home and the Cubs on the road he has only allowed one earned run over 15 innings. The bad part is he only has seven strikeouts in those two starts. Today he is at home in the pitcher friendly PNC Park that is 23rd in runs scored and 30th in HR allowed in MLB this season and is a -185 favorite. The Arizona Diamondbacks are striking out 20.7 percent of the time with a .327 wOBA versus RHP. They also smash the ball on the road with a .340 wOBA and hitting well right now batting .291 over the last seven days. All these factors are why I bumped Cole down from the cash game section to the better in pairs section.

Danger Zone

The current Diamondbacks roster is batting .306 (26-for-85) with one HR (Jake Lamb) and 11 RBI. No one has any substantial amount of at-bats so this could all be attributed to a bad start or two. Still it is risk that should be noted.

GPP plays that will make or break your wallet.

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

Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals (Weather Concerns)

Danny Duffy today is home facing the Chicago White Sox who are striking out 21.4 percent of the time with a decent .326 wOBA versus LHP. They also are hitting ok on the road with a .322 wOBA but are ice cold right now batting .227 over the last seven days. This seems like a good time to attack them if you ask me. Duffy gets a positive park shift at home in Kauffman Stadium that is 18th in runs scored and 25th in HR allowed in MLB (which is very important here). The big question mark for me today here is innings and how many he will pitch. He has yet to throw five innings this season and his last start was a 4 2/3 innings affair where he allowed zero earned with three strikeouts versus the same White Sox. For his price across the industry he is certainly worth throwing a dart at in a large field GPP tonight.

Danger Zone

The current White Sox roster is batting .268 (38-for-142) versus Duffy with four HR and of course he is still Danny Duffy.

Mike Leake, St. Louis Cardinals

I did not lead you astray yesterday with my Jake Peavy play and I will not again today with my Mike Leake play. Leake gets a positive park shift today pitching at Nationals Park that is 22nd in runs scored and 17th in HR allowed in MLB facing a team in the Nationals that struggle versus RHP. They are striking out 20.3 percent of the time with a low .306 wOBA (24th in MLB) and wRC+ of 89 (also 24th in MLB) versus righties on the season. At home it does not get much better where they have a low .307 wOBA and are batting .256 over the last seven days. Leake has been pitching quite efficiently as of late only allowing two earned runs over his last three starts facing the Angels and Dodgers on the road and Diamondbacks at home over 21 innings. The big problem is he only has 11 strikeouts over those 21 innings. This leads to decreased fantasy production but in a GPP or to pair with another pitcher to save money I am all in on Leake today and his 52.2 percent GB rate.

Danger Zone

The risk is great here and the BVP is terrible. The current Nationals roster is batting .284 (38-for-134) with a whopping nine HR off of Leake. The most dangerous of the group being Wilson Ramos (two HR) and Danny Espinosa (two HR). From 2013-2016 Leake has a 2.79 ERA at Nationals Park which I can live with.

NameTeamHandH/AOppIPK/9BB/9HR/9AVGSwStr%ERAxFIPWHIPGB%FB%GB/FBwOBA vs LwOBA vs R FD$  DK$  Aces$ 
Jose FernandezMIARATB53.213.084.020.500.21514.5%3.022.581.2139.1%30.0%1.300.3150.249 $  11,000 $    13,200 $     7,200
Gerrit ColePITRHARI48.17.262.420.560.2518.0%2.793.981.2238.4%37.0%1.040.3020.283 $  10,100 $      9,900 $     7,000
Drew SmylyTBLHMIA56.010.132.251.450.21312.0%3.543.721.0430.6%52.1%0.590.2950.277 $    9,100 $    10,300 $     6,800
Kevin GausmanBALRAHOU36.27.361.960.740.23610.8%2.703.921.1245.9%35.8%1.280.1570.365 $    8,200 $      9,300 $     6,200
J.A. HappTORLANYY57.25.772.650.940.2509.1%3.434.461.2142.7%35.1%1.220.2680.320 $    8,200 $      6,700 $     6,050
Lance McCullersHOURHBAL10.29.285.060.000.29311.1%5.913.721.6953.3%23.3%2.290.3910.304 $    8,000 $      8,600 $     6,150
Joe RossWASRHSTL46.27.142.890.580.24010.1%2.704.021.2444.9%31.2%1.440.3330.257 $    8,000 $      8,100 $     6,250
Patrick CorbinARILAPIT56.16.232.721.440.2618.8%3.994.061.3151.7%29.3%1.760.2910.345 $    7,100 $      7,200 $     5,900
CC SabathiaNYYLHTOR34.17.603.670.260.2569.1%3.414.371.4045.5%34.7%1.310.3540.298 $    7,000 $      8,300 $     5,800
Clay BuchholzBOSRHCOL51.26.104.181.570.2608.9%5.925.381.4737.0%43.8%0.850.3930.301 $    6,900 $      5,000 $     5,900
Jonathan GrayCOLRABOS32.010.972.810.560.27011.8%6.752.641.3850.0%21.4%2.330.3390.304 $    6,900 $      6,300 $     5,650
Danny DuffyKCLHCHW25.110.302.490.360.23217.9%2.133.331.1436.9%40.0%0.920.1820.310 $    6,900 $      5,700 $     5,500
Mike LeakeSTLRAWAS55.15.371.951.140.2415.5%4.074.131.1652.2%26.9%1.940.2820.309 $    6,600 $      7,300 $     5,750
Matt WislerATLRHMIL55.16.342.110.810.2057.7%2.934.710.9934.8%47.0%0.740.2610.258 $    6,500 $      9,100 $     6,400
Miguel GonzalezCHWRAKC21.27.894.151.250.28111.2%4.575.001.6243.5%40.6%1.070.3350.373 $    6,500 $      6,100 $     5,900
Wily PeraltaMILRAATL46.16.023.881.550.3506.6%6.994.771.9249.4%28.8%1.720.3940.455 $    6,300 $      5,100 $     5,750

I will be back next weekend with the talented Howard Bender taking the helm this weekend. Good luck today.

Go Dodgers!

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