10-Team Leagues

Ryan Yarbrough , SP TB –  Yarbrough has been outstanding since the All-Star break, going 4-0 with a 1.90 ERA while striking out 51 over 52 innings. His start this afternoon is coming against the Baltimore Orioles whom we just love to attack. He will finish up the week with a start against the Blue Jays who have also given him no trouble this season as he has allowed a total of five runs over 29.1 innings while striking out 25.

Dakota Hudson , SP STL – Hudson is coming off an impressive month of August which saw him go 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA over six starts. He will look to carry that success into September where his first start will come at home against the San Francisco Giants. Hudson has a 3.14 ERA this season in St. Louis and he picked up the win against the Giants in his lone start against them earlier this season.

12-Team Leagues

Sean Manaea , SP OAK – The ownership numbers are very low as Manaea just returned from the IL to face the Yankees on Sunday and he was stellar, allowing just one hit while striking out five over five innings as he threw just 82 pitches. He second start should be much easier than facing the Yankees in New York as he faces the Tigers in Oakland. The Tigers have been among the worst offensive teams all season long and they currently boast the second-highest strikeout rate against LHP.

Andrew Heaney , SP LAA – Always a good source of strikeouts here but there is also some risk involved as he can be both dominant and erratic on any given night. He will draw the White Sox this upcoming week which is a team we just saw him go seven innings against while picking up the win a few weeks back. 

John Means , SP BAL – Means just faced the Rays two starts ago and tossed a gem, allowing just one run over seven innings while striking out seven. Tampa has the third-highest strikeout rate against left-handed pitching this season so a strikeout per inning is certainly in the cards here again this week. Means has faced the Rays four times this season and he is 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA with the home run ball really being the cause of the damage as he has allowed five of them over 22 innings while otherwise holding the Rays to a .221 team average.

15-Team League

Michael Wacha , SP STL – We got a really good start from Wacha in his last out, allowing just two runs on three hits over seven innings against the Reds.  His next start will be yet another home matchup but this time against the Giants. Wacha has been a much better pitcher since the All-Star break, posting a 4.01 ERA over eight appearances (five starts) while striking out 32 over 33.2 innings. Mind you, in the first half he posted a 5.54 ERA so he is definitely pitching better. The Giants rank among the bottom five teams in wOBA, team average, and wRC+ against RHP this season.

Homer Bailey , SP OAK – Gross right? I don’t want to suggest him but the numbers of late are actually good which is a strange thing to say when describing Homer Bailey . Over his last four outings, he has allowed just six runs over 24.1 innings while striking out 27. He is going to get a home start this week against the Detroit Tigers whom I have already explained to you earlier in this article are among the worst offenses in all of baseball.