Corey Kluber and James Paxton were the two most expensive pitchers on the ‘main’ slate for DFS today and neither disappointed. They tied for the most FanDuel points by a pitcher with 52.0 with Kluber slightly edging out Paxton on DraftKings 31.0 to 30.8. Kluber fired eight strong innings giving up just two runs while striking out eight in a win over the Tigers. As for Paxton, he went seven innings and gave up three runs while striking out 10 in a win over the Rays. Despite tying for the same amount of points on FanDuel, Paxton takes the crown for top pitcher of the day on the site due to his price tag being $1500 cheaper than Kluber. Kluber has given up just five earned runs over 41.1 innings (1.09 ERA) in his last six starts. He has posted a quality start in each and every start of the year thus far, very impressive stuff. For the year, he is now 10-2 with a 1.99 ERA. Paxton hasn’t been too shabby himself, he has tossed a quality start eight times in his last nine starts, with his lone “non-quality” outing being of the five innings two earned runs variety. With the win, he moved to 6-1 with a 3.02 ERA on the year.

 

The Grandy-Man Can

Curtis Granderson had a monster day at the plate today and those who rostered him in DFS likely cashed with ease. He finished 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, a walk, six RBI, and two runs scored. That performance was good enough for 57.4 points on FanDuel and at a punt price of $2700! He crushed the second highest score by a hitter on the slate (Jake Cave 37.9 points). He came into the game with just two hits in 19 June at-bats, but was at the top of the Blue Jays lineup today and that proved to be a good move by Manager John Gibbons. He was just the second player in Blue Jay history to drive in six runs out of the leadoff spot, the other being Damaso Garcia who accomplished the feat on May 10, 1985. The home run was his sixth of the year. The six RBI were both a season high (shocker) and a new career high for the 37-year-old outfielder; it also was double the amount that he drove in for the entire month of May. Granderson’s huge day paved the way for a big Blue Jay win 13-3 over the Orioles. Kevin Pillar , TeOscar Hernandez , and Kendrys Morales also homered for Toronto.

 

That Just Happened

Clayton Richard had a no-hitter through 6.2 innings pitched, yes that Clayton Richard . His final line for the day was seven innings, two hits, one run, three walks, and five strikeouts. He picked up the win, his fifth of the year, and lowered his ERA down to 4.40 in the process. Yes it was against the Marlins, but for a guy who gets hit around on a pretty frequent basis, it was impressive.

Richard’s teammate Eric Hosmer continues to be a fantastic signing for the Padres; today he hit a two-run dinger and also singled. He has a triple-slash line of .292/.375/.479 through his first 63 games with his new club. He now has eight home runs, 30 RBI, and three steals. I am still confused why I was able to draft this guy around pick 100 in so many leagues at the start of the year.

Mike Zunino slugged his tenth home run of the year today, and has done so in only 147 at-bats. He has 22 RBI to go along with the 10 round-trippers albeit with a .211 average. Zunino is providing fantasy owners with exactly what they should have expected, a lot of home runs with a really bad average. In DFS, he makes for a good DFS punt play on just about any day with home run or bust expectations.

Francisco Lindor swiped two bags, collected three hits in five at-bats, and scored two runs. He now has eight steals and 14 home runs and is likely heading for his third straight all-star game. Lindor has finished with exactly 99 runs scored the last two seasons, but with 46 through 61 games played he should be able to crack 100 for the first time in his career.

Josh Harrison stuffed the stat sheet today as he finished 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a stolen base. He put up a strong 27.7 points on FanDuel and has now scored nine or more points in four straight games. Harrison is always one of those guys at the end of your starting lineup in fantasy that just puts up solid numbers and doesn’t really hurt you anywhere, but is not fantastic in any area.

Springer Dinger alert! George Springer continues to mash left-handed pitching and is almost a must-play any time a non-elite southpaw is on the mound opposing the Astros. It was his fourteenth home run of the year and seventh against a lefty in just 79 at-bats against them. He finished the day 2-for-4 with the home run, a walk, one RBI, and three runs scored.

Héctor Rondón owns the title of Astros closer. He converted a save for the third time in five days; meanwhile former closer Ken Giles entered the game in the sixth inning. Rondon made quick work of the Rangers; he struck out the side on sixteen pitches to lower his ERA to 1.50.

Paul Goldschmidt cannot be stopped. He has been on a tear since May 23 and it continued today as he finished 2-for-4 with a triple, double, walk, two runs, and two RBI. Since May 23, his average has jumped from .198 to .254 and he has seven multi-hit games in that fifteen game stretch. Seven is also the number of home runs he has bashed during that span. It was only a matter of time for one of the best hitters in the game.

Derek Holland outdueled Max Scherzer today; that just seems weird to write, but it is true! Holland pitched five shutout innings to pick up his fourth win of the year. Scherzer kept his team in the game but got zero offensive support in the defeat. His final line was seven innings, two runs, nine strikeouts. The Giants won the game 2-0.

 

Burning Questions

Zach Britton is expected to make his return from the DL on Monday; can he stay on the field and be a valuable fantasy asset for the remainder of the season?

It appears Daniel Murphy will make his season debut within the next week, will the knee hamper him?

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be sidelined four weeks with a knee injury; will the injury end his chances of getting a late season call up to the Jays?

Can the Mets avoid the Subway Series sweep tonight? It will be tough, the Yankees are sending ace Luis Severino out to the mound.

 

Stay tuned.