We have a five game early slate today which means it is somewhat slim pickings when it comes to pitching options.  The chalk pitcher of the day is going to be Justin Verlander against the Giants.  Verlander is 5-2 with a 1.05 ERA and has struck out 82 over 68.2 innings.  The Giants have a solid team average against righties this season but rank towards the bottom of the league in runs scored.  On this slate I expect Verlander to be around 50-percent owned at minimum in all formats.  Pair with Verlander we do have a few options in Michael Wacha vs the Royals, Zack Godley vs the Brewers, Kyle Gibson vs the Tigers and Jakob Junis vs the Cardinals.  For me, Wacha makes the most sense in cash games with Junis actually following up behind him at a cheaper price.  In GPPs I would be looking at Kyle Gibson and Zack Godley given their matchups and potential strikeout upside.  If looking for a complete GPP punt then Brent Suter could very well be in play given how poorly the Diamondbacks offense is performing right now.

 

On the hitter side of things the Astros are the obvious stack as Jeff Samardzija is a total gas can and the Astros are actually hitting right-handed pitching better than left-handed pitching this season.  I can also see the Nationals left-handed hitters being somewhat popular today against the Padres Tyson Ross even though Ross has been solid this season.  Nats rookie Juan Soto is hitting second today at just $3,200 on DK which will likely make him very chalky.  I am also a fan of the left-handed bats in the Twins lineup vs Michael Fulmer.  Lefties have an .834 OPS and have hit five of the six home runs allowed by Fulmer this season.  If you aren’t using Junis today then playing the top of the Cardinals lineup also makes sense.  Tommy Pham, Matt Carpenter, Jose Martinez and Tyler O’Neil is the way to go.