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It seems every time I turn around I am being invited to another wedding as of late. I am not so sure what the rush is. Although I love my wife, I do find my marriage extremely difficult at times. When you spend every day with the same person the little quirks they have tend to wear on you after a while. What ultimately makes a marriage work is whether or not your love for the other person is greater than your lack of tolerance for their BS. With all this being said I love my wife and would not change a thing. Also, she reads this article often.
Today is one of those days full of LHP that you have to be both afraid to take and use bats against. Adam Conley, Jaime Garcia, Cole Hamels, Dallas Keuchel, and even Madison Bumgarner are all facing teams that absolutely crush LHP. So what do you do in this situation? I would only use any of the pitchers above in GPPs and for the most part (even though this is the pitching coach) I would avoid using bats against them as well outside of GPP play. Keep in mind, though, most nights in DFS my pitching comes through and it’s the bats that kill me. This is probably why I do the Pitching Coach Article.
Last night we did add/drops in my FanAddict League that is run by my best friend Brian Ambos. This is a keeper league with a $500 entry fee and each season we have a live auction draft. Last week I was going to grab Trayce Thompson for a $1 and forgot to put the bid in. I whined all week to Brian about how I will never get him for a buck now. So, last night I put in a bid for $12 on Sam Dyson, $10 on Steve Pearce, $3 on Chase d’Arnaud, $3 on Trayce Thompson, and $1 on Tyler White. I only had $39 in FAAB left out of $100 so I did not want to go to heavy. My goal was to land three out of the five bids. I landed two of them, d’Arnaud and White. Phooey! By the way, Dyson went for a whopping $25 and Steve Pearce went for $20. As for Trayce Thompson, he went for $5. The sad part is my original bid was $7 and I changed it to $3. Double phooey!
So while having a portion of my bankroll last night “Mo-Lestered” in San Francisco I bring you today’s Pitching Coach Article.
Top Cash Game Plays
As always these plays are what I consider the top plays on a one-pitcher site and I strongly suggest using at least one of them on a two-pitcher site. When selecting these plays I put more consideration into the pricing on FanDuel over DraftKings.
Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets
Speaking of Brian Ambos and our keeper league, I made the foolish mistake prior to the start of the season of trading Noah Syndergaard for Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson. Brian is a very shrewd player, he wanted Thor and knew what to do to get him from me. Dangle a little Joc in my face. Wow, that sounds horrible. Anyhow, back to pitching.
I see no way on any planet that Noah Syndergaard is not the top cash game play today. He should be at least 60 percent owned in 50/50’s tonight. Today he gets a positive park shift at home in Citi Field that is 18th in runs scored and 25th in HR allowed. Thor also is lucky enough to draw the pathetic Milwaukee Brewers that could be missing Ryan Braun again today. The Brewers are striking out 24.8 percent of the time with a .332 wOBA versus RHP. I realize that .332 wOBA looks scary but keep in mind the Brewers play half their games at home in the hitter friendly park of Milwaukee. On the road the Brewers struggle with a .301 wOBA and are ice cold as well batting .201 over the last seven days.
Thor, on the other hand, just keeps rolling. Not only does he have a 10.97 K/9 and a 56.6 percent GB rate but also opposing RHB currently have a .226 wOBA against him and the Brewers are very RHB heavy. Over his last two starts versus the Nationals and Dodgers he has 16 strikeouts over 15 innings while only allowing two earned runs. I will ride the mighty hammer of Thor today in cash games and Vegas agrees with the Mets being -248 favorites, which is the highest on the slate.
Danger Zone
I really do not see anything to worry about here. We have barely have any BVP and I cannot think of one player on the Brewers who I find particularly scary today up against Syndergaard.
Kenta Maeda, Los Angeles Dodgers
This is the other no brainer to me on the slate outside of Syndergaard. I am fully aware that in his last two outings Maeda has not looked anywhere near as good as he did to begin the season. To be honest, I knew this was going to happen. It always does when the MLB batters catch up to the herky-jerky movements of most Asian pitchers' deliveries it seems. Lucky for him, today he faces the team that some high school teams could beat up on in the form of the San Diego Padres. The Padres are striking out 24.8 percent of the time (second in MLB) with a pathetic .279 wOBA (30th in MLB), and wRC+ of 74 (also 30th in MLB). It gets better for Maeda, the Padres also have a terrible home .274 wOBA and over the last seven days make the North Pole look like a winter vacation spot hitting .172. Although Maeda has allowed eight earned runs over his last nine innings versus the Angels and Mets, I fully expect him to get back on track today at Petco Park which used to be pitcher friendly. The Dodgers are -161 favorites tonight and this game carries a low 7.5 expected run total. All which I find favorable.
Danger Zone
In the limited sample size we have, the Padres are 5-for-20 with three strikeouts versus Maeda with no RBI. Looks pretty good to me.
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.
Jerad Eickhoff, Philadelphia Phillies
The other team I love to pick on besides the Padres is the Atlanta Braves. Keep in mind I am not saying that Eickhoff is going to suddenly turn into Nolan Ryan today because he most certainly will not. I just believe at home that he can tame the Braves. Atlanta may be a little stingy striking out only 18.6 percent of the time versus RHP but they do have a pathetic .288 wOBA (29th in MLB) and are 29th in wRC+ at 76. All this means they suck versus righties. On the road the Braves do not hit much better sporting a whopping .290 wOBA but have picked things up a little batting .262 over the last seven days. Which I find a little concerning.
Eickhoff gets a positive park shift at home today with Citizens Bank Park being 24th in runs scored and 18th in HR allowed. At this time, we have no line from the gods in Vegas but I well imagine it will be low with a close line. He has struggled as of late allowing six earned runs, 13 hits, and three HR over his last two starts versus the Marlins at home and Braves on the road only striking out six over 10 1/3 innings. Didn’t I say we have no Nolan Ryan here? But he does have a 2.77 ERA at home opposed to his 6.53 ERA on the road. This one will all come down to who is worse today, Eickhoff or the Braves? Either way I honestly believe he is worth a stab to save some money on a two-pitcher site.
Danger Zone
We have all kinds of worries here. First off the BVP is terrible due to a bad outing in Atlanta. Freddie Freeman is 3-for-5 with one HR, Kelly Johnson is 4-for-8 with one XBH, those being the worst but LHB do have a .385 wOBA versus Eickhoff which I find particulary disconcerting to go along with his 1.4 HR/9.
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Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks
First off, I just want to say like I have before I am not a fan of Zack Greinke. His whole demeanor and personality is more off-putting to me than watching people sweat pouring a glass of water on “My 600 Pound Life.” So for me and all the other people who bleed Dodger blue, HAHA.
I really find outside of the top options today pretty much everyone a huge risk. I just also believe that Greinke, regardless of my personal feelings for him, is way better than we have seen and will, if nothing else, at least right his ship on the road. Today he gets a positive park shift in St. Louis with Busch Stadium being 25th in runs scored and 18th in HR allowed. The Cardinals are striking out less than 20 percent of the time and also are the second-best offense next to the Boston Red Sox versus RHP in MLB right now. Greinke has, however, continued to struggle, allowing seven earned runs over his last 13 innings at home versus the Yankees and Giants. On the road this season he has pitched quite well with a 2.25 ERA and K/9 of nine as opposed to his 6.63 ERA at home. I would only use him in GPPs on FanDuel for sure but at his current $8,300 price tag on DraftKings I find him very intriguing with the upside he has shown in the past.
Danger Zone
Although he keeps the ball on the ground both LHB and RHB have wOBA’s well over .300. We have a ton of BVP here with the current Cardinals roster batting .261 (47-for-180) with eight HR and 34 strikeouts with Matt Carpenter being particularly dangerous to him.
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. Today is a strange day, though, with pretty much everyone outside of a few coming in as GPP only plays for me today.
Carlos Rodon, Chicago White Sox
Believe it or not, of all the lefties today on the slate, Carlos Rodon has the best matchup as far as LHP are concerned. Although he does not get a positive park shift at home and this game has an 8.5 expected run total, as far as his opponent goes they actually are struggling versus LHP right now. The Royals may only be striking out 18.3 percent of the time versus LHP but they also have a low .310 wOBA to go with it. They have not exactly been tearing up the base paths on the road either and the .304 wOBA certainly reflects it. We all keep waiting for Rodon to dial it up and be the strikeout machine we hoped for and he is doing just that striking out 14 batters in his last 12 2/3 innings. The problem is, he also has allowed eight earned runs. I think it is safe to project Rodon today pitching six innings while allowing three earned runs with seven strikeouts. He is cheap on both sites and if he follows my projection he should be a decent value.
Danger Zone
Well, the fact RHB have a .357 wOBA is certainly something to worry about so hopefully a few stars sit today. Otherwise this will be Rodon’s first matchup versus the Royals, although he struck out nine over four scoreless innings against the Royal in spring training.
Juan Nicasio, Pittsburgh Pirates (Weather concerns!)
Two pitches or not Juan Nicasio is a great DFS play in the right matchup. Usually at home like today, PNC Park is 23rd in runs scored and 30th in HR allowed in MLB. Nicasio has a home 3.49 ERA as opposed to his 6.43 Road ERA so you can clearly see the benefits of a positive park shift in play. Today he is facing the Colorado Rockies who are only striking out 17.6 percent of the time and have a .336 wOBA versus RHP. You have to remember when looking at Colorado numbers you have a heavy Coors Field influence in those stats. On the road the Rockies only have a .307 wOBA and are struggling batting only .230 over the last seven days. Even though Colorado is struggling so has Nicasio lately. Over his last two starts versus the Braves at home and Reds on the road he has 11 strikeouts over 11 innings while allowing seven earned runs. On FanDuel I find his price highway robbery at $8,400 but on DraftKings he is my favorite cheap GPP play at $6,500.
Danger Zone
The BVP is all in the Rockies favor here with the current lineup sporting a .321 avg. (18-for-56) with one HR and 14 strikeouts. LHB have a wOBA over .400 but Carlos Gonzalez is slumping big time right now. That leaves Charlie Blackmon as the most dangerous guy in the lineup in my opinion. The thing with Nicasio is he gets less effective quickly as the rotation sees him. This increases the likelihood for a leadoff hitter like Blackmon doing some damage the third time through if he gets there.
Colin Rea, San Diego Padres
Believe me when I tell you that it pains me terribly to take any pitcher versus my beloved Dodgers who my wife tells me I often murmur about in my sleep. Gil Hodges this, Don Drysdale that, you get the picture. My life is surrounded by Dodger blue right form the dresser knob pulls in my bedroom down to the shoelace’s in my Dodger road jersey colored sneakers. Ask anyone who has met me, this is true. I even wear a Dodgers tie to industry functions. All of this I found rather funny when I met our own Ray Flowers at Tout Wars this year in NYC and he was wearing a Giants jersey. The blue in my blood certainly started to curdle but considering the amount of respect I have for all he does in this industry coupled with the fact he writes more articles than anyone I know, I let it go.
Today Colin Rea benefits from what used to be a pitcher friendly park in Petco. Although Rea is not a strikeout machine so far he does face a Dodgers team struggling. The Dodgers are striking out 20 percent of the time with a low .310 wOBA versus RHP. They do hit a little better on the road with a .325 wOBA but are not exactly lighting things up and the .239 avg. over the last seven days shows it. Although I hope in my heart Joc Pederson takes him deep for some reason I keep picturing Rea going through the Dodgers lineup today striking out hitters left and right. In his last outing versus the heroes in blue he went six innings allowing two earned runs while striking out three. On FanDuel in a large field GPP for the low price of $5,500 I cannot resist.
Danger Zone
The LHB of Joc Pederson comes to mind even though he has reverse splits with RHB carrying a .352 wOBA against him. Maybe it’s another day for Trayce Thompson, I hope. Unless my lineup with the bats I pay for with Rea at the helm go off. In that case, I hope the Dodgers all develop a case of “Go-no-Rea.” I am such a tool at times.
Good luck today and as always make sure your players are playing. Often times catchers will not play a day game after a night game. My cat is still a creep and if you read any of my NBA articles there have been some interesting developments in the Latvian world of Kristaps Porzingis. Coming next NBA season of course. Next weekend I will be away for the LAD series at Citi Field and the incredible Howard Bender will be taking the weekend helm. I will be filling in for him on Wednesday and Thursday.
| vs L | vs R | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | Team | Hand | H/A | Opp | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | AVG | SwStr% | ERA | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | LD% | GB% | FB% | GB/FB | wOBA | wOBA | FD | DK | Aces |
| Noah Syndergaard | NYM | R | H | MIL | 53.1 | 10.97 | 1.52 | 0.51 | 0.224 | 14.7% | 2.19 | 2.22 | 0.99 | 0.320 | 17.1% | 56.6% | 26.4% | 2.15 | 0.278 | 0.226 | $11,800 | $13,300 | $7,700 |
| Madison Bumgarner | SF | L | H | CHC | 58.2 | 10.89 | 2.76 | 0.92 | 0.225 | 10.6% | 2.45 | 3.36 | 1.18 | 0.300 | 21.1% | 38.2% | 40.8% | 0.94 | 0.212 | 0.305 | $11,200 | $12,100 | $7,450 |
| Max Scherzer | WAS | R | A | MIA | 58.1 | 11.73 | 2.78 | 2.01 | 0.225 | 14.6% | 4.01 | 3.17 | 1.15 | 0.279 | 19.7% | 35.8% | 44.5% | 0.80 | 0.435 | 0.201 | $10,500 | $12,900 | $7,650 |
| Cole Hamels | TEX | L | A | HOU | 49.1 | 9.30 | 3.47 | 1.64 | 0.247 | 13.3% | 3.10 | 3.57 | 1.32 | 0.294 | 21.2% | 51.5% | 27.3% | 1.89 | 0.258 | 0.352 | $10,200 | $12,200 | $6,650 |
| Zack Greinke | ARI | R | A | STL | 56.2 | 8.10 | 1.91 | 1.11 | 0.289 | 11.1% | 5.08 | 3.35 | 1.39 | 0.345 | 22.5% | 48.9% | 28.7% | 1.71 | 0.334 | 0.356 | $9,900 | $8,300 | $6,900 |
| Chris Archer | TB | R | A | DET | 49.1 | 11.13 | 4.56 | 1.64 | 0.258 | 10.9% | 4.38 | 3.45 | 1.52 | 0.331 | 23.5% | 45.5% | 31.1% | 1.46 | 0.311 | 0.364 | $9,800 | $10,700 | $6,750 |
| Jordan Zimmermann | DET | R | H | TB | 55.0 | 6.05 | 1.80 | 0.82 | 0.248 | 7.4% | 2.45 | 4.27 | 1.16 | 0.279 | 18.2% | 43.8% | 38.1% | 1.15 | 0.260 | 0.305 | $9,700 | $10,000 | $6,850 |
| Kenta Maeda | LAD | R | A | SD | 47.0 | 8.23 | 2.68 | 0.96 | 0.214 | 12.7% | 2.87 | 3.96 | 1.09 | 0.256 | 17.3% | 43.3% | 39.4% | 1.10 | 0.266 | 0.274 | $9,100 | $10,600 | $6,900 |
| Danny Salazar | CLE | R | A | BOS | 50.0 | 10.98 | 4.14 | 0.36 | 0.156 | 13.2% | 1.80 | 3.39 | 1.00 | 0.227 | 11.7% | 51.4% | 36.9% | 1.39 | 0.185 | 0.261 | $8,900 | $9,100 | $6,850 |
| Jaime Garcia | STL | L | H | ARI | 50.1 | 9.12 | 3.40 | 0.36 | 0.180 | 10.8% | 2.86 | 3.13 | 1.03 | 0.238 | 19.1% | 59.5% | 21.4% | 2.79 | 0.168 | 0.249 | $8,600 | $9,600 | $6,450 |
| Rick Porcello | BOS | R | H | CLE | 51.1 | 8.59 | 2.10 | 1.23 | 0.226 | 7.4% | 3.51 | 3.57 | 1.09 | 0.266 | 19.0% | 46.5% | 34.5% | 1.35 | 0.258 | 0.345 | $8,500 | $9,300 | $6,000 |
| Juan Nicasio | PIT | R | H | COL | 42.1 | 9.14 | 3.61 | 1.28 | 0.245 | 8.0% | 4.46 | 3.90 | 1.35 | 0.298 | 22.4% | 41.4% | 36.2% | 1.14 | 0.407 | 0.253 | $8,400 | $6,500 | $6,150 |
| Kyle Hendricks | CHC | R | A | SF | 41.0 | 8.12 | 1.98 | 0.44 | 0.221 | 8.6% | 3.51 | 2.98 | 1.05 | 0.278 | 17.1% | 62.2% | 20.7% | 3.00 | 0.284 | 0.246 | $8,200 | $8,200 | $6,050 |
| Adam Conley | MIA | L | H | WAS | 42.1 | 9.14 | 3.40 | 0.64 | 0.238 | 10.6% | 3.40 | 3.94 | 1.28 | 0.307 | 23.9% | 38.1% | 38.1% | 1.00 | 0.420 | 0.271 | $8,100 | $7,100 | $5,800 |
| Dallas Keuchel | HOU | L | H | TEX | 56.1 | 7.51 | 3.99 | 0.96 | 0.286 | 10.0% | 5.43 | 3.85 | 1.58 | 0.339 | 22.0% | 55.5% | 22.5% | 2.46 | 0.327 | 0.357 | $8,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 |
| Carlos Rodon | CHW | L | H | KC | 45.2 | 9.26 | 3.35 | 1.58 | 0.270 | 8.4% | 4.73 | 3.67 | 1.47 | 0.323 | 19.3% | 49.6% | 31.1% | 1.60 | 0.240 | 0.357 | $7,900 | $7,800 | $6,300 |
| Marcus Stroman | TOR | R | A | MIN | 61.2 | 6.28 | 2.48 | 0.58 | 0.248 | 8.2% | 4.23 | 3.72 | 1.23 | 0.288 | 15.5% | 61.3% | 23.2% | 2.64 | 0.305 | 0.281 | $7,800 | $8,700 | $6,450 |
| Jesse Hahn | OAK | R | H | NYY | 18.2 | 2.89 | 3.38 | 1.45 | 0.292 | 7.1% | 3.38 | 5.01 | 1.50 | 0.286 | 16.7% | 57.6% | 25.8% | 2.24 | 0.380 | 0.335 | $7,700 | $6,500 | $4,500 |
| Yordano Ventura | KC | R | A | CHW | 42.2 | 6.54 | 6.12 | 1.05 | 0.227 | 8.1% | 4.85 | 5.67 | 1.55 | 0.252 | 13.7% | 48.1% | 38.2% | 1.26 | 0.350 | 0.292 | $7,600 | $6,900 | $6,000 |
| Michael Pineda | NYY | R | A | OAK | 43.2 | 10.31 | 2.89 | 2.06 | 0.314 | 14.1% | 6.60 | 3.60 | 1.65 | 0.384 | 20.1% | 46.3% | 33.6% | 1.38 | 0.417 | 0.391 | $7,500 | $7,700 | $6,100 |
| Wade Miley | SEA | L | A | CIN | 50.0 | 6.30 | 2.16 | 1.44 | 0.254 | 10.5% | 4.32 | 4.30 | 1.20 | 0.274 | 17.8% | 44.1% | 38.2% | 1.16 | 0.287 | 0.325 | $7,300 | $7,100 | $5,850 |
| Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | R | H | ATL | 46.2 | 7.71 | 1.93 | 1.35 | 0.258 | 9.2% | 4.44 | 3.78 | 1.24 | 0.295 | 22.4% | 42.7% | 35.0% | 1.22 | 0.385 | 0.270 | $7,100 | $7,200 | $5,650 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | R | A | LAA | 45.0 | 8.20 | 4.80 | 1.00 | 0.302 | 7.7% | 5.60 | 4.23 | 1.76 | 0.368 | 20.9% | 54.0% | 25.2% | 2.14 | 0.414 | 0.332 | $7,000 | $6,200 | $6,050 |
| Jered Weaver | LAA | R | H | BAL | 45.1 | 5.16 | 2.18 | 1.99 | 0.326 | 8.5% | 5.76 | 5.28 | 1.61 | 0.338 | 25.8% | 30.7% | 43.6% | 0.70 | 0.412 | 0.387 | $6,700 | $5,700 | $5,850 |
| Alfredo Simon | CIN | R | H | SEA | 31.1 | 7.47 | 4.02 | 2.59 | 0.364 | 8.6% | 10.34 | 5.26 | 2.11 | 0.398 | 21.4% | 46.2% | 32.5% | 1.42 | 0.506 | 0.416 | $6,600 | $4,900 | $5,600 |
| Chad Bettis | COL | R | A | PIT | 56.0 | 6.75 | 1.93 | 0.96 | 0.255 | 7.7% | 4.18 | 3.64 | 1.21 | 0.291 | 22.7% | 50.6% | 26.7% | 1.89 | 0.281 | 0.312 | $6,200 | $7,500 | $5,500 |
| Chase Anderson | MIL | R | A | NYM | 44.0 | 6.75 | 2.86 | 2.25 | 0.271 | 7.1% | 5.32 | 4.59 | 1.41 | 0.278 | 17.3% | 41.7% | 41.0% | 1.02 | 0.297 | 0.424 | $6,100 | $7,400 | $5,500 |
| Phil Hughes | MIN | R | H | TOR | 42.2 | 5.70 | 1.69 | 1.48 | 0.275 | 6.1% | 5.70 | 4.39 | 1.29 | 0.292 | 20.4% | 41.5% | 38.0% | 1.09 | 0.371 | 0.316 | $6,100 | $5,600 | $5,350 |
| Colin Rea | SD | R | H | LAD | 45.1 | 6.55 | 3.97 | 0.99 | 0.249 | 6.6% | 4.37 | 4.76 | 1.41 | 0.281 | 23.9% | 45.1% | 31.0% | 1.45 | 0.297 | 0.352 | $5,500 | $6,900 | $5,700 |
| Casey Kelly | ATL | R | A | PHI | 3.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.250 | 10.2% | 3.00 | 7.83 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 0.22 | 0.126 | 0.502 | $5,500 | $4,600 | N/A |
Go Dodgers!
Follow me on Twitter @RealJerryColvin or email me at TheRealJerryColvin@yahoo.com
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