Apologies for the delay today. I was dealing with a tech issue on my end. I appreciate your patience.
Full slate today with some awesome hurlers on the mound, so I’ll try to be really picky with some of my top plays. Keep in mind the early start for the Reds/Indians game again which means that no players from either team are being made available on Draft Kings and Fantasy Aces. They’re still available on FanDuel if you play the early slate though.
Here’s a look at the numbers and who I like today:
| vs L | vs R | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | Team | Hand | H/A | Opp | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | AVG | SwStr% | ERA | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | GB% | FB% | GB/FB | wOBA | wOBA | FD | DK | Aces |
| Clayton Kershaw | LAD | L | H | LAA | 62.0 | 11.18 | 0.58 | 0.44 | 0.186 | 15.4% | 1.74 | 1.90 | 0.73 | 0.271 | 49.3% | 28.9% | 1.71 | 0.160 | 0.221 | $13,000 | $13,700 | $8,100 |
| Madison Bumgarner | SF | L | A | SD | 49.2 | 10.87 | 3.26 | 0.91 | 0.237 | 10.2% | 2.72 | 3.60 | 1.29 | 0.318 | 37.4% | 41.2% | 0.91 | 0.183 | 0.328 | $12,100 | $12,500 | $7,450 |
| Noah Syndergaard | NYM | R | H | WAS | 46.1 | 10.68 | 1.75 | 0.58 | 0.227 | 15.3% | 2.53 | 2.39 | 1.04 | 0.316 | 56.5% | 26.1% | 2.17 | 0.293 | 0.226 | $10,700 | $11,400 | $7,700 |
| Max Scherzer | WAS | R | A | NYM | 52.0 | 11.42 | 2.60 | 1.90 | 0.234 | 14.5% | 4.15 | 3.12 | 1.17 | 0.292 | 37.3% | 42.9% | 0.87 | 0.434 | 0.207 | $10,500 | $12,700 | $7,650 |
| Cole Hamels | TEX | L | H | OAK | 42.2 | 9.49 | 3.59 | 1.27 | 0.236 | 13.6% | 2.95 | 3.50 | 1.27 | 0.292 | 52.7% | 25.5% | 2.07 | 0.286 | 0.325 | $10,400 | $10,500 | $6,650 |
| Zack Greinke | ARI | R | H | NYY | 49.2 | 7.97 | 2.17 | 1.09 | 0.301 | 11.4% | 5.26 | 3.54 | 1.49 | 0.359 | 47.2% | 29.6% | 1.60 | 0.376 | 0.342 | $9,800 | $8,300 | $6,900 |
| Chris Archer | TB | R | A | TOR | 43.1 | 11.22 | 4.36 | 1.66 | 0.266 | 11.2% | 4.57 | 3.29 | 1.55 | 0.342 | 45.8% | 28.8% | 1.59 | 0.324 | 0.362 | $9,700 | $9,800 | $6,750 |
| Danny Salazar | CLE | R | H | CIN | 42.2 | 11.18 | 4.64 | 0.42 | 0.151 | 13.4% | 1.90 | 3.52 | 1.03 | 0.220 | 52.7% | 37.6% | 1.40 | 0.175 | 0.282 | $9,100 | N/A | N/A |
| Jaime Garcia | STL | L | H | COL | 45.1 | 9.53 | 2.98 | 0.40 | 0.172 | 11.4% | 2.58 | 2.87 | 0.95 | 0.230 | 60.0% | 20.9% | 2.88 | 0.172 | 0.235 | $8,900 | $9,200 | $6,450 |
| Kyle Hendricks | CHC | R | A | MIL | 35.2 | 7.82 | 1.77 | 0.25 | 0.218 | 8.2% | 3.03 | 2.95 | 1.01 | 0.277 | 61.9% | 19.6% | 3.16 | 0.300 | 0.224 | $8,700 | $8,400 | $6,050 |
| Vince Velasquez | PHI | R | H | MIA | 43.1 | 10.18 | 2.70 | 0.62 | 0.191 | 11.5% | 2.70 | 3.40 | 0.99 | 0.257 | 39.6% | 41.5% | 0.95 | 0.245 | 0.246 | $8,500 | $9,700 | $6,600 |
| Rick Porcello | BOS | R | A | KC | 46.1 | 8.94 | 1.94 | 1.17 | 0.209 | 7.5% | 3.11 | 3.38 | 0.99 | 0.250 | 46.7% | 34.4% | 1.36 | 0.248 | 0.323 | $8,500 | $9,500 | $6,000 |
| Juan Nicasio | PIT | R | H | ATL | 37.1 | 8.92 | 3.62 | 1.21 | 0.227 | 7.6% | 4.34 | 3.96 | 1.26 | 0.273 | 41.6% | 36.6% | 1.14 | 0.407 | 0.230 | $8,400 | $7,300 | $6,150 |
| Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | L | A | PHI | 43.0 | 7.53 | 1.88 | 1.05 | 0.274 | 7.8% | 4.40 | 3.63 | 1.28 | 0.323 | 45.4% | 33.1% | 1.37 | 0.313 | 0.322 | $8,300 | $8,500 | $5,800 |
| Dallas Keuchel | HOU | L | A | CHW | 50.0 | 7.56 | 3.96 | 0.90 | 0.291 | 10.4% | 5.58 | 3.78 | 1.60 | 0.349 | 57.8% | 21.4% | 2.70 | 0.323 | 0.362 | $8,100 | $7,100 | $7,000 |
| Carlos Rodon | CHW | L | H | HOU | 39.2 | 9.08 | 3.63 | 1.36 | 0.277 | 8.1% | 4.99 | 3.76 | 1.51 | 0.336 | 50.9% | 30.2% | 1.69 | 0.254 | 0.360 | $7,900 | $8,800 | $6,300 |
| Jesse Hahn | OAK | R | H | TEX | 12.0 | 3.00 | 4.50 | 0.75 | 0.250 | 6.3% | 3.00 | 4.85 | 1.42 | 0.256 | 67.5% | 17.5% | 3.86 | 0.332 | 0.304 | $7,900 | $6,300 | $4,500 |
| Marcus Stroman | TOR | R | H | TB | 56.0 | 6.59 | 2.41 | 0.64 | 0.220 | 8.3% | 3.54 | 3.62 | 1.09 | 0.256 | 62.3% | 24.0% | 2.60 | 0.268 | 0.266 | $7,900 | $11,000 | $6,450 |
| Yordano Ventura | KC | R | H | BOS | 37.0 | 6.32 | 6.81 | 0.97 | 0.214 | 8.4% | 4.62 | 5.96 | 1.57 | 0.236 | 46.9% | 39.8% | 1.18 | 0.329 | 0.302 | $7,500 | $5,700 | $6,000 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | R | H | SEA | 40.2 | 8.19 | 4.43 | 1.11 | 0.305 | 8.0% | 4.87 | 4.14 | 1.72 | 0.369 | 54.4% | 25.6% | 2.13 | 0.439 | 0.325 | $7,300 | $6,200 | $6,050 |
| Michael Pineda | NYY | R | A | ARI | 38.2 | 9.54 | 3.03 | 2.09 | 0.304 | 13.2% | 6.28 | 3.93 | 1.60 | 0.360 | 43.7% | 35.3% | 1.24 | 0.412 | 0.390 | $7,300 | $7,500 | $6,100 |
| Wade Miley | SEA | L | A | BAL | 44.0 | 6.95 | 1.84 | 1.64 | 0.272 | 10.8% | 4.91 | 3.84 | 1.25 | 0.299 | 47.4% | 33.8% | 1.40 | 0.260 | 0.356 | $7,000 | $6,900 | $5,850 |
| Jered Weaver | LAA | R | A | LAD | 38.1 | 5.63 | 2.11 | 1.88 | 0.323 | 9.0% | 6.10 | 5.29 | 1.59 | 0.341 | 26.5% | 46.3% | 0.57 | 0.399 | 0.391 | $6,800 | $5,600 | $5,850 |
| Alfredo Simon | CIN | R | A | CLE | 27.0 | 8.00 | 4.33 | 3.00 | 0.328 | 9.1% | 8.67 | 5.30 | 1.89 | 0.349 | 45.7% | 34.8% | 1.31 | 0.498 | 0.408 | $6,600 | N/A | N/A |
| Phil Hughes | MIN | R | A | DET | 36.1 | 6.44 | 1.98 | 1.73 | 0.295 | 6.0% | 6.44 | 4.32 | 1.43 | 0.319 | 41.8% | 37.7% | 1.11 | 0.393 | 0.341 | $6,200 | $6,000 | $5,350 |
| Mike Pelfrey | DET | R | H | MIN | 35.2 | 5.05 | 4.29 | 1.51 | 0.329 | 8.8% | 5.80 | 4.91 | 1.85 | 0.350 | 50.8% | 26.6% | 1.91 | 0.454 | 0.334 | $5,900 | $5,300 | $5,850 |
| Chad Bettis | COL | R | A | STL | 49.1 | 6.93 | 1.82 | 1.09 | 0.262 | 8.5% | 4.56 | 3.63 | 1.24 | 0.298 | 48.7% | 27.6% | 1.76 | 0.280 | 0.331 | $5,800 | $7,000 | $5,500 |
| Colin Rea | SD | R | H | SF | 40.1 | 6.69 | 4.02 | 0.89 | 0.253 | 6.7% | 4.24 | 4.69 | 1.44 | 0.290 | 46.0% | 29.4% | 1.57 | 0.274 | 0.378 | $5,600 | $5,800 | $5,700 |
| Chase Anderson | MIL | R | H | CHC | 35.1 | 6.88 | 3.31 | 2.29 | 0.304 | 6.9% | 6.11 | 4.68 | 1.64 | 0.321 | 41.4% | 38.8% | 1.07 | 0.318 | 0.456 | $5,400 | $5,100 | $5,500 |
| Aaron Blair | ATL | R | A | PIT | 20.0 | 3.15 | 4.95 | 0.45 | 0.264 | 6.9% | 4.05 | 5.86 | 1.50 | 0.281 | 39.1% | 35.9% | 1.09 | 0.374 | 0.260 | $5,300 | $6,400 | $5,400 |
Investing Heavily
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Clayton Kershaw, LAD – I don’t like how well the Angels are swinging the bats lately, but he’s obviously the best pitcher in the game and should the Angels revert back to any previous form from this season, Kershaw is going to mow them down.
Madison Bumgarner, SF – You can look at the Padres 25.1-percent strikeout rate against lefties or their inept .272 wOBA at home. Both are solid indicators of their offensive struggles throughout the season. Over the last week, their wOBA sits at .285 and their wRC+ is at 76, both of which rank 28th in the league. MadBum’s only concern should be run support.
Max Scherzer, WAS – While I highly doubt we see another 20-strikeout performance, it’s definitely worth noting that the Mets are fanning at a mildly alarming rate of 28.5-percent and have a league-worst .268 wOBA over the last seven days. The Mets are usually solid against right-handed pitching but between the recent struggles and the below-average performance of the bats at home, this should tilt the scales in Scherzer’s favor for the night. Sorry, Thor.
Cole Hamels, TEX – He’s not really a guy I like to go to, especially at home, but the A’s have been struggling with southpaws all season (.286 wOBA). Hamels HR/9 probably means another bomb for Danny Valencia, but given the rest of the team’s mediocre numbers on the road and below-average .312 wOBA over the last week, I don’t hate Hamels in GPP play.
Moderately Priced
Danny Salazar, CLE – Again, only usable on the early slate for FanDuel, but he’s a great play against a Reds team that owns a .294 wOBA with a 23-percent strikeout rate against right-handers. Their .285 wOBA on the road only helps the case for Salazar, both cash games and GPP.
Juan Nicasio, PIT – Has to be chalk for most, if not all, GPP tournaments as he faces a Braves team that made Jon Niese look like a champ for six innings. The Braves wOBA ranks dead last against righties and dead last on the road. They usually rank dead last when you look at the Last 7 Days splits, but the Mets’ recent ineptitude boost the Braves rank to 29 instead of 30.
Wei-Yin Chen, MIA – I think we’d all like to get Ted Schuster’s input on Chen today, but I doubt we see a repeat of the 12 Ks he treated his owners to his last time out. However, the Phillies are posting just a .276 wOBA with a 23.7-percent strikeout rate against lefties and those numbers hover right around there for games at Citizens Bank Ballpark. Add in a feeble .100 ISO over the last seven days and Chen looks like he should find strong success for a second outing in a row.
Middle Class
Marcus Stroman, TOR – I never like to go with Blue Jays pitchers at home, but given the heavy ground ball rates of Stroman, his history against the Rays this season (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 14:3 K:BB) and Tampa’s .300 wOBA and 26.4-percent strikeout rate versus righties, I’ll go with him today. His price on Draft Kings is a little insane. Could be pretty chalky in FanDuel tournaments.
Bargain Basement
Colin Rea, SD – Not really a fan of many or any darts today, but if I have to throw one at you, it would be Rea with the way the Giants are swinging the bats lately. They’re not up there hacking away and still post a decent BB/K ratio, but their .299 wOBA and 88 wRC+ rank 27th in the league right now and their numbers on the road have been dropping steadily over the last few weeks.
Player News
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