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Not gonna lie to you – I’m utterly disgusted with the daily game right now. OK, maybe disgusted is a bad word. Let’s go with frustrated. After a sweet showing in a GPP and wins in all my cash games on Friday, I wanted to prove to myself that I was still going to be smart and not just hog-wild with daily games Saturday. Slow and steady wins the race and I wanted to make sure I continued to play smart and just stay the course with my methods right now. So for Saturday, with a busy day ahead of me, I decided to only play a few cash games in the late slate and then maybe throw a buck or two into a GPP using the same lineups. It’s been working for me all week long and I’ve been, ever so slowly, grinding out some winnings and building my bankroll.
Smart, right? Don’t get so crazy after a big night and just play it safe.
Yeah, you know EXACTLY where this is going. Noah Syndergaard. Yup. Noah effin Syndergaard. Play it safe, use the best pitcher with the best match-up. How could that possibly hurt you. To be honest, when he was moronically thrown out of the game in the third inning, I turned off baseball. I have zero idea as to how the rest of my teams did. I knew my lineup on FanDuel was a loser and while I may have been able to overcome losing him on Draft Kings and Fantasy Aces, my other pitcher, Wade Miley, gave up two runs right off the bat and I knew I was cooked. Game friggin over.
So please forgive the bitterness with which today’s column is written. While it may be the next day, the taste in my mouth is still pretty bad.
Side Note: For those who have asked, please keep in mind that in the chart below, the pitchers are listed in order of cost using FanDuel pricing. They are NOT listed in order of rank for me. Apologies if there was some confusion. These are not rankings. Thank you.
| vs L | vs R | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | Team | Hand | H/A | Opp | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | AVG | SwStr% | ERA | xFIP | WHIP | GB% | FB% | GB/FB | wOBA | wOBA | FD | DK | Aces |
| Clayton Kershaw | LAD | L | A | NYM | 79.0 | 10.82 | 0.57 | 0.34 | 0.170 | 15.4% | 1.48 | 1.91 | 0.66 | 52.2% | 27.0% | 1.94 | 0.143 | 0.201 | $13,300 | $13,900 | $8,250 |
| Stephen Strasburg | WAS | R | H | STL | 67.2 | 11.44 | 2.39 | 0.67 | 0.216 | 12.0% | 2.79 | 2.69 | 1.06 | 45.3% | 33.5% | 1.35 | 0.224 | 0.294 | $12,000 | $12,600 | $7,250 |
| Chris Sale | CHW | L | A | KC | 71.2 | 8.67 | 1.76 | 0.75 | 0.179 | 9.2% | 2.26 | 3.52 | 0.84 | 42.2% | 39.5% | 1.07 | 0.164 | 0.239 | $11,800 | $13,000 | $7,800 |
| David Price | BOS | L | A | TOR | 62.1 | 10.97 | 2.17 | 0.87 | 0.249 | 13.7% | 5.34 | 2.92 | 1.22 | 42.3% | 31.9% | 1.33 | 0.313 | 0.313 | $10,700 | $11,900 | $7,100 |
| Johnny Cueto | SF | R | A | COL | 75.2 | 7.97 | 1.43 | 0.24 | 0.226 | 10.5% | 2.38 | 3.04 | 0.99 | 50.7% | 26.6% | 1.91 | 0.281 | 0.238 | $9,900 | $10,300 | $6,950 |
| John Lackey | CHC | R | H | PHI | 61.1 | 8.95 | 1.91 | 0.88 | 0.205 | 12.4% | 3.38 | 3.39 | 0.95 | 41.6% | 37.0% | 1.12 | 0.301 | 0.249 | $9,800 | $11,400 | $6,450 |
| Francisco Liriano | PIT | L | A | TEX | 52.1 | 8.94 | 5.16 | 1.55 | 0.235 | 10.7% | 4.30 | 4.24 | 1.47 | 52.5% | 29.8% | 1.76 | 0.272 | 0.346 | $9,700 | $7,000 | $6,600 |
| Rich Hill | OAK | L | H | DET | 57.2 | 10.14 | 3.28 | 0.31 | 0.205 | 10.5% | 2.18 | 3.67 | 1.11 | 48.6% | 34.0% | 1.43 | 0.219 | 0.279 | $9,600 | $10,500 | $6,200 |
| Drew Pomeranz | SD | L | A | ARI | 53.0 | 10.19 | 4.25 | 0.51 | 0.160 | 11.7% | 1.70 | 3.68 | 1.04 | 47.5% | 38.5% | 1.23 | 0.215 | 0.239 | $9,000 | $9,500 | $6,600 |
| Taijuan Walker | SEA | R | H | MIN | 50.0 | 8.46 | 1.62 | 1.26 | 0.223 | 9.5% | 2.70 | 3.36 | 1.06 | 47.6% | 31.3% | 1.52 | 0.242 | 0.312 | $9,000 | $9,300 | $6,500 |
| Chris Tillman | BAL | R | A | CLE | 58.2 | 8.90 | 3.68 | 0.46 | 0.203 | 10.1% | 2.61 | 4.07 | 1.13 | 40.3% | 39.6% | 1.02 | 0.291 | 0.253 | $8,600 | $8,900 | $5,900 |
| Vince Velasquez | PHI | R | A | CHC | 52.1 | 10.49 | 2.92 | 1.03 | 0.222 | 11.2% | 2.75 | 3.58 | 1.15 | 36.6% | 44.3% | 0.83 | 0.272 | 0.306 | $8,600 | $9,100 | $6,600 |
| Julio Teheran | ATL | R | H | MIA | 63.0 | 8.43 | 2.43 | 0.86 | 0.204 | 9.5% | 2.57 | 3.96 | 1.03 | 44.8% | 39.5% | 1.13 | 0.320 | 0.225 | $8,500 | $9,900 | $6,350 |
| Edinson Volquez | KC | R | H | CHW | 61.1 | 7.19 | 3.23 | 0.88 | 0.259 | 8.7% | 3.67 | 4.23 | 1.39 | 52.1% | 32.1% | 1.62 | 0.276 | 0.336 | $8,300 | $7,700 | $6,450 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | NYY | R | A | TB | 54.2 | 8.23 | 2.14 | 1.15 | 0.240 | 9.0% | 3.95 | 3.37 | 1.15 | 54.8% | 28.7% | 1.91 | 0.370 | 0.257 | $8,100 | $9,800 | $6,000 |
| Jake Odorizzi | TB | R | H | NYY | 54.2 | 7.41 | 2.63 | 1.32 | 0.240 | 8.9% | 3.46 | 4.36 | 1.21 | 38.3% | 42.6% | 0.90 | 0.251 | 0.337 | $7,900 | $7,400 | $6,150 |
| Martin Perez | TEX | L | H | PIT | 60.1 | 5.52 | 4.48 | 0.60 | 0.231 | 8.0% | 3.13 | 4.64 | 1.33 | 57.1% | 25.1% | 2.27 | 0.223 | 0.322 | $7,600 | $5,900 | $5,750 |
| Jimmy Nelson | MIL | R | H | CIN | 64.2 | 7.52 | 3.62 | 1.11 | 0.214 | 7.6% | 2.92 | 4.24 | 1.18 | 47.1% | 32.8% | 1.44 | 0.307 | 0.290 | $7,600 | $9,400 | $5,850 |
| Michael Wacha | STL | R | A | WAS | 55.1 | 7.81 | 3.58 | 0.81 | 0.289 | 7.6% | 5.04 | 4.01 | 1.57 | 46.3% | 27.4% | 1.69 | 0.335 | 0.352 | $7,400 | $5,300 | $6,000 |
| Doug Fister | HOU | R | A | LAA | 54.2 | 4.94 | 2.96 | 1.32 | 0.248 | 4.9% | 4.12 | 4.58 | 1.26 | 48.0% | 29.7% | 1.62 | 0.387 | 0.238 | $7,300 | $5,600 | $5,650 |
| Nick Tropeano | LAA | R | H | HOU | 50.1 | 8.76 | 4.11 | 1.25 | 0.260 | 12.6% | 2.86 | 4.75 | 1.47 | 34.5% | 46.9% | 0.74 | 0.346 | 0.332 | $7,200 | $8,200 | $6,200 |
| Bartolo Colon | NYM | R | H | LAD | 55.0 | 6.87 | 1.80 | 0.98 | 0.260 | 6.1% | 3.44 | 4.01 | 1.22 | 38.9% | 36.5% | 1.07 | 0.280 | 0.325 | $7,000 | $7,400 | $5,800 |
| R.A. Dickey | TOR | R | H | BOS | 60.2 | 6.97 | 2.82 | 1.34 | 0.257 | 10.4% | 4.60 | 4.11 | 1.32 | 46.0% | 32.3% | 1.43 | 0.366 | 0.298 | $7,000 | $6,200 | $5,700 |
| Tom Koehler | MIA | R | A | ATL | 47.0 | 7.09 | 5.74 | 0.57 | 0.277 | 8.5% | 4.79 | 5.18 | 1.72 | 45.8% | 33.1% | 1.38 | 0.385 | 0.305 | $6,500 | $6,900 | $5,800 |
| Ricky Nolasco | MIN | R | A | SEA | 52.0 | 7.96 | 1.90 | 1.21 | 0.282 | 9.1% | 5.54 | 3.91 | 1.37 | 43.4% | 38.0% | 1.14 | 0.337 | 0.338 | $6,100 | $5,500 | $5,700 |
| Mike Pelfrey | DET | R | A | OAK | 47.0 | 4.98 | 3.45 | 1.91 | 0.338 | 8.5% | 5.55 | 4.82 | 1.81 | 48.8% | 28.8% | 1.69 | 0.421 | 0.386 | $6,000 | $4,700 | $5,850 |
| Archie Bradley | ARI | R | H | SD | 10.1 | 5.23 | 6.10 | 0.87 | 0.318 | 3.8% | 7.84 | 5.22 | 2.03 | 60.5% | 21.1% | 2.88 | 0.434 | 0.353 | $6,000 | $6,600 | $5,900 |
| Mike Clevinger | CLE | R | H | BAL | 10.1 | 7.84 | 3.48 | 2.61 | 0.279 | 10.8% | 8.71 | 4.54 | 1.55 | 39.4% | 39.4% | 1.00 | 0.248 | 0.530 | $6,000 | $4,400 | N/A |
| Brandon Finnegan | CIN | L | A | MIL | 56.2 | 6.35 | 4.29 | 1.43 | 0.229 | 8.2% | 3.97 | 4.87 | 1.36 | 41.6% | 33.5% | 1.24 | 0.321 | 0.317 | $5,900 | $6,600 | $6,000 |
| Chris Rusin | COL | L | H | SF | 36.2 | 7.36 | 2.70 | 0.00 | 0.270 | 8.8% | 3.93 | 3.07 | 1.34 | 61.9% | 13.3% | 4.64 | 0.278 | 0.313 | $5,800 | $4,400 | $5,000 |
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Clayton Kershaw, LAD – The Mets have a .303 wOBA with a 27.1-percent strikeout rate against southpaws and those numbers have turned to .289 and 31.1-percent over the last seven days. If Kershaw doesn’t get thrown out of the game early, he should be the best pitcher on the board today.
Chris Sale, CHW – The Royals are colliding with each other like the Keystone Kops and suddenly, Sale is facing a lineup that is barely a shell of itself. There’s no Mike Moustakas, no Alex Gordon and no Kendrys Morales already. Now after yesterday, it looks like the defending champs with be without all-star catcher Salvador Perez too. They had just a .290 wOBA against southpaws this season as it was, so imagine how bad they’re going to look now with a depleted lineup. And Sale was already dominant of them before. Of course, he could still get tossed in the third inning for no good reason.
Johnny Cueto, SF – Yes, that’s right. I’m looking at Cueto in Colorado. Despite a lengthy homestand, the Rockies have posted just a .311 wOBA over the past week with a 21.1-percent K-rate and just an average .155 ISO. MadBum held them to one run over six innings yesterday and Cueto has a 1.50 ERA over his last three starts in Coors Field. No guarantee that he doesn’t get thrown out in the third inning but I guess that’s just another risk you take playing this game.
John Lackey, CHC – So long as he doesn’t get tossed in the third inning (yeah, I’m gonna beat this dead horse until he’s nothing but a pile of glue), Lackey should fare well against the Phillies who have posted just a .286 wOBA and 21.5-percent strikeout rate against righties this season. They’ve put a slightly better bat on the ball over the past seven days, but their strikeout rate has jumped to 22.7-percent in doing so.
Taijuan Walker, SEA – Yes, that’s right, I’m going back to this Seattle well once again. I think we can all admit that Walker, so long as he doesn’t get thrown out of the game in the third inning, is a better pitcher than Miley, so when I look at the Twins’ improved offensive totals over the last week, I still don’t hesitate. Their wOBA against righties is a 25th-ranked .304, their OPS is still below .700 and they have a 23.3-percent strikeout rate. He won’t shut them out, but I think he can build off his last start and recapture that early-season form. Wouldn’t trust him in cash games, but for a low-cost GPP, he’s worth a shot.
Edinson Volquez, KC – Run support is going to be trouble, but as a second pitcher in cash games on Draft Kings or Fantasy Aces, he could be helpful. He’s got a 1.64 ERA with a 22:8 K:BB in 33 innings over his last five starts against the White Sox and they’re sitting on a .298 wOBA and a 23-percent strikeout rate over the past week. Now if he gets tossed in the third inning, you’re screwed, but if he’s allowed to go deep into the game, he should be fine.
Jimmy Nelson, MIL – How do you not pick on the Reds right now? Nelson’s numbers are about to improve dramatically as he faces a Reds team that has a league-worst .237 wOBA over the past week to go along with another league-worst 42 wRC+. Kick in a 27.1-percent strikeout rate and Nelson’s 7.32 K/9 is going to climb as well. None of this means squat if he gets tossed from the game in the third inning, but a girl can hope, can’t she?
Tom Koehler, MIA – Well if you’re going to pick on the Reds, you’re also going to pick on the Braves, right? Unless Koehler gets tossed by the umpire early, he should be able to avenge his early season loss to the Braves and build off the improved totals we’ve seen over his last four starts. It’s a GPP dart, at best, so don’t go crazy here.
I was going to give you one more – the pick of all picks – but it looks like I’m being tossed out of this column a little early. Sorry about that.
Best of luck in all your games today. May they all have a MUCH better showing than mine did last night.
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