Angels at Yankees

Starting Pitchers: Andrew Heaney (L) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (R)

Opening Vegas Odds: no line

This game is only included on the DK main slate, which is five games, whereas the FD main slate only has the four games starting at the typical 7:00 PM ET hour. 

Both pitchers have tough matchups, Heaney’s being the tougher of the two. He’ll face a Yankee lineup that ranks fourth in wRC+ vs. LHP, while Tanaka will face an Angel lineup that ranks 10th in wRC+ vs. RHP, though they are currently without Mike Trout . Heaney has some upside and will be contrarian given the matchup. He ranks second among main slate probable starters in both SIERA and K-BB% since August 1. He’s an option in GPPs with that upside and presumably low ownership. Tanaka is an option for cash games as the Yankees should be heavily favored, and he won’t have to see Trout or Ohtani.

If you go with Heaney in a GPP lineup, you might pair him with a few LA hitters in a stack. Tanaka has some traditional left/right splits, so consider lefties like Kole Calhoun and Brian Goodwin who have been above average against righties from the left side. They have also been above average in the last month.

Blue Jays at Orioles

Starting Pitchers: Anthony Kay (L) vs. Gabriel Ynoa (R)

Opening Vegas Odds: Toronto -130, Baltimore +110, O/U 10

Only two of the 10 pitchers on the main slate do not have at least seven starts and an ERA under 4.40 since August 1. Those two pitchers are the two pitching in this game, so target the bats in this one. 

We’ve got a very small sample size with Kay who only has two career starts, but he’s showing expected left/right splits early on, so lean toward Baltimore righties. Hanser Alberto is a high contact, low pop hitter who leads the O’s in wRC+ vs. LHP as RHH. Trey Mancini leads the team in ISO vs. LHP as RHH, and he leads the team overall in wRC+ over the last 30 days (min. 40 PA). Pedro Severino , Renato Núñez and Anthony Santander are other, lesser options from that lineup. Ynoa is bad against hitters from both sides, so Blue Jays hitting from either side of the plate are in play. The rookies, Bo Bichette , Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio lead the team in wRC+ vs. RHP followed by Justin Smoak .

Tigers at Indians

Starting Pitchers: Daniel Norris (L) vs. Mike Clevinger (R) 

Opening Vegas Odds: Cleveland -325, Detroit +260, O/U 8.5

Clevinger is the most expensive pitcher on both sites, and while there’s one other pitcher we like a bit better, Clevinger is very clearly an option even at the high price point. For one thing, he is pitching well with a 2.17 ERA in his last nine starts. He has a solid 25.7-percent K-BB% and 3.43 SIERA in that stretch, but those numbers along with an 84.3-percent strand rate indicate he’s been a bit lucky to generate that ERA. But his main appeal comes from his matchup against the Tigers who rank dead last in wRC+ vs. RHP with the highest strikeout rate.

With the Indians being the big favorite of the slate, both Clevinger and Cleveland bats will be popular plays. Norris doesn’t have much of a left/right split, so fire away with Cleveland hitters of either handedness. Right-hander Jordan Luplow crushes lefties with a 196 wRC+ against them. Carlos Santana lags behind Luplow but is easily ahead of the rest of the team with a 160 wRC+ vs. LHP. Santana is struggling a bit of late, but Luplow has a .601 wOBA in his last 24 PA.

We should note that Norris has gone exactly three innings in his last seven starts and has faced between 10 and 15 batters. That means only hitters in the top third or maybe top half of the lineup will see Norris twice. After Norris, right-hander Drew VerHagen will take over. This is no issue for the switch-hitting Santana who is also good against righties, but Luplow will be lucky to get two against Norris as Luplow typically hits fifth. Mike Freeman , Francisco Lindor and Franmil Reyes are Indians who are above average against both righties and lefties.

Cardinals at Cubs

Starting Pitchers: Jack Flaherty (R) vs. Kyle Hendricks (R)

Opening Vegas Odds: Cardinals -110, Cubs -110, O/U no total

Flaherty is the prime pitching option of the slate, and he is cheaper than Clevinger on both sites, more so on FD. Flaherty owns a 0.90 ERA and 27.8-percent K-BB% since August 1, both numbers being the best among probable starters in that stretch. He’s also averaging 6.2 innings per start in his last nine. The Cubs are not a great matchup given that they rank seventh in wRC+ vs. RHP and fourth in wRC+ overall in the last 30 days. But Flaherty is pitching so well that no matchup takes him out of play. Maybe Clevinger is a better option in cash games but opt for Flaherty in GPPs.

Hendricks lacks upside with a below average 17.3-percent strikeout rate in his last eight starts. He can often be a cash game option given that he plays on a good team and has a knack for run prevention despite lacking swing-and-miss stuff. But with this game opening at even money and with Flaherty as his opponent, Hendricks doesn’t have much appeal even in cash tonight.

If there’s a Cub to use against Flaherty it would be Anthony Rizzo who leads the team in wRC+ vs. RHP, and Flaherty does have a bit of a left/right split and will cede the platoon advantage to Rizzo. Rizzo has a 167 wRC+ and has walked more than he has struck out in the last 30 days.

Hendricks has a bit of a reverse split, so you can use Cardinal hitters of either handedness. Again, he has a knack for run prevention, so Cards aren’t a great play as this figures to be a low scoring affair (unless the wind happens to be blowing out at Wrigley). Paul Goldschmidt , Kolten Wong and Dexter Fowler are the three Cards that have been above average against righties this season and have also been above average overall in the last month.

Royals at Twins

Starting Pitchers: Mike Montgomery (L) vs. Kyle Gibson (R) 

Opening Vegas Odds: Minnesota -260, Kansas City +215, O/U 10.5

Montgomery can be a sneaky option in the right matchup, but this isn’t that as the Twins rank second in wRC+ vs. LHP. Gibson could be a cheap cash game option with the Twins being a big home favorite. Moreover, the Royals lineup has been nine percent worse than league average against right-handed pitching. KC has also been striking out more of late with a 24.1-percent strikeout rate in the last month compared to about 22-percent on the season. There’s risk with Gibson, though. For one, he’s not that good. But he also may not go deep into this game. He appeared as a reliever four days ago, three days after making his last start. Four days of rest after only one inning pitched shouldn’t be too limiting, but it’s possible Gibson doesn’t go five even if he pitches well.

Jorge Soler could be a GPP option against Odorizzi. While he won’t have the platoon advantage, Soler doesn’t need it as he leads the team in wRC+ and ISO against righties. He’s hitting for a ton of pop lately with a .340 ISO in his last 117 PA.

Montgomery isn’t great against same-handed hitters, but he’s near average in that respect and is noticeably worse against righties. The Twins have plenty of right-handers who mash lefties as the following five guys have been more than 40 percent better than league average against lefties this season: Mitch Garver , Nelson Cruz , C.J. Cron , Miguel Sanó and Jonathan Schoop . Cron has been below average in the last month, but the other four have a wRC+ of 119 or better in that time frame.