A quick apology for the lateness of today’s Pitching Coach. I somehow missed the fact that there was one early game today. But we’re here and on-time, so moving forward…
Wow. Just wow. I HATE today’s pitching slate. Absolutely hate it. In truth, there are maybe three guys I will look at and feel comfortable with, but for the most part, even the solid, middle-of-the-road guys you can usually use as a second starter on Draft Kings or Fantasy Aces, have awful match-ups. For example, I love Adam Conley…for seasonal leagues…but this match-up against the Diamondbacks is not something I like. Sure, Arizona has been struggling over the last week, but they have DESTROYED lefties this season to the tune of a .366 wOBA, third best in the league. Up and down this list, I see more match-ups like that than good ones to use, so you may be throwing a few extra darts. Still, there are a few I’ll look into…
| vs L | vs R | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | 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 |
| Jacob deGrom | NYM | R | A | SD | 17.2 | 7.13 | 2.04 | 0.00 | 0.227 | 12.1% | 1.02 | 3.56 | 1.08 | 0.288 | 52.0% | 32.0% | 1.63 | 0.188 | 0.331 | $10,800 | $11,400 | $7,400 |
| Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | R | A | BAL | 31.1 | 8.04 | 1.72 | 0.57 | 0.205 | 13.5% | 2.87 | 3.08 | 0.96 | 0.253 | 59.6% | 25.8% | 2.30 | 0.267 | 0.238 | $9,400 | $9,300 | $6,800 |
| Jaime Garcia | STL | L | H | PHI | 31.1 | 10.05 | 4.02 | 0.29 | 0.191 | 10.3% | 3.73 | 3.16 | 1.15 | 0.266 | 57.5% | 22.5% | 2.56 | 0.177 | 0.270 | $8,400 | $9,700 | N/A |
| J.A. Happ | TOR | L | H | TEX | 32.2 | 5.51 | 2.48 | 1.10 | 0.258 | 9.2% | 2.76 | 4.55 | 1.22 | 0.281 | 38.4% | 34.3% | 1.12 | 0.278 | 0.334 | $7,800 | $7,500 | $5,900 |
| Trevor Bauer | CLE | R | H | DET | 15.1 | 10.57 | 4.11 | 1.17 | 0.290 | 9.6% | 5.28 | 3.99 | 1.63 | 0.381 | 41.9% | 34.9% | 1.20 | 0.397 | 0.309 | $7,800 | $7,100 | N/A |
| Derek Holland | TEX | L | A | TOR | 29.0 | 5.59 | 2.48 | 0.62 | 0.204 | 7.5% | 2.48 | 4.78 | 1.03 | 0.227 | 33.3% | 44.4% | 0.75 | 0.167 | 0.293 | $7,600 | $8,600 | $5,850 |
| Joe Ross | WAS | R | A | CHC | 22.2 | 5.56 | 2.78 | 0.00 | 0.190 | 9.4% | 0.79 | 4.18 | 0.97 | 0.231 | 45.3% | 29.7% | 1.53 | 0.329 | 0.132 | $7,500 | $7,000 | $6,050 |
| Kyle Hendricks | CHC | R | H | WAS | 23.0 | 7.43 | 1.57 | 0.39 | 0.227 | 7.4% | 3.52 | 2.88 | 1.04 | 0.279 | 59.7% | 20.9% | 2.86 | 0.294 | 0.234 | $7,200 | $8,000 | $5,800 |
| Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | R | A | STL | 30.1 | 9.49 | 1.48 | 0.89 | 0.240 | 10.3% | 4.15 | 3.23 | 1.12 | 0.302 | 42.5% | 37.9% | 1.12 | 0.359 | 0.252 | $7,000 | $7,600 | N/A |
| Erik Johnson | CHW | R | H | BOS | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $7,000 | $5,400 | N/A |
| Adam Conley | MIA | L | H | ARI | 27.0 | 9.33 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 0.214 | 10.9% | 3.67 | 3.87 | 1.22 | 0.269 | 41.2% | 39.7% | 1.04 | 0.446 | 0.268 | $6,800 | $6,600 | $5,700 |
| Kevin Gausman | BAL | R | H | NYY | 11.0 | 8.18 | 2.45 | 0.82 | 0.175 | 8.7% | 2.45 | 3.88 | 0.91 | 0.207 | 50.0% | 36.7% | 1.36 | 0.202 | 0.269 | $6,500 | $6,900 | $5,750 |
| Wade Miley | SEA | L | A | HOU | 32.0 | 6.47 | 1.69 | 1.13 | 0.296 | 10.3% | 5.06 | 3.97 | 1.34 | 0.337 | 43.0% | 35.0% | 1.23 | 0.298 | 0.356 | $6,400 | $8,200 | $5,550 |
| Michael Fulmer | DET | R | A | CLE | 5.0 | 7.20 | 1.80 | 0.00 | 0.318 | 9.7% | 3.60 | 2.99 | 1.60 | 0.389 | 55.6% | 16.7% | 3.33 | 0.354 | 0.286 | $6,400 | $6,500 | N/A |
| Robbie Ray | ARI | L | A | MIA | 25.1 | 9.59 | 5.33 | 1.42 | 0.277 | 11.0% | 4.97 | 4.35 | 1.70 | 0.343 | 38.9% | 31.9% | 1.22 | 0.188 | 0.426 | $6,300 | $7,800 | $5,850 |
| Alfredo Simon | CIN | R | H | MIL | 13.1 | 10.80 | 6.75 | 3.38 | 0.406 | 11.0% | 13.50 | 5.67 | 2.85 | 0.479 | 45.3% | 34.0% | 1.33 | 0.640 | 0.422 | $6,200 | $5,600 | $5,550 |
| Henry Owens | BOS | L | A | CHW | 9.1 | 6.75 | 6.75 | 1.93 | 0.314 | 6.7% | 4.82 | 6.45 | 1.93 | 0.346 | 33.3% | 51.9% | 0.64 | 0.409 | 0.463 | $5,900 | $7,400 | $5,300 |
| Matt Cain | SF | R | H | COL | 27.0 | 7.00 | 3.00 | 1.33 | 0.306 | 7.6% | 7.00 | 4.79 | 1.59 | 0.349 | 32.2% | 41.4% | 0.78 | 0.395 | 0.355 | $5,800 | $5,500 | $5,600 |
| Chris Rusin | COL | L | A | SF | 16.0 | 7.31 | 2.81 | 0.00 | 0.135 | 8.8% | 1.69 | 3.24 | 0.75 | 0.179 | 61.1% | 19.4% | 3.14 | 0.241 | 0.197 | $5,700 | $5,800 | $5,050 |
| Chris Devenski | HOU | R | H | SEA | 18.2 | 7.71 | 1.93 | 0.48 | 0.239 | 11.4% | 1.45 | 3.65 | 1.07 | 0.300 | 31.4% | 39.2% | 0.80 | 0.210 | 0.329 | $5,600 | $4,700 | $5,500 |
| Chase Anderson | MIL | R | A | CIN | 24.1 | 7.03 | 3.70 | 2.22 | 0.340 | 6.7% | 5.55 | 4.64 | 1.89 | 0.370 | 42.2% | 36.1% | 1.17 | 0.297 | 0.513 | $5,600 | $6,000 | $5,500 |
| Colin Rea | SD | R | H | NYM | 27.1 | 7.24 | 4.28 | 0.99 | 0.275 | 7.1% | 4.61 | 4.45 | 1.57 | 0.321 | 47.7% | 25.6% | 1.86 | 0.285 | 0.409 | $5,500 | $6,300 | $5,350 |
Jacob deGrom, NYM – His ownership percentage in cash games is going to be flat out ridiculous tonight. You need to use him just to keep pace with the majority of the field. You could, though, end up being contrarian by using him if everyone else on Planet DFS is of the mindset that they want to go against the grain. But given the Padres .270 wOBA and 26-percent strikeout rate against righties, how do you pass this up? And considering that K-rate has jumped over 30-percent over the last week? Come on.
Jaime Garcia, STL – When he’s healthy, he’s always capable of throwing a solid game and a match-up with the Phillies is certainly a beneficial one. Not only have the Phillies been ice-cold lately (.256 wOBA over the last seven days), but their .250 wOBA versus southpaws ranks 29th in the league and the 30.4-percent K-rate against them ranks dead last.
Kevin Gausman, BAL – I’m not a huge fan of this match-up, especially facing Masahiro Tanaka and a Yankees team that finally broke out of its slumber yesterday. But Gausman has looked pretty good through his first two starts and he’s actually had a fair amount of recent success against the Yankees, both as a starter and a reliever. I’m thinking more along the lines of a quality start with average strikeout numbers, but if the Yankees play like they have prior to yesterday’s outburst (.285 wOBA/.099 ISO last seven days), then there’s a chance he picks up the win as well.
Henry Owens, BOS – This past week, the White Sox have improved, but are still playing just average ball. They do only have a .298 wOBA with a 22.2-percent strikeout rate against southpaws this season and believe it or not, they’re actually playing better on the road than they are at the Cell, at least offensively. This is a similar play as the Gausman was as far as expectations, but I’m actually using Owens in a few GPP because I like his chances a little better.
Chase Anderson, MIL – The dart of all darts. There’s nothing about Anderson’s game that makes you like him, but with Alfredo Simon on the mound for the Reds, there a very good chance the Brewers go up big quick and Anderson squeezes past the fifth or (hopefully) sixth inning to grab the win. The Reds bats have woken up a little bit lately, but these opposite splits which show trouble with the righties, makes me feel like he could sneak by with a victory here. Big dart here, so use at your own risk.