It feels nice to be here on a Friday only having to deal with one slate. We got plenty of options to choose from tonight, and I for one, will be partaking in mostly GPPs at this point. We have a Coors Field game tonight, and I certainly want some exposure to the Colorado side of things, so, I will be looking for savings, to load up on some beef.
So with a fresh Iced Coffee, the familiar feel of my office, and Quick Pitch playing in the background, I bring you today’s Pitching Coach Article.
Possible Weather Concerns
We have a few games of mild concern tonight.
Detroit-Cleveland has storms set to move in around 10 p.m. tonight and will stay consistent throughout the evening. The concern for this one is low.
Pittsburgh-Cincinnati has afternoon showers ending around 6 p.m. and slated to start again around 10 p.m. This should be enough of a window to not impact the game.
Chicago (WS)-Kansas City has sporadic showers starting around 2 p.m. with small periods of what should be on-and-off weather. The good news, this should be over by around 9 p.m. If the game starts in a delay, the SP are a go. If it looks like they are going to try and force it in between windows, a complete fade for SP, either way, the bats should be fine.
Want MLB weather dates? Tune into the Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio from4-to-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, hosted by Jeff Mans and Ted Schuster. Also follow our weather updates on Twitter @MLBDailyWeather.
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Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals (Cash, GPP)
I have to be honest, the Braves make me nervous as of late. As a matter of fact, over the last seven days the Braves are 30th in MLB in strikeouts, doing so a measly 15 percent of the time, while batting a whopping .308 (second in MLB). They are however 26th in home wOBA at .311, and face a pitcher with a 16.7-percent swinging strike rate, which is top on the slate, and a 11.09 K/9. In Scherzer’s last start versus the Braves he went seven innings, allowing two earned runs, while striking out five batters and getting the win. In cash games tonight, he is the top option. The current Braves roster is batting .228 (53-for-232) with four HR (Tyler Flowers, Freddie Freeman, Adonis Garcia, and A.J. Pierzynski), 19 RBI, and 61 strikeouts versus the Brian Ambos doppelganger.
Chris Sale, Kansas City Royals (Cash, GPP)
Chris Sale should be highly owned tonight and for good reason. He gets a better park shift pitching at Kauffman Stadium and is a slight -123 favorite. The Royals are only batting .226 over the last seven days with a low wRC+ of 60, while striking out an abnormal 22.4 percent of the time. Sale has 20 strikeouts over his last 16 innings versus the same Royals (whom he struck out 12 batters over eight innings in his last start on Sept 11th), and Tigers on the road. His price is as high as the upside, and he comes in just behind the Scherz tonight on my chart. The current Royals roster is batting .300 (117-for-390) with 11 HR (Lorenzo Cain-out (3), Eric Hosmer (3), Kendrys Morales (2), Alcides Escobar, Paulo Orlando, and Salvador Perez), with 30 RBI, and 97 strikeouts versus Sale. Now you see why he came in behind the Scherz?
Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners (SP2, GPP, DK Value)
Although King Felix seems to be on the decline as far as his swing and miss stuff goes, he still is a great option for a SP2 on a two-pitcher site tonight. Although the Houston Astros are first in MLB in road wOBA at .342, they are also batting .215 while striking out 24.1 percent of the time, with a low wRC+ of 76 over the last seven days. Felix has had his struggles but is a slight -127 favorite, and gets a great park shift at home. The Astros are all banged up, and on DK tonight for $8,000, I find him rather hard to pass up, and fully expect “Kings Court” to be in full swing tonight. The current Astros roster is batting .316 (25-for-79) with two HR (Jason Castro and Luis Valbuena), 11 RBI, and 22 strikeouts versus Felix. If the prior strikeout rate is any indication of the night to come, despite allowing a few runs, he will pay dividends.
Matt Moore, San Francisco Giants (GPP and SP2)
Moore is a great play tonight versus the Cardinals, regardless of their propensity to absolutely beat up on SP. St. Louis is striking out 25.8-percent of the time, batting .165 (30th in MLB), with a .220 wOBA (30th in MLB), and a pathetic, and I mean pathetic, wRC+ of 33 over the last seven days. Moore gets a great park shift, has K upside (8.0 K/9), is a -122 favorite in a game with a low 7.5 expected run total. Moore has allowed three earned runs or less in four-out-of-five of his last starts while averaging nearly a strikeout per inning. I am all in on Moore tonight for the price as a GPP play or SP2. The BVP is miniscule which should make for an interesting night.
Luke Weaver, St. Louis Cardinals (SP2, GPP, Super DK value)
Weaver on DK tonight is the price of an elite hitter at $5,200. I find this way too low for the pitcher with the highest K/9 on the slate at 11.32. The problem is, he is facing the Giants who only strikeout 17.1 percent of the time with a decent .320 wOBA versus RHP. Weaver however in six starts now has allowed three earned runs or less in all of them, while averaging over five innings per start, with 39 strikeouts over 31 innings. He has a 2.70 ERA over his last two starts versus the Brewers and Pirates, and for the price, he sure is an option to load up on the big bats tonight. We have no BVP but one huge concern is LHB have a .384 wOBA versus Weaver which makes some of the beefy SF batters look even beefier.
Tom Koehler, Miami Marlins (SP2, GPP)
Koehler has a 1.29 ERA versus the Phillies over 28 innings this season. He is also cheap, and faces the worst offense in MLB. The Phillies have a .296 wOBA, and wRC+ of 82 versus RHP on the season, both of which are dead last in MLB. They also are dead last in home wOBA at .281, and the wRC+ gets even worse at 72. Just when you think the matchup could not get any better, the Phillies are batting a pathetic .239, striking out a whopping 29.8 percent of the time over the last seven days. Koehler is usually a pitcher I prefer at home, but, he does have 10 strikeouts over his last 11 innings, with a 3.27 ERA, and gets my call tonight versus this horrible excuse for an offense. The current Phillies roster is batting .205 (34-for-166), with three HR (Cody Asche, Freddy Galvis, and Ryan Howard), 18 RBI, and 41 strikeouts versus Koehler. Cha-Ching!
Ubaldo Jimenez, Baltimore Orioles (GPP, FD value, Aces semi-value)
The last time Ubaldo faced the Rays on the road he pitched a complete game striking out six while allowing three earned runs. He is slight underdog tonight and certainly does not get a great park shift pitching at home in this one. The Rays despite looking a little better lately are still striking out 25.6 percent of the time over the last seven days. Jimenez offers some K upside and is one of them players that if you play your matchup right can really pay off for cheap. His ERA is 5.98 opposed to his 4.71 xFIP which suggest he has been unlucky, but, the park shift could cancel that out. The current Rays roster is batting .207 (25-for-121), with two HR (Kevin Kiermaier – Red Hot and Logan Morrison), with 14 RBI, and a decent 29 strikeouts. On FD I will have some exposure to Jimenez, and would consider him on Aces as well.
Tyler Chatwood, Colorado Rockies (GPP)
Think about this, Tyler Chatwood has an ERA of 3.82. For a Colorado pitcher, that is phenomenal. The problem is, at Coors Field his ERA is 5.67, on the road, 1.77. What this tells me is Chatwood is a damn good SP. So, why not take a shot at home for the price in a GPP on FD or DK. If any team can be shut down in Colorado, it’s the San Diego Padres. The Padres are striking out 25.8 percent of the time with a low .303 wOBA (28th in MLB) versus RHP on the season. Just because the game is being played in Coors Field it doesn’t always mean you will have a high scoring affair. For a few bucks, I am taking a shot here tonight facing the horrible Christian Friedrich. The current Padres roster is batting .216 (16-for-74) with one HR (Alex Dickerson), four RBI, and 14 strikeouts versus Chatwood. Don’t go heavy, but he is worth a flyer.
There were many options tonight with both Cole Hamels and Bartolo Colon piquing my interest. They just missed this article. Really, it was close.
| vs L | vs R | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H | Opp | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | BAA | SwStr% | ERA | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | GB% | FB% | GB/FB | wOBA | wOBA | $FD | $DK | $Aces |
| Max Scherzer | WSH | R | ATL | 203.2 | 11.09 | 2.08 | 1.15 | .189 | 16.7% | 2.78 | 3.00 | 0.92 | .242 | 36.1% | 44.9% | 0.80 | 0.313 | 0.199 | $11000 | $13700 | $8000 |
| Corey Kluber | CLE | R | DET | 197.2 | 9.47 | 2.28 | 0.87 | .213 | 13.5% | 3.05 | 3.24 | 1.04 | .267 | 48.2% | 32.2% | 1.50 | 0.284 | 0.263 | $10900 | $12900 | $7900 |
| Chris Sale | CWS | L | KC | 201.2 | 9.15 | 1.83 | 1.03 | .220 | 12.3% | 3.04 | 3.47 | 1.02 | .269 | 42.5% | 34.7% | 1.23 | 0.258 | 0.280 | $10800 | $12600 | $7800 |
| Felix Hernandez | SEA | R | HOU | 133.1 | 7.35 | 3.85 | 1.08 | .228 | 10.2% | 3.58 | 4.36 | 1.28 | .261 | 53.1% | 26.2% | 2.03 | 0.319 | 0.303 | $9900 | $8000 | $6950 |
| Chris Archer | TB | R | BAL | 182.1 | 10.71 | 3.06 | 1.28 | .235 | 13.5% | 4.05 | 3.21 | 1.23 | .295 | 48.5% | 30.3% | 1.60 | 0.297 | 0.313 | $9800 | $9100 | $7250 |
| Zack Greinke | ARI | R | LA | 146.2 | 7.55 | 1.96 | 1.35 | .270 | 11.5% | 4.54 | 3.76 | 1.28 | .300 | 48.5% | 29.4% | 1.65 | 0.331 | 0.324 | $9400 | $7900 | $6500 |
| Cole Hamels | TEX | L | OAK | 180.2 | 9.02 | 3.54 | 1.05 | .239 | 13.3% | 3.24 | 3.79 | 1.31 | .294 | 52.0% | 28.1% | 1.85 | 0.275 | 0.315 | $9300 | $9300 | $7400 |
| John Lackey | CHI | R | MIL | 169.1 | 8.77 | 2.44 | 1.06 | .212 | 12.7% | 3.35 | 3.70 | 1.03 | .245 | 43.1% | 32.7% | 1.32 | 0.302 | 0.259 | $9200 | $10500 | $7200 |
| Kenta Maeda | LA | R | ARI | 159.0 | 9.00 | 2.09 | 1.02 | .224 | 12.6% | 3.28 | 3.50 | 1.09 | .273 | 46.0% | 31.7% | 1.45 | 0.303 | 0.255 | $8900 | $8800 | $7600 |
| Ian Kennedy | KC | R | CWS | 171.1 | 8.72 | 2.94 | 1.63 | .232 | 10.8% | 3.63 | 4.18 | 1.20 | .261 | 36.1% | 45.4% | 0.79 | 0.299 | 0.328 | $8500 | $8400 | $6850 |
| Michael Fulmer | DET | R | CLE | 143.2 | 7.33 | 2.19 | 0.94 | .219 | 11.4% | 2.76 | 3.84 | 1.05 | .249 | 52.0% | 28.8% | 1.81 | 0.271 | 0.288 | $8300 | $8100 | $6700 |
| Matt Moore | SF | L | STL | 176.2 | 7.54 | 3.31 | 1.22 | .251 | 11.2% | 4.09 | 4.34 | 2.60 | .275 | 40.0% | 40.8% | 0.98 | 0.306 | 0.309 | $8000 | $8200 | $6650 |
| Collin McHugh | HOU | R | SEA | 157.1 | 8.87 | 2.57 | 1.37 | .299 | 11.5% | 4.86 | 3.82 | 1.49 | .354 | 44.8% | 34.0% | 1.32 | 0.361 | 0.357 | $7500 | $6900 | $6300 |
| Bartolo Colon | NYM | R | MIN | 170.2 | 5.81 | 1.48 | 1.11 | .268 | 6.3% | 3.27 | 4.26 | 1.22 | .288 | 45.7% | 30.6% | 1.49 | 0.339 | 0.292 | $7500 | $7700 | $6500 |
| Tom Koehler | MIA | R | PHI | 161.0 | 7.33 | 3.47 | 1.01 | .260 | 10.3% | 3.97 | 4.55 | 1.42 | .296 | 45.4% | 31.1% | 1.46 | 0.332 | 0.320 | $7100 | $7200 | $6450 |
| Luke Weaver | STL | R | SF | 31.0 | 11.32 | 2.32 | 1.45 | .254 | 10.3% | 3.48 | 2.94 | 1.23 | .321 | 39.7% | 28.2% | 1.41 | 0.384 | 0.276 | $7100 | $5200 | $6600 |
| R.A. Dickey | TOR | R | LAA | 164.1 | 6.62 | 3.40 | 1.53 | .256 | 11.3% | 4.60 | 4.65 | 1.36 | .275 | 44.5% | 34.7% | 1.28 | 0.349 | 0.339 | $6900 | $6700 | $6150 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | R | TB | 123.1 | 7.59 | 4.67 | 1.02 | .279 | 8.9% | 5.98 | 4.71 | 1.65 | .327 | 49.3% | 30.6% | 1.61 | 0.400 | 0.315 | $6400 | $7500 | $6000 |
| Jered Weaver | LAA | R | TOR | 161.0 | 5.03 | 2.40 | 1.96 | .304 | 8.8% | 5.26 | 5.47 | 1.49 | .301 | 28.8% | 45.8% | 0.63 | 0.369 | 0.383 | $6400 | $6300 | $6000 |
| Chase Anderson | MIL | R | CHI | 135.0 | 7.26 | 3.13 | 1.67 | .265 | 9.3% | 4.53 | 4.58 | 1.37 | .285 | 38.8% | 37.1% | 1.05 | 0.296 | 0.396 | $6400 | $6400 | $5700 |
| Kendall Graveman | OAK | R | TEX | 168.0 | 5.14 | 2.30 | 1.13 | .272 | 8.0% | 4.13 | 4.46 | 1.33 | .285 | 54.1% | 25.3% | 2.14 | 0.338 | 0.305 | $6300 | $4700 | $5550 |
| Luis Cessa | NYY | R | BOS | 47.2 | 5.85 | 2.08 | 2.45 | .231 | 10.8% | 4.34 | 4.47 | 1.11 | .209 | 44.7% | 35.5% | 1.26 | 0.327 | 0.328 | $6200 | $4000 | $5700 |
| Robert Stephenson | CIN | R | PIT | 20.1 | 6.64 | 3.10 | 2.21 | .256 | 9.9% | 4.43 | 5.03 | 1.33 | .259 | 31.7% | 46.0% | 0.69 | 0.314 | 0.421 | $6100 | $6200 | $6100 |
| Ryan Vogelsong | PIT | R | CIN | 63.2 | 6.22 | 3.68 | 1.27 | .258 | 6.9% | 4.67 | 4.97 | 1.43 | .276 | 46.0% | 31.2% | 1.48 | 0.371 | 0.338 | $6100 | $4300 | $5600 |
| Clay Buchholz | BOS | R | NYY | 120.1 | 6.06 | 3.59 | 1.57 | .261 | 10.1% | 5.31 | 4.94 | 1.40 | .268 | 42.9% | 40.8% | 1.05 | 0.366 | 0.314 | $6000 | $5600 | $5900 |
| Tyler Chatwood | COL | R | SD | 139.0 | 6.22 | 3.88 | 0.78 | .250 | 8.5% | 3.82 | 4.44 | 1.39 | .281 | 58.6% | 23.3% | 2.52 | 0.322 | 0.311 | $6000 | $5800 | $6350 |
| Adam Morgan | PHI | L | MIA | 99.0 | 7.18 | 1.82 | 1.91 | .295 | 11.3% | 5.73 | 4.37 | 1.43 | .314 | 39.5% | 35.8% | 1.10 | 0.305 | 0.387 | $5700 | $5900 | $6100 |
| Jose Berrios | MIN | R | NYM | 44.2 | 8.46 | 5.64 | 2.01 | .330 | 9.4% | 9.27 | 5.30 | 2.02 | .377 | 41.4% | 35.9% | 1.15 | 0.378 | 0.476 | $5500 | $5000 | $5750 |
| Christian Friedrich | SD | L | COL | 111.2 | 6.93 | 3.55 | 1.05 | .264 | 9.0% | 4.68 | 4.61 | 1.44 | .291 | 46.6% | 34.9% | 1.33 | 0.294 | 0.332 | $5500 | $4600 | $5400 |
| John Gant | ATL | R | WSH | 43.0 | 9.42 | 2.93 | 1.26 | .268 | 10.7% | 4.40 | 3.89 | 1.42 | .317 | 43.7% | 28.6% | 1.53 | 0.339 | 0.354 | $5400 | $5300 | $6200 |
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Player News
Kyren Paris hit a two-run homer in Wednesday’s win for the Angels over the Blue Jays.
That’s the first homer for Paris since April 9 when he went deep twice against Tampa Bay and caused everyone to lose all sense of rational thought. The 23-year-old did also single and walk to improve his on-base percentage to .311,, while the homer bumps his slugging mark to .378. There is long-term upside in Paris with flashes that suggest he can be a fantasy option. Fantasy managers should still absolutely looking elsewhere for options up the middle.
Jorge Soler hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Angels a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Trent Grisham went 1-for-1 with a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday.
While the Yankees won this game on a walk-off in the 10th inning, Grisham’s game-tying home run in the eighth was the biggest moment. He came on as a pinch-hitter for Jorbit Vibas against the usually stout Jason Adam and smashed a two-strike changeup into the right field seats. This clutch shot will only continue to push Grisham’s playing time in the right direction after he just started eight of the last 10 games, hit either first or second in each, and already has 10 homers in 31 games played this season.
Jeff Hoffman blew a save and picked up a loss Wednesday against the Angels.
Devin Williams struck out three batters with one walk and hit another in a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win against the Padres on Wednesday.
The Yankees entrusted Williams with the all important 10th inning and the inherited ghost runner on second base after their dramatic comeback. While he loaded the bases and had some tense moments, he left the inning unscathed and opened the door for them to win it right after. It should be noted that Luke Weaver came on for what were the most important outs of this game at the time, after Ian Hamilton walked two to begin the eighth inning and Weaver allowed both of those inherited runners to score. He was called upon as the fireman though and will likely get the next save opportunity. Still, this was a massive step in the right direction for Williams.
Max Fried allowed five hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision against the Padres on Wednesday.
Fried’s excellent season continued as he set down the Padres easily besides for a mammoth solo home run by Jackson Merrill. It was no matter though, as they rarely threatened otherwise and Fried continued to find his strikeout stuff. This was his fourth outing of the year with at least seven strikeouts, a mark he only hit 10 times last season in 29 starts. Fried with a strikeout rate that’s better than league average – which is where he’s at right now – is a clear top-10 pitcher in fantasy baseball. He’s set for a two-start week coming up against the Mariners and Mets.