Well, the short slate ended up being a miss for me but luckily I cashed early only pretty easily! I had some good picks last night (Span, Aybar, Rizzo) but Chris Rusin absolutely slayed me. Onto tonight’s picks, happy ace day!
Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw, LAD – $12,000
This is always an easy analysis, and tonight Kersh has a slam dunk matchup against the Padres in pitcher-friendly Petco Park. Double digit strikeout potential is always there, and tonight the reigning NL Cy Young winner is matched up with Odrisamer Despaigne, who owns an ERA well over 4. Yeah, the Padres lineup is very righty-heavy but that really doesn’t deter me from wanting to use Kershaw.
Felix Hernandez, SEA – $11,800
King Felix is probably the play of the night, with his matchup on the road against Brett Oberholtzer and the strikeout-prone Houston Astros. The King has a cool 1.82 ERA on the road this season, and the Astros love to whiff. I’m personally rolling with Kershaw on a gut feeling, but Hernandez will probably be highly owned this evening.
Other options: Madison Bumgarner (SF), Jordan Zimmerman (WAS), Jesse Chavez (OAK)
Hitters
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B (TOR) – $4,100
While he hits for less average against right-handed pitching, EE is slugging nearly .500 against righties this year with 12 homers and 30 RBI. Red Sox starter Joe Kelly throws the ball really fast, but that only means batters will hit it farther and harder (or at least that’s what they told me in Little League). I like the Jays as a whole tonight, and if you can get Encarnacion in your lineup, definitely do it!
Starling Marte, OF (PIT) – $3,800
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The young Pirates outfielder has kind of been slumping as of late, but when he produces it’s a beautiful thing. The Phillies will send ageless Kevin Correa to the bump tonight, and Pittsburgh hitters are licking their lips as we speak. Marte has that sexy speed and power combination, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he had a combo meal tonight (homer and a SB).
Marcus Semien, SS (OAK) – $2,300
Shortstop is abysmal as usual, so you might as well save some salary room and go as cheap as possible. Semien hits lefties better, and I believe that Hector Santiago is due for some serious regression sometime in the near future. I don’t want to call this a punt play, but it seems like that. Still, roll Semien out in your lineups to compliment your ace!
Other options: Rene Rivera – C (TB), Brian Dozier – 2B (MIN), Paul Goldschmidt – 1B (ARI)
Recommended Stacks
Blue Jays hitters vs. Kelly (Reyes, Donaldson, Encarnacion, Pillar)
Pirates hitters vs. Correa (Polanco, Walker, Marte, Alvarez)
Marlins hitters vs. Kendrick (Gordon, Stanton, Yelich, Ozuna)
Tonight’s Lineup
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