Imagine: in 5 years, when we’re on the Zeta variant of the coronavirus and our rivers are filled with sand and fire, Robbie Ray finishes the 2026 baseball season with his record-breaking 5th consecutive Cy Young. Razzball — now known as Razzbot — will be delivered straight to your brain via Google Glasses, which will no longer be illegal or creepy. In fact, you’ll be watching Robbie Ray’s tight sliders on those glasses every day because MLB will have partnered with Google to make all other television options obsolete. And you thought baseball was boring! But for today, let’s focus on the present and see who we’re watching on TV today.
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Starting Pitchers
I’ve got three pitchers that I’m highlighting today, and you probably know who they are: Robbie Ray, Corbin Burnes, and Zack Wheeler. BORING. Let’s highlight another pitcher you might want:
Luis Castillo: Takes on a light-hitting Cardinals team, and he’s still a heavy favorite in Rudy’s projections. He’s got 4 quality starts out of his last 5 games, and 30 Ks to 9 walks in that time period. Of course, the Reds have been pretty meh in support of him; he’s racked up 3 losses in that period, and looks to be — in the minds of players — a fade.
Other Options:
- Josiah Gray (vs PHI)
- Chris Paddack (vs ARI)
- Bailey Ober (vs DET)
Hitters
Remember that I’m writing and submitting this well before roster lock, and these players have a greater than 50% chance of being in the lineup today. As always, check lineups before submitting your entries.
These are my crushers, who are identified as being both favorites in Rudy’s DFS Tools as well as being the top batters on the slate in terms of home/away and handedness splits for wOBA, ISO, and line drive %. Put these batters at a 40%+ exposure or build around them for single entry events:
| Crushers |
|---|
| Kyle Schwarber |
| Rafael Devers |
| Shohei Ohtani |
| Bryce Harper |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. |
My Hobbits are batters who have less stringent power requirements but are some of the cheaper bats on the slate.
| Hobbits |
|---|
| Jorge Soler |
| Jared Walsh |
| Shohei Ohtani |
| Gary Sanchez |
| Joey Gallo |
My list of unexpected cheap hitters is huge today. These guys are defined by being the cheapest bats on the slate with the highest line drive % against the handedness split. These guys are also the most likely to sit, so please check lineups if you play these guys.
| Unexpected Bats |
|---|
| Travis Shaw |
| Kyle Tucker |
| Michael Brantley |
| Max Stassi |
| Shohei Ohtani |
| Avisail Garcia |
| Kolten Wong |
| Luis Urias |
| Rowdy Tellez |
| Gio Urshela |
| Kyle Higashioka |
| Brad Miller |
| Ty France |
| Alex Dickerson |
| Curt Casali |
| Darin Ruf |
| Mike Yastrzemski |
| Brett Phillips |
Favorite Stacks
| SD |
| HOU |
| CIN |
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
CIN/STL has a 25% chance of rain today so be careful with your Luis Castillo start and CIN bat stack. WAS/PHIL is in the same boat with rain.
Doing Lines in Vegas:
There’s a massive disagreement among bookies for the ATL/LAD game, with ATL ranging from +165 to +190 (and higher at other books). So, maybe grab ATL at +190 at William Hill or +180 at DraftKings, because BetMGM has them at +165.
