Making a living as a knuckleball pitcher is rather similar to playing DFS. When you have things go just right, it’s all aces. If you’re off, you can get clobbered. Steven Wright is one such pitcher we’ve seen on both sides. Is tonight his night? Let’s knuckle up on Draft.com, get the grip right, and put some stats up.
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Corey Kluber, SP: Early. Max Scherzer is your 1.1 with the level he’s pitching at currently. If Kluber is there when you pick in round 1, though, it’s a clear spot to go SP for me. After him, there’s a pretty big fall-off in potential pitching points.
Sean Newcomb, SP: Middle. Any pitcher facing San Diego is worthy of consideration. Newcomb hasn’t tallied many strikeouts lately. The Padres strike out at 25.7% vs. LHP, luckily for the lefty. With the Braves’ offense backing him, Ks and a win are likely.
Steven Wright, SP: Late. It’s the knuckleballer’s first start of the year, although he’s been needed multiple innings each time Drew Pomeranz took the hill lately. In those last few appearances, he hasn’t given up a run. Using a knuckler is always a risky spot, since it tends to go pretty poorly if the hurler is missing the feel for it. Wright had some excellent starts in 2016 when he did have that knuckle feel perfected. I’m making wager he finds it again tonight.
Giancarlo Stanton, IF: Early. Angry Stanton is a scary thing for opposing pitchers. He’s had a streaky start to his Yankees career. With two homers in three days, this could be the start of his latest hot streak. Opposing pitcher Marco Gonzalez has also given up a dozen home runs already this season.
Xander Bogaerts, IF: Middle. The Tigers are auditioning hot dog vendors as starting pitchers. Someone named Artie Lewicki will take the hill for them today. Any Red Sox hitter is a good play, but Bogaerts’ floor in the middle of that lineup is a good way to get mid-round exposure to a great spot.
Edwin Encarnacion, IF: Late. Out of all the streaking Indians hitters, E5 has stayed hot through the weekend. He’s far enough down the Draft projections to be there with a mid to late pick. His .809 SLG% the last 14 days is third in all of baseball.
Aaron Judge, OF: Early. In these articles, I usually avoid using players from the same team, but the Yankees are in too good a spot to put anyone else here. They disappointed on the night slate yesterday, so you might get some pinstripers later than you should. Judge is striking out in bunches lately, but that’s par for the course with his power approach.
Eddie Rosario, OF: Middle. The red-hot Rosario doesn’t figure to maintain the torrid pace he’s set over the last week. I don’t want to let an opponent have him to find out how long it lasts, though. Especially not against Reynaldo Lopez and his 5.61 ERA since the start of May.
Stephen Piscotty, OF: Late. Piscotty can give you a decent OBP (.368 career vs. LHP) floor if you’re looking for someone with your last pick.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
The East Coast is getting into thunderstorm season. Get used to games there having a threat of pop-up cells. The most troubling spot looks like Washington tonight, though not unplayable.
Doing Lines in Vegas
I like the under (8.5 runs) in the Royals-Angels match-up. It feels like that total is relying a bit too much on LA doing some heavy lifting.
