The amount of elite pitching available on Tuesday is absurd. First off, it’s Kershaw Day and that means you have to decide whether you want to take roughly 28 percent of your salary and invest in the only sure thing on the slate. Other attractive options include the head-to-head matchup between Max Scherzer ($12,700) and Noah Syndergaard ($11,400), both of whom should receive your exposure in selected spots. While I love all three pitchers on Tuesday, it’s hard to pass up another ace in Madison Bumgarner. Everything about this matchup is so perfect that MadBum will probably give up nine earned runs in 0.2 innings pitched and completely tank your line. JUST KIDDING! Bumgarner is safe and will be a chalk cash game play, but that’s okay. All we care about is results. This could very well be the first game of the season where Bumgarner goes the distance. Even if he doesn’t the strikeouts will be plentiful and a win seems likely.
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Chris Archer, SP: $9,800 – As good as the Blue Jays’ offense is, it hasn’t been so lately. Canada’s favorite team is batting just .243 over the last seven days and hasn’t really been in rhythm. Archer looked as if he was turning a corner, but he got pounded in Seattle last week leaving fantasy owners wondering the meaning of life. Let me be clear: do not use Archer in cash games. He is strictly a GPP play with a ton of upside who will be low owned.
Carlos Rodon, SP: $8,800 – If you want to keep playing with that upside fire, look no further than Carlos Rodon. Outside of one clunker against the Angels, Rodon has recorded at least six strikeouts in each start and has managed to pitch at least six innings as well. The real issue here is his opponent. We all know that the Astros can ruin a starting pitcher on any given night, but they also have a knack for striking out. Much like Chris Archer, this makes Rodon a GPP play only. He’s certain to give up at least a couple of runs, but his strikeout upside is worth the risk. It’s a big slate; think outside the box!
Zack Greinke, SP: $8,300 – The amount of good pitching on this slate is wild. It’s going to be very hard to make a competitive combination using two of the four aces in the opening paragraph. So, let me recommend something different. Pick your favorite and pair them with Greinke. The Yankees are the worst team in baseball on the road and Greinke should have no problem mowing them down. While Greinke isn’t going to post numbers like he did while pitching for the Dodgers, his price tag will be on the rise soon. Take advantage while you can.
Matt Wieters, C: $3,200 – The catcher position gets more obnoxious by the day. I hate spending up for a guy like Posey or Lucroy, so settling for Wieters is the route I’ll likely take on Tuesday. Wieters has actually heated up recently, hits lefties better than righties, and he has a home run in his career against Wade Miley. The fact that the game is in Baltimore is an added bonus.
Tommy Joseph, C/1B: $2,000 – If Joseph starts on Tuesday, this is a great salary dump. Joseph was just called up over the weekend by Philadelphia and could get the start with a lefty on the mound. You’re going to need a couple of guys like this if you want to use Kershaw and/or Scherzer.
Byung Ho Park, 1B: $4,100 – We are looking for a home run here and Park can definitely provide that especially against a human batting tee in Mike Pelfrey. The Tigers and Twins combined for over 15 runs on Monday night and Park’s damage was limited. He’ll change that tonight.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B: $3,900 – Who doesn’t love parking 80 MPH heaters into the right field seats? I know A-Gone does. How Jered Weaver still occasionally pitches well with his preposterous lack of velocity is something I think about as I lie awake in bed at night.
Jean Segura, 2B: $4,100 – Picking on Michael Pineda is always a must. He’s already given up nine home runs this season! Segura will lead off for the D’Backs and probably see at least five plate appearances. This is a recipe for success at a reasonable price.
Brett Lawrie, 2B: $3,900 – Lawrie is going to be low owned and Dallas Keuchel just isn’t intimidating right now. It seems as though Lawrie is turning a corner and he’s certainly proving it against LHP with a .456 wOBA.
Travis Shaw, 3B: $3,600 – It really sucks for Boston that they have to pay Pablo Sandoval millions to sit at home with an injury. By injury I mean craving for fast food and snack cakes. Luckily, Travis Shaw has been able to soften the monetary blow by smoking righties with a .364/.443/.617 slash over his first 107 at-bats. He’ll get Yordano Ventura and plenty of pitches to hit on Tuesday night.
Jung Ho Kang, 3B: $3,500 – The Braves are starting a rookie pitcher who has already had trouble in the big leagues. At $3,500, Kang is totally underpriced and should easily crush his value. With Starling Marte on the paternity list, Kang will probably bat cleanup.
Manny Machado, SS/3B: $4,800 – Anytime I can use Machado for under $5K, I consider it a good day. It may be hard to fit him in your lineup, but if you can, Machado gets a stellar matchup against a weak lefty at home.
Marcus Semien, SS: $3,200 – The rule is simple: Use Semien against lefties, avoid him against righties. Semien gets a tough lefty in Cole Hamels, but he provides some needed salary relief.
Adam Jones, OF: $4,400 – Jones is hot and has historically crushed left-handers. He’s 2-for-6 lifetime with a homer off of Wade Miley.
J.D. Martinez, OF: $4,000 – Martinez is finally breaking out of his early season slump and has four homers over his last eight games. He gets flyball pitcher Phil Hughes on Tuesday.
Jackie Bradley Jr., OF: $3,700 – This guy has been unbelievable over the last week. In fact, he wont AL Player of the Week honors. So fitting! His price is back under $3,700 and the hope is that he bats higher than ninth. Either way, he warrants strong consideration.
Ryan Rua, OF: $3,000 – Rua is receiving everyday at-bats and owns a .409 average in 22 at-bats against lefties this season. He’s solid salary relief.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Baltimore all have a chance of showers, but other than that the weather gods should shine down favorably to those outside of the northern eastern seaboard.
Doing Lines In Vegas
With Scherzer and Syndergaard going head-to-head, the Mets and Nationals are currently at 6 1/2u with Washington as a -130 favorite. The best stacks for Tuesday’s 14-game slate include Baltimore, Detroit, Minnesota, and the White Sox. If you want to pair Kershaw and Scherzer together and try something outside the box, try the Rays against Marcus Stroman.
