Since being traded to the Pirates, Ivan Nova has exploded! In a good way. He has been different pitcher than he was with the Yankees. In five starts, Nova owns a 2.87 ERA, with 22 strikeouts and only 1 walk! You have to love a pitcher who doesn’t give up a free trips to first very often. In those starts he has averaged nearly 19 points. Tonight the Brewers are in town, and have been struggling all season. Not only are the Brewers brutal at hitting the ball and producing runs, they strike out a ton. The Brew Crew leads the league with a 25.8% strikeout rate vs RHP pitchers. The Pirates are 2.5 games back from a wild card and need to start winning more games. Meanwhile, the Brewers sit 19 games below .500 and are just looking to beat out Cincinnati for last in the division. I see Nova as one of the top picks of the day, and at only $8,900 it’s hard to pass that up. And with that … here are the rest of my Saturday DFS picks.
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Vince Velasquez, SP: $8,300 – It’s so easy to pick on bad teams, so let’s continue. Vince will face off against the Braves, who has seen him twice already this season. Both of the those starts were in Atlanta, where he totalled 12 innings, giving up 6 runs on 13 hits, 4 walks, and earning 10 strikeouts. Not great. But tonight he will face them at home, where he has been much better this season. In 58.2 innings, he has a .291 ERA with a 21:77 walk to strikeout ratio.
Russell Martin, C: $4,100 – Gattis, Sanchez, and the catchers in Coors will be popular selections at the catcher position. Leaving Martin forgotten about. Snell hasn’t been going deep into games, and the Rays bullpen owns a 4.16 ERA and 59 homers agaisnt (6th most).
Jose Abreu, 1B: $4,700 – Hector Santiago has gave up 6 or more runs 6 times this season and 86% of Santiago’s 98 career homers have came from RHB. Abreu is batting .373 since the beginning with August with 9 homers and 20 RBI.
Starlin Castro, 2B: $4,000 – Reverse Splits! Gausman has been much worse pitching to RHB this season. Hitters have 16 homers and a .361 wOBA. Castro was also a hot hitter in August batting .313.
Andres Blanco, 3B: $3,600 – It may be time for this switch hitter to exclusively bat from the left side of the plate. That’s where Blanco will be today, as he will be facing Aaron Blair, who has been pummelled by LHP in his first MLB season.
Marcus Semien, SS: $2,500 – Found this guy in the bargain bin. He’s been hitting leadoff for the past 3 games, which is always a plus. Porcello has been solid this season, but has seen reverse splits. RHB have had more success off Porcello, and the low owned Semien is going to add to those numbers.
George Springer, OF: $4,800 – Springer has been cold, but gets to face Holland tonight. When Holland is not showing off his pet lizards on snapchat, he is on the mound giving up runs to batters to the tune of a 4.68 ERA. Springer has been better vs LHP and will look to get back on track in this match up.
Yasiel Puig, OF: $3,500 – He’s back in the MLB, and not with the Brewers. HE tallied 21 fantasy points in his return. Puig loves to have fun and it’s fun to have him in your lineup.
Nolan Reimold, OF: $2,500 – Nolan has experience against Sabathia, and has had success. In 41 plate appearances, he is batting .341 with 2 homers and a .990 OPS.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Clear skies across the country! All games appear to be dry and good for ball. Heaving winds blowing in from center in Citizens bank park may help Velasquez, while heaving winds out to right-centre in Oakland may help Semien with extra base hits.
Doing Lines In Vegas
This slate has many close games. Nova and the Pirates top the favorites a -180 over the Brewers. The next biggest favorites are Velasques and Gausman at -140. Baseball in Coors means runs … a 12 total. Shields and Santiago on the mound also mean runs, with a total of 10 in Minny. More runs will be had in the HOU/TEX game with a total of 9.5. STL/CIN are close behind a 9, followed by MIL/PIT, NYY/BAL, and LAA/SEA at 8.5.
