Matt Shoemaker, $9,900, AKA The Cobbler, came out of no where and put up some Ace like numbers in the second half of 2014. He went 9-2, striking out 62 batters in 72 innings, all while posting a nice and tidy 1.87 ERA. I was one of the lucky ones that scooped him up and I road that train all the way to multiple Title Towns. In 2015 he was one Grey’s preseason favorites and then he did his best Francisco Liriano impression, but seemingly nose dived 5 times harder. It was tough to watch as he still held a special place in my heart, just like Kris Medlen of 2012, Kendrys Morales and Dallas Keuchel circa 2015. Unfortunately, the long ball absolutely crippled The Cobbler last year, as he coughed up 24 HR’s in just 134 innings of work. In May of 2015, I said my farewells to The Cobbler and bid him adieu. This year started out no different than 2015, as he had a terrible April posting a 9.15 ERA while giving up 6 HR in just 20 innings. With those type of numbers I figured he was going to get sent down to the minors, but the Angels pitching staff was so bad that they actually needed someone to eat up innings. Then halfway through May something magical happened. I can’t explain it as there haven’t been any injury reports, but I do have a theory. Late one May night, amid the thick Anaheim fog, the Disney Pixie’s awoke from their two year slumber and visited The Cobbler, just like they did in 2014. They sprinkled him with some special Pixie Dust shizz and then he went out and pitched an absolute gem against a tough Baltimore offense going 7.1 innings with 12 K’s and 0 ER. The mysterious missing magic was back in his next start vs Houston going 8.1 innings with 11 K’s and 0 ER. He’s returned to the circle of trust as he’s been solid over his last 7 starts, striking out 62 in just 51.2 innings while posting a 2.11 ERA vs some strong AL opponents. I don’t know how long the magic dust is going to last this time, but he’s limiting the long ball and I like him tonight at home. He’s facing a tough offensive Houston Astros team tonight, but they’re also the number 3 in strikeouts vs RHP.
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Jake Arrieta, SP $13,700 – Can’t go wrong with Jake from State Farm, but the price tag is a little high for my liking against a resurgent Reds offense that’s playing in a hitter friendly park.
Joe Ross, SP $9,500 – This one’s for you JB, Like a Ross! Yes, he’s facing Thor, but the Mets have been struggling offensively and I’m a little concerned about Thor’s elbow.
Trevor Bauer, SP $12,800 – Speaking of guys we thought were donzo, Bauer has the second highest pitching salary in Atlanta tonight. So are you a Bauliever? I still have my reservations, but he’s facing the Braves in pitcher friendly Turner Field. He’s been great over his last 5 games racking up 38 K’s in 38.2 innings while limiting his walks and HR’s.
Eduardo Rodriguez, SP $6,600 – If you need some offensive room with Toronto at Colorado, then look no further than ERod. He’s not anywhere near the circle of trust, but he’s at TB and they’ve been hit by the injury bug harder than Brazil with the Zika virus.
Nick Hundley, C $3,200 – He didn’t deliver yesterday, so I’m diving back in the Coors pool for one more game.
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B $5,500 – “All wings check in.” “E Five standing by.” Toronto has a rare visit into Coors for the next few nights. I know he’s a little pricey, but I can’t miss the chance of E5 locking in on his target and destroying every pitch over the next 3 games.
Mitch Moreland, 1B $4,000 – He’s got a short porch in Yankee Stadium and he’s facing Ivan Nova. The Rangers Express is chugging along at full speed and they got a bunch of lefties, now let me hear that Toot-Toot.
Jose Altuve, 2B $4,800 – It’s a coin flip between him and Rougned Odor at $4,900, but Altuve owns Shoemaker with a solid 6/14 with 2 Bombs.
Javier Baez, 2B/SS $3,600 – The Regression Fairies are coming for Dan Straily tonight. The Cubbies are due for an offensive explosion as they look to have their slumpbuster all primed up tonight at Great American Park.
Jake Lamb, 3B $4,800 – His favorite day of the week is Monday. I couldn’t feature him last week because it was a 10 am start, but he’s hit 5 HR’s in his last 6 Monday games. Can our favorite Tri-Lamb do it again?
Juan Uribe, 3B $2,800 – The ageless wonder was en fuego last week with 4 HR’s in 4 games. He went yard again yesterday and he hits them in bunches.
Anthony Rendon, 3B $2,900 – Tough match-up vs Thor, but he has a decent BVP 4/10 with a Bomb. If Thor’s elbow starts barking, the Nationals will have a field day with the Mets bullpen.
Marcus Semien, SS $3,000 – He was featured yesterday and rewarded me with a Bomb. He’s got 2 HR’s in the last 4 games and I think the Shark might be out of the water tonight.
Troy Tulowitzki, $4,300 – He hits 2 HR’s and then blows out a hammy in his return to Colorado. Great for DK, but not helpful if you have him on your regular squads. Oh wait, if you have Tulo as your SS you’re probably out of it already, I guess you should of listened to Unkie Greg in the pre-season.
Ian Desmond, OF $4,800 – Comeback Player of the year. He’s been putting up numbers day in and day out after a rough start to the season. Too bad DK doesn’t have him eligible at SS.
Charlie Blackmon, OF $5,200 – Chuck Nasty is doing his thing right now with 5 HR’s over his last 7 games. He’s facing a very surprising Marco Estrada, but they are in Coors and Blackmon is doing his best Ricky Vaughn impression.
Colby Rasmus, OF $3,600 – It rubs the lotion on it’s hair. True story he puts lotion in his hair so it doesn’t get poofy & frizzy. It’s a short day and if you’re not rostering The Cobbler then get you some Cleatus Razzmatazz.
Nomar Mazara, OF $3,400 – He’s been quiet as of late, but Yankee Stadium has a way of curing the Left Handed Blues.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There are a few thunderstorms in play today, so it’s the same drill as yesterday. Things look promising, but there maybe some delays. Just be sure to take that into consideration when rostering your pitching staff.
CLE vs ATL 50%, NYM vs WAS 37%, TEX vs NYY 30%, TOR vs COL 25%
Doing Lines In Vegas
No surprise here as the khakied one Jake Arrieta leads the pack at -265 followed by The Baulievers at -175. Coors is slated at an o/u of 11.5 but I’m going with over on this one. I think Tulo has something to prove and he’ll have the Bluejays fired up.
