Yankees starter Gerrit Cole ($12,200) is off to an incredible start to the season, with 92 strikeouts to just eight walks in 64 2/3 innings. Tonight he will be facing a Tigers lineup that strikes out more than any team in the American League at 27.5% of the time. While Cole has an expensive price tag, his upside for double digit strikeouts is worth the salary. It’s tough to fade the ace in this spot, as Cole has a high probability at being the top starting pitcher needed to win contests.
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Ian Anderson, SP: $9,000 – Anderson is having a strong season with a 3.30 FIP and a 25.2% K-rate. He should cruise against a Mets lineup that has been devastated by injuries to the point that their three-hole hitters have been Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney.
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B: $3,100 – Goldschmidt has had poor results this year, but he’s still hitting the ball hard with a 94th percentile average exit velocity. He is in a good spot for runs and RBI batting third for the Cardinals against Madison Bumgarner, who has a 4.53 ERA.
Whit Merrifield, 2B/OF: $3,000 – The Royals are a top lineup stack option against Randy Dobnak, owner of a 5.75 ERA. Merrifield will be leading off at a cheap price, which also makes him a good cash game play with a high floor.
Josh Donaldson, 3B: $2,900– Donaldson has been torching left-handed pitching with a 160 wRC+ this season and faces a southpaw in Kris Bubic. Bubic is only striking out 18.3% of batters and has a 5.00 SIERA, so his results thus far have been quite lucky and he can easily get shelled by Minnesota in this outing.
Xander Bogaerts, SS: $4,000 – Bogaerts is super hot right now, batting .359 with three homers and two steals over the last 15 days. He’ll be at home in an extreme hitter’s park against a rookie starter in Cody Poteet.
Aaron Judge, OF: $3,600 – It’s surprising that Judge isn’t more expensive, as he’s slashing .307/.406/.577 with 13 homers. He’s in a good spot against Casey Mize, who has a career 1.44 HR/9.
Avisail Garcia, OF: $2,800 – Garcia has been outstanding against lefties this year with a 140 wRC+. He faces a weak southpaw in Jon Lester, who has a 5.33 ERA.
Tommy Pham, OF: $2,800– Pham is batting .308 with three steals in the last week and has been installed as the Padres leadoff hitter, where he will have plenty of run scoring opportunities atop a strong lineup.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Lots of weather situations to monitor. Brewers-Nationals, Blue Jays-Indians, Braves-Mets, Marlins-Red Sox, and Orioles-White Sox all have rain headed their way. It will be crucial to check on the status of any delays or postponements before submitting lineups tonight.
Doing Lines In Vegas
The Brewers can give good value at +105 if they can get to Jon Lester.
