Getting Ahead In Head To Head For Week 10: Luke, I Am Your Father!

While the 1st Father’s Day was celebrated in 1910, it wasn’t until 1972 that it became a National holiday. Yes, it will never compete with Mother’s Day, and it probably shouldn’t, but Father’s Day is special nonetheless.  For starters, Jim Bunning once threw a perfect game, the 1st for the Phillies.  Bunning only needed 90 pitches, which he threw 79 for strikes!  The Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, defeated the Sonics in 7.  This was Jordan’s 1st championship following the death of his father.  And who could forget Tiger Woods’ 15-stroke victory in the US Open at Pebble Beach?

While these amazing achievements highlight the special day, there are a few other interesting factoids.  Whiskey was the most gifted item for fathers in the 1980s.  The 1990s were headlined by clothing (most likely ties), with the introduction of improved technology beginning to overshadow towards the end of the decade.  As we enter the 2000s and into the present day, materialistic gifts have given way to “experience” gifts.  For instance, fathers are no longer getting a hat, but instead, they are gifted tickets to go see a concert or a sporting event.  I would like to follow in the footsteps of the kids of today and gift all of you fathers out there (and honestly everyone else reading this) the gift of knowledge.  Here are some helpful tips to give us the gift that we all really want…a Head to Head Fantasy Baseball victory in Week 10!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR!

•  FAVORABLE TEAM MATCHUPS
•  SPARP(S) OF THE WEEK
• R/L MATCHUPS TO EXPLOIT
• SAGNOF

FAVORABLE TEAM MATCHUPS

7 GAMES

ATL (vSF/vLAD)
CHC (@PIT/@STL)
CWS (vTOR/vBAL)
MIA (@NYM/vCOL/vNYM)
MIL (vSTL/vTOR)
NYY (@TB/vHOU)
PIT (vCHC/@TB)
SD (vARI/vPHI)
SF (@ATL/vCIN)
STL (@MIL/vCHC)

5 GAMES

TEX (vPHI/vWSH)
WSH (@BAL/@TEX)

SPARP(S) OF THE WEEK!

Tyler Wells-SP/RP-BAL (vWSH/@CWS) (7% rostered in Yahoo)- Entering the season, I knew some who were pretty high on Wells as a contender for the 9th inning in Baltimore. Fast forward to today and Wells has actually been a pretty solid SPARP on the season.  You have to go back to 4/10 to find a game where Wells has allowed more than 3 ER.  While the run suppression has been a bright spot, the lack of Ks is a little bit of a hit.  He has yet to strike out more than 4 batters in any contest on the season.  This week tho, Wells will get two matchups that could provide decent returns.  The Nationals have lost 7 of their last 10, and are 18th in wRC+ vs RHP since 6/1.  The 2nd matchup against the Sox isn’t exactly great, but they do have the 5th lowest hard hit% vs RHP since 6/1. Go to the well for some water, just avoid falling in.

Zach Thompson-SP/RP-PIT (vCHC) (4% rostered in Yahoo)- While there aren’t too many good SPARP options this week, I’ll take a stab at the low-hanging fruit.  *Start pitchers vs CHC*  The Cubs have lost 10 straight and are as good a streaming option opponent as there is.  During that 10-game stretch, they rank 27th in runs scored, while Thompson has gone 5+ IP in 3 straight and has yet to allow more than 2 ER.  As with Wells, I wouldn’t be chasing the K’s, but the change at some decent ratios and a potential W is a good bet.

R/L MATCHUPS TO EXPLOIT!

Luke Voit, 1B, SDP (43% rostered in Yahoo)- While this is the matchup to exploit, Voit is the reverse split matchup to exploit.  For his career, Luke has hit .10 points higher vs RHP than LHP.  This season alone tho, he is crushing RHP in comparison to LHP, nearly .50 pts higher!  Since 6/1, he has 14 RBI vs RHP, which is the best mark in baseball.  The Friars will host the D’Backs and the Phillies, with 5 RHP on the menu.  Voit has been known to go on some tears here and there, might as well enjoy the ride.

Adam Duvall, OF, ATL (39% rostered in Yahoo)- Duvall isn’t your prototypical “splits exploiter”, but he has been mashing LHP since 6/1. Over that span, he is Top 10 in R/HR/RBI vs LHP.  The Braves, as a team have scored 36 runs vs LHP since 6/1 and are hitting .313.  On the docket is a 7-game week with 4 LHP.  I am going to take advantage while the Braves are running hot!

Josh Naylor, 1B/OF, CLE (37% rostered in Yahoo)-  Naylor is definitely a matchup-based option this week in both H2H as well as maybe a DFS lineup.  Josh has been hitting in the middle of the Guardians lineup and really seems to be finding his groove vs RHP.  In the month of June, Naylors’ 419 wOBA is on par with Mike Trout, and his k% is top 10 in all of MLB vs RHP.  Sure, I can nitpick stats to make a player look better or worse, but give me a middle-of-the-order bat on a team that hits RHP all day.

SAGNOF

Jon Berti, 2B/3B/OF, MIA (34% rostered in Yahoo)-  I wish I had believed in the playing time for Berti last week.  Last year I had invested in Berti as a late-round CI option with 20 SB upside, and I was wrong. Berti has 7 SB in his last 8 games played and gets the luxury of playing nearly every day.  If you have a chance to grab him, he is a solid add for the speed, but he is actually hitting well to boot.

Ezequiel Duran, 2B/3B/SS, TEX (29% rostered in Yahoo)-  Since being called up earlier this month, Duran has been doing a little bit of everything.  On Thursday, he hit the game-winning triple vs Det.  In addition to the late-game heroics, he carries a .326 AVE with 2 HR, 2 SB, and 7 Runs across 48 PAs.  The Rangers only have 5 games next week, so it might be wise to just stash him until the following week when they get back to a 6 game schedule.

SAGNOF (PART DEUX)

Seranthony Dominguez, RP, PHI (27% rostered in Yahoo)-  The final shoe has dropped in the Phillies 9th inning saga.  After experiencing shoulder tightness, Knebel thought he was ready to return, only to get shelled.  It has been a very strange season for the Phillies, and their 9th inning seems to be haunted.  Interim mgr, Rob Thomsen, has said they will use a “committee”, but I would imagine the majority of the opportunities will go to Seranthony.

Kendall Graveman, RP, CWS (51% rostered in Yahoo)-  Bad news in Chicago with Liam Hendriks going on the IL with forearm tightness.  TLR said he will return in three weeks, but he also said he was just resting his eyes at the red light.  We shall see.  Graveman inherits a very safe 9th inning role and could easily see a fair share of saves along the way.

Tanner Scott, RP, MIA (32% rostered in Yahoo)-  Yes, I know I shouldn’t trust Tanner Scott.  Yes, I know he just got blown up on Wednesday.  No, I don’t think he is out as closer…..yet.

Emilio Pagan, RP, MIN (50% rostered in Yahoo)-  With Rocco Baldelli, it could be any given situation that we may see Duran or Pagan in the 9th, but it has been Pagan getting pretty regular work in the 9th.

That wraps up another edition of Getting Ahead In Head To Head.  Thank You for reading, and to all the Dads out there…..Happy Fathers Day!!!!