There is going to be a MAIN slate article for the 7 game night slate later today and this one will cover the early window of action. The only game that the lords of DK and FD have not graced us with is the Yankees and Rays at 6:10 PM EST.
WEATHER
All clear this afternoon.
My anticipation is that some are going to try and hype up the White Sox / Royals game as being ideal hitting conditions & yes the fences being moved in does help when we have 70+ degrees and wind blowing out. It’s a trap.
I present to you three guys who are going to get through 6 innings today. None of them should give up more than 2 ER and each should have 5 strikeouts. That, my friends, is good enough for what we are going to use on hitting choices.
CASEY MIZE (DK: $8000)
The Marlins are pesky. The 1-3 in this lineup are good enough to make them a respectable team – but it’s not gonna play well for the ball to carry in Comerica today & Mize being a heavy ground ball pitcher just needs his defense to not make a bunch of mistakes & this is a straight path to 6 innings of good pitching.
EDWARD CABRERA (DK: $8700)
Toss up between Cabrera and Ashcraft for the second Wrigley under of this weekend before Sunday’s offensive fireworks hit 1060 West Addison. Both are fine, Cabrera should be the cleaner one if he can keep his walks under control.
BRAXTON ASHCRAFT (DK: $7800)
Dont mind Ashcraft much here either, but the strikeouts might not be as consistent as they were vs Baltimore.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Tomorrow is a big day for the Phillies & for the Dongers Club. It’s the annual Phinatic Birthday Celebration which means we get an article full of mascot references and GIFs and hopefully the Phinatic has a wonderful birthday party this year.
As a gift, the Diamondbacks (who I’ll tip the hand on my mascot rankings and just say he’s not a bad mascot, but he is just not the right mascot) are giving the Phillies Brandon Pfaadt, a guy who wants to throw a sinker to get batters out but struggles at time with that.
The Phillies. Well, they’re a very good sinker hitting team. This should wind up being a tough spot for Mr. Brandon Pfaadt.
- Bryce Harper
- Trea Turner
- Kyle Schwarber
- Justin Crawford — When the lineup goes off you take the value at the bottom of the order….
L.A. ANGELS / CINCY REDS
The Angels will be starting George Klassen for his second start. He walked 5 in his first outing and while nerves do contribute there, I don’t think you immediately fix that after one start. The nerves will still be there & Eugenio Suarez will place a ball into the LF bleachers.
The Angels meanwhile get Brandon Williamson – a big sweeping delivery lefty who cannot be stupid enough to try and throw a ball down and in to Trout or Soler, can he? Can we please make sure that Soler’s suspension does not begin until after his first PA today?
- Angels: Mike Trout & Jorge Soler
- Reds: TJ Friedl, Matt McLain, EDLC, Eugenio Suarez
OTHER SPOTS I LIKE
Arizona vs Taijuan Walker. Looks great. Might be the trap of the day to use anyone besides Ketel or ‘Nado.
As for the rest of the slate — who cares, there’s plenty of offense in those three teams that I don’t really see a need trying to stack anything else. If you wanna talk yourself into the Royals go right ahead and be my guest.
If you wanna try and touch the A’s and Mets, please, grab a drink and then proceed.
CATCHER
- Tyler Stephenson
- Logan O’Hopppe
- Carter Jensen
FIRST BASE
- Harper, Bryce
- Jeimer Candelario
- Sal Stewart
SECOND BASE
- Matt McLain
- Ketel Marte
THIRD BASE
- Geno Suarez
- Colt Keith
- Nolan Arenado
SHORTSTOP
- Trea Turner
- Zach Neto
- Colson Montgomery
OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore
- Mike Trout
- Jorge Soler – Suspension Pending
- Kyle Schwarber
- Philly Phinatic
OUTFIELD – Tier II
- Luis Robert Jr
- Jo Adell
- TJ Friedl
- Harper, Bryce – 1B – Philadelphia Phillies – Chairman of The Dongers Club
- Eugenio Suarez – 3B – Reds
- Kyle Schwarber – OF – Phillies
- Mike Trout – OF – Angels
- Jorge Soler – OF – Angels
- Ketel Marte – 2B – Diamondbacks
BETS
- Angels / Reds OVER 9
- Diamondbacks / Phillies OVER 8.5
- Pirates / Cubs UNDER 6.5
- White Sox ML