June 8th, 2010. Standing on a field in Hamilton, VA along with a bunch of other Dad’s as our sons were playing Little League Baseball, we had zero concern for what was going on the field in front of us that day and all the attention for what was going on about 50 miles away at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. That was when Stephen Strasburg was making his debut and mowing down the Pirates in one of the most anticipated and dominant debuts by a rookie pitcher ever.
Most rookie pitchers do not have that success out of the gates, but there are unicorns sometimes and Strasburg was definitely a unicorn. His career derailed by injuries most seasons and the perception that he was a bad DFS pitcher a lot too because of those injuries. In reality, Strasburg was one of the best pitchers we have seen in the last 20 years but much like Tim Lincecum, he couldn’t finish with the full stats because of his injuries.
This all leads me to Paul Skenes’ day. Another highly touted college arm who is going to have all eyes on him as he makes his debut, one which we would hope involves many camera shots to his girlfriend every time he whiffs a Cub today. I don’t know if Skenes will be as good as Strasburg, but I know the hype should be up there with it today and if he comes anywhere close to was Stras’ did on that weeknight back in 2010, then we’ll have another great Baseball memory today.
WEATHER
Aaaaaaaaaaaand it’s gonna rain in Pittsburgh. Mother fucker.
MAX FRIED (DK: $8600, FD: $9100) … They just keep giving us a free gift here, so we will continue to take this. A 10k pitcher who is under 9k in a good pitchers park coming off three straight excellent starts? Lock and load.
- After Max, it’s a mix of guys who are pitching well, facing lineups that can be easy to get through and have enough confidence that I think they’re all the same. But, yet, none of them really excite me. The group includes Nestor Cortes, Zack Littell and Taijuan Walker
- Justin Steele has some weather concerns in the match-up against Skenes, who also has that same risk of not going deep enough and he isn’t priced like a rookie, so neither is going to make it into the DFS recommendation pool for me – but riding Skenes does sound fun.
- Jesus Luzardo also returns to the mound today, making his first start since April 20th.
Ultimately my final vote is going to go with Cortes ranked #2 and Zack Littell ranked #3.
D’BACKS vs ORIOLES
Arizona projects decently against John Means, with the key hitters being Walker, Gurriel and Suarez. On the flip side, that Arizona bullpen is struggling once again and so with Nelson being a 5 IP max guy, Baltimore will get some late inning Orioles magic here today.
PHILLIES vs MARLINS
We’ll once again trust the park with no weather issues and maybe an open roof on a warm Saturday afternoon in Miami? I doubt it, they’re too soft down there these days, but if it is open then this one is going to have a million runs in it.
CATCHER
- Adley Rutschman
- JT Realmuto
- Gabriel Moreno
FIRST BASE
- Christian Walker
- Bryce Harper
SECOND BASE
- Luis Garcia Jr
- Whit Merrifield
THIRD BASE
- Eugenio Suarez
- Austin Riley
- Ke’Bryan Hayes
SHORTSTOP
- Gunnar Henderson
- Oneil Cruz
OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore
- Bryan De La Cruz
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- Cedric Mullins
- Marcell Ozuna
Eugenio Suarez – 3B – Arizona Diamondbacks – Chairman of The Dongers Club
TOP BETS
Arizona/Baltimore over 8
Philly/Miami over 7.5
ATL/Mets under 7.5
NYY/Rays under 8