We finish off the “1st Half” of the season today with a 10 game MAIN slate and then a 4 game Tilt/Afternoon slate. There is no Sunday Night Baseball today because the “Island” game is at 11:30 today as MLB doesn’t want anyone playing the night before the break.
WEATHER
I would be shocked if any game got PPD today. Just a slight chance of rain in Philadelphia, Detroit and New York (Mets).
It’s not great… I have a hard time picking TWO pitchers I like, let alone three. Heck, I really have a hard time finding ONE pitcher that I think can get to that magical 20+ DK FPTS today. So, the bar is lowered, we are not looking for that magical 20 spot today bur rather if you can build around a pair of pitchers who probably go 5 innings, get a win and are not terrible along the way then it will be good enough.
JAKE IRVIN (DK: $9000, FD: $9200)
Picking on the Brewers who have started to unravel and will soon lose their grip on the NL Central. Irvin is not a 9k pitcher, but he’s been pitching like one up until having to face the divisional Mets twice in a row. Going out of the division will benefit him and like I said, the Brewers aren’t scaring me much right now unless Contreras/Adames get going & Irvin is very solid vs RHH.
MITCH KELLER (DK: $9600, FD: 10,400)
If you remove two starts against the Cardinals (who know him well) then Mitch Keller is arguably one of the top pitchers over the last two months. He’ll be coming off a 107 PC outing at home vs the Mets but that was six days ago and his prior 100+ PC games did not result in a follow on bad outing. Plus, he isn’t someone who relies solely on over powering hitters go have success. So long as he keeps walks down he can minimize damage and avoid trouble on a hot & windy day in Chicago.
OTHER PITCHING THOUGHTS
- The Phillies will open with Orion Kerkering and then turn to Michael Mercado, which I think is a great move but with some risk as Kerking wasn’t “locked in” yesterday. That said, this could be a sign as to what Philly is going to do a lot in the second half to extend their rotation out and Kerking as an opener could be a good move while also giving Mercado a chance to hang around. Long and short here, I can see this being a successful move today that keeps Oakland out of any crooked number innings.
- Colin Rea almost made my list, but he is gonna see 5+ lefties at the top of the lineup and he just doesn’t strike out lefties. He’s got a hard time breaking double digit points despite maybe pitching “decent”.
- Max vs Blanco looks like another quiet/under game down in Houston, but I have Keller and Irvin ranked ahead of both so they didn’t get much love here. Max isn’t more than what he has shown so far.
- Trevor Rodgers is cheap enough that you can go here and hope for a basic 2x return. I wouldn’t be going this route unless the slate was this deprived of pitching and it is.
TOP TEAMS
METS: Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Mark Vientos
So German Marquez is coming back from Tommy John the day before the all-star break? And his landing spot back is Citi Field on a hot Sunday Afternoon? Ouch. He better hope his Ground Ball rate is 100% otherwise he is D-E-A-D today folks. He made 6 rehab appearances and only went 3 2/3 in his last outing. While he is a veteran who knows how to pitch, I cannot trust the Rockies as a whole to shutdown the hot Mets.
PIRATES: Bryan Reynolds, Andrew McCutchen, Oneil Cruz, Rowdy Tellez
We’re awaiting final confirmation on who is starting for the White Sox today. It’s supposed to be Chad Kuhl, but it could be Jared Shuster. Who cares. Unless it’s the ghost of Eddie Cicotte, the Pirates should thump the Sox and good lord if it’s Chad Kuhl it could be a 4 run first inning.
SECOND TIER TEAMS
- MARLINS vs REDS: I expected three high scoring games in this series and so far it has delivered in the first two games. Another hot day in Cincinnati and the only thing that may prevent it is if the two teams decide to mail it in before going on vacation for a few days. How do we not ride the cheap hot hand of Reece Hinds (as long as they keep him batting low) and I am gonna be greedy looking for another Josh Bell homer in Cincinnati — his park. I really like the Marlins today, probably too much.
- ROYALS vs RED SOX: Singer vs Bello, it’s a tempting spot to use either one of them, but this game is gonna be close and it’s gonna go over. Expect things to get ugly around the 4th/5th inning with this game having a total of 3+ HR in it. Vinnie P, Hunter Renfroe, Devers, Dom Smith.
CATCHER
- Connor Wong
- Freddy Fermin
- Francisco Alvarez
- Shea Langeliers
FIRST BASE
- Vinnie Pasquantino
- Josh Bell
- Pete Alonso
- Dominic Smith
SECOND BASE
- Brandon Lowe
- Michael Massey
- Bryson Stott
THIRD BASE
- Raffy Devers
- Jose Ramirez
- Mark Vientos
- Emmanuel Rivera
SHORTSTOP
- Oneil Cruz
- Francisco Lindor
- Bobby Witt Jr.
OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore
- Bryan Reynolds
- Wilyer Abreu
- MJ Melendez
- Jazz Chisholm Jr.
OUTFIELD – Tier II
- Brandon Nimmo
- Teoscar Hernandez
- Brendan Donovan
- Hunter Renfroe
- Jarren Duran
- Brent Rooker
- Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B – Kansas City Royals – Chairman of The Dongers Club
- Jose Ramirez – 3B – Guardians
- Francisco Lindor – SS – Mets
- Bryan Reynolds – OF – Pirates
- Freddy Fermin – C – Royals
- Hunter Renfroe – OF – Royals
- Jazz Chisholm Jr – OF – Marlins
- Bryson Stott – 2B – Phillies
- BONUS …………….. Josh Bell – 1B – Marlins
TOP BETS
- Rockies/Mets OVER 8.5
- Athletics/Phillies under 10
- Royals/Red Sox over 9.5
- Marlins ML
- Nationals ML