Welcome to our new daily article breaking down some of the other pitching targets on this slate. We covered our system's top value plays in our daily picks article and our updates articles but here we will look at other dudes to consider.
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Opponent - SD (Friedrich) Park - @PIT
FD - 32.95 DK - 21.47
Noah Syndergaard was our main pick for the early slate and he is definitely the top option in both cash games and tournaments. That being said, Jameson Taillon is not too far off when you consider the price and match up. Sitting at just $7400 and $8600, Taillon lets you pay up at other positions that others will not be able to do. Taillon and the Pirates will be taking on the San Diego Padres, who are known as the worst team in the league against righties. The Padres were atrocious in the first half and have traded away Matt Kemp, which is going to make them much worse. In over 3000 plate appearances, the Padres have sported a .294 wOBA that is backed up by a 24.3% K rate against right handers. Taillon on the other hand, has been terrific against righties with a .271 wOBA. Along with the tremendous wOBA, he has exhibited a 8.34 K/9 and a 17% line drive rate against righties. While I certainly prefer Syndergaard, I will likely have equal exposure as it gives you a ton of roster flexibility. This park helps Taillon out a ton as it is one of the absolute worst parks in the league for right handed power, and it is about neutral for lefties.
Opponent - OAK (Triggs) Park - @OAK
FD - 29.38 DK - 19.45
If you are looking for a safe option that is going to get you enough points in cash games, Chris Tillman is the guy to look at behind Syndergaard and Taillon. In tournaments, however, he is pretty cheap and will be very low owned due to Taillon being similarly priced in a better spot. Though Taillon is a better overall play here, Tillman certainly has the upside as evident by 7 games this year with 7 or more strikeouts. He will be taking on an Athletics team today that is absolutely horrible against right handers. Since the beginning of the season, the A's have been held to a .301 wOBA and an 89 wRC+ against righties. Another factor in his favor is going to be the ballpark, Oakland Coliseum. The Coliseum ranked in the bottom 5 for both left handed and right handed power over the last 3 seasons. While the excessive foul ground does limit strikeout upside to a degree, the deep walls and slow infield more than makes up for it. While I definitely prefer Syndergaard and Taillon, Tillman is worth a shot in certain spots.
Opponent - LAA (Chacin) Park - @CLE
FD - 35.78 DK - 23.39
In the main picks article, we focused on Jon Lester, and will now take a look at Corey Kluber. While Kluber hasn't been as dominant as he was in 2013, he hasn't been too far off. With a .247 wOBA against righties and a .272 wOBA against lefties, you can be assured that he is a very elite pitcher. Though elite, he has definitely had some hiccups, mostly due being unlucky. He has ran into some very unlucky games and those aren't things we want to use to predict what will happen in the future. The match up today, is fantastic, as Kluber and the Indians will be taking on the weak Angels. While the Angels don't strikeout a ton and work wild pitchers well, they lack the ability for a big inning and have a ton of automatic outs, especially against a guy like Kluber. Though I don't think Kluber has his regular upside, he is very safe and should be able to lock in at least 6 or 7 strikeouts. While Lester is the preferred option, make sure you take a look here as well. As a note, make sure to watch the weather as it does look to be a concern.
Opponent - CHW (Gonzalez) Park - @KC
FD - 34.75 DK - 22.82
If you want to pivot off of Lester or Kluber for some reason, the only other way to go is Danny Duffy. While we can't expect another 16 strikeout game, I am expecting a quality start against an average White Sox team. Against lefties, the White Sox have sported a 22.7% strikeout rate that is supported by a .157 ISO and a 30% hard contact rate. Duffy, however, has been fantastic against both lefties and righties with respective wOBA's of .298 and .218. To back up the wOBA's, he has sported terrific peripherals and batted ball rates. The White Sox are moving from the hitter friendly U.S. Cellular to Kaufmann Stadium, which is one of the best pitcher parks in the league. While not on the same level as Lester or Kluber, he is still in a great spot. Though insanely expensive on DK, he is fairly priced on FanDuel.
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