Slate Details
FanDuel/DraftKings – Main slate (11 games) – starts 7:05 PM EDT
Pitching
Nathan Eovaldi had top billing on the day but is not necessarily the best option. I get it though. He’s been consistently excellent this season and is definitely in the conversation for AL Cy Young. He also is taking on the White Sox, who have been among the lowest run-scoring teams in the league.
Eovaldi has scuffled a bit of late, allowing seven earned runs combined in his past two starts. More importantly, some of the names below him on the price chart are pretty hard to ignore.
Gerrit Cole (vs SEA), Clayton Kershaw (@LAA), and Framber Valdez (vs NYM) are well-established aces all in the midst of exceptional seasons. Cole had a rough May, but he has turned things around in June. Through three starts this month he has a 2.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP with a 19:3 K:BB ratio in 18 innings.
The Dodgers may not be at the top of their game lately, but Kershaw still is. He’s 8-4 this season with a 2.95 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 98:21 K:BB ratio in 82 1/3 innings. He has a 1.80 ERA in three June starts. Valdez has been the best of that bunch recently with a 1.32 ERA in his past five starts.
Justin Verlander isn’t getting a lot of love, but it seems weird to discount him even with a few clunkers on his game log. He was strong his last time out against the Yankees, giving up just one run on three hits and no walks with six strikeouts over six innings. This start will also be very personal as Verlander returns to Houston for the first time since leaving in the offseason. That extra motivation is always nice to have.
Marcus Stroman has nine quality starts in his past 10 games. His matchup against Pittsburgh today could not come at a better time. The Pirates are on a seven-game losing streak and have been shut out twice in their past three games.
The Yankees without Aaron Judge just don’t have quite the same bite. They are 4-8 since Judge hit the IL and have lost four straight, averaging fewer than three runs per game. George Kirby has been hit hard over the last month but he’s proven against the Yankees, holding them scoreless in an eight-inning three hitter on May 31.
Aaron Civale (vs OAK), Jordan Montgomery (@WSH), and Bailey Ober (vs BOS) also are solid options on a tight budget.
Hitting
Oakland’s Luis Medina has a 7.55 ERA this season. Andrés Giménez has perked up at the plate and, thankfully, his early season slump is keeping his price deflated. He’s on a four-game hitting streak with five RBI, three runs, a homer, and a triple. José Ramírez doesn’t come as cheap, but he has a .973 OPS this month and 13 RBI in his past 10 games.
There’s nothing particularly horrible about the way MacKenzie Gore has pitched this season, but it always feels like he’s living on the edge. He has a 3.86 BB/9 and gives up a heavy dose of hard contact. It’s a recipe for disaster and the Cardinals could take advantage.
Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .342 since June 10 and has two home runs in the past three games. Nolan Arenado is right there with him, hitting .317/.368/.683 in June and fresh off a two homer game. With a lefthander on the mound, Tommy Edman will leadoff. He’s slashing .303/.352/.530 against southpaws.
The Reds vs. Rockies matchup is sure to have some fireworks. Cincinnati’s Ben Lively has given up 20 hits in his past two starts. Ryan McMahon was hitting .212 back on May 24, and less than four weeks later is up to .277. He’s on an 11-game hitting streak. Nolan Jones is having a scorching rookie year and is hitting .985 this season against righties.
Noah Davis is making the start for Colorado, coming up from Triple-A Albuquerque where he had a 6.31 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in seven starts. I can’t imagine things going much better in the majors. Jake Fraley was on fire before hitting the IL earlier this month. After the minimum stay, he returned Sunday with two hits, a home run, and three RBI. He’s back to stealing bases, too, adding one of those Monday.
Jonathan India has hit four of his 10 home runs since June 11. Elly De La Cruz is hitting cleanup and is up to .271 this season, including five hits in the past three.
Ryne Nelson has struggled to pitch out of the fifth inning this season — a feat he’s accomplished just three times since late April. Christian Yelich is playing some of his best baseball in many years right now and has a 1.004 OPS in June. Rowdy Tellez has been putting the ball in play plenty lately with little to show for it. With a righty on the mound, his luck has a chance to turn.
Seth Lugo has not pitched since May 18 and he’s getting the ball tonight without even a minor-league rehab assignment to sharpen his skills. And those skills weren’t very sharp earlier this season anyway.
LaMonte Wade Jr. has been the Giants’ best hitter the past few weeks, hitting .308/.438/.519 in June. Thairo Estrada has arguably been the Giants’ best hitter overall and has still found ways to contribute while going 0-for-8 in the past two games. He was 11-for-40 in the nine games before that, so he’s not exactly slumping. Mike Yastrzemski had a huge game Monday with three hits, two homers, four RBI, and three runs.
Anthony DeSclafani takes the bump for San Francisco. He has a 7.13 ERA and 1.63 WHIP over the past month. Padres hitters are running hot right now, so they should be able to take advantage. We can take advantage too. Get Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Juan Soto (two home runs last night) if you can afford them.
Justin Turner got the night off yesterday for Boston. Hopefully that keeps him fresh instead of ruining his current streak. Through 16 games this month, Turner is hitting .318 with four homers, 16 RBI, and 11 runs.
Christian Walker has multiple hits in four-straight games, including three doubles and two home runs.
Also, it would be tough not to find a place for Shohei Ohtani on your team at this point. Yes, he’s facing Kershaw, which is a tough assignment. Yes, his price is through the roof. But he also riding a 15-game hitting streak with nine home runs, 20 RBI, 16 runs, and three stolen bases.