We’re finally back from the All-Star break with a full slate of games across the majors Friday. There are only two early start times, leaving us with 13 games to choose from in DFS.
Read MoreMLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/14/2019
After a quiet Monday, we have a busy Tuesday across the majors with 12 games making up the main evening slate in DFS.
Read MoreMLB Fantasy Baseball Schedule Analysis for Week 19
*Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*
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If you are playing in a head-to-head fantasy league, using starting pitchers that have two starts in a week can give you a significant edge over your opponent. Here are some starters who will each start two games in the week ahead that you should either target or avoid for your lineup.
Starters With Favorable Matchups
Robbie Ray, Arizona Diamondbacks: vs. TEX, vs. SF
Ray had a breakout campaign in 2017, but injuries have limited him to only 12 starts this year. His overall numbers aren’t great, either, with a 4.90 ERA and a 4.65 FIP. One of the main reasons for his decline is likely his a 1.42 WHIP after he recorded just a 1.15 WHIP last year. The good news is he’s still getting plenty of strikeouts with a 12.0 K/9. The Rangers are a deadly lineup at home, but their .680 OPS on the road is in the bottom third of baseball. They also won’t have the benefit of using the DH in Arizona. The Giants are in the bottom third of baseball in runs scored, leaving Ray with an excellent opportunity for two valuable outings.
Tyler Anderson, Colorado Rockies: at STL, at MIL
Anderson has quietly put up some nice numbers after recording a bloated 4.81 ERA last year. He enters Week 19 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP, although he has been a little lucky based on his 4.21 FIP. He’s allowed 1.3 HR/9, which isn’t all that bad considering he has to pitch his home games in Coors Field. He’ll avoid that issue with both of his starts coming on the road, where he has a 3.48 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP across 10 outings. Considering he has allowed just five runs (four earned) over 35.1 innings in his last five starts as well, he could be in store for a big week.
Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals: at CWS, at MIN
Duffy was crushed in his last start against the Tigers, allowing seven runs in 5.2 innings. It marked the eighth time he has allowed at least five runs in a game this season. He was excellent heading into that start, allowing one run over 20 innings in his previous three games. He’s actually allowed one earned run or fewer 11 times, taking owners on a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Run support might be hard to come by after the Royals traded away Mike Moustakas, but both the White Sox and the Twins are in the bottom-six of baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching. There’s some risk involved with starting Duffy, but he does carry upside for Week 19.
Anibal Sanchez, Atlanta Braves: vs. MIA, at NYM
Sanchez had been terrible for the Tigers the last two years, recording a combined 6.09 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. However, the move to the National League seems to have rejuvenated his career. In 14 appearances (13 starts), he has a 3.00 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. It’s hard to imagine those numbers holding up, though, since opponents have just a .249 BABIP against him. While his numbers might regress, it doesn’t mean that regression is going to start during Week 19. He’ll get two great matchups against the Marlins and Mets with both teams in the bottom five of the league in runs scored.
Starters to Avoid
David Price, Boston Red Sox: vs. PHI, vs. NYY
Price’s first matchup against the Phillies leans in his favor, but his second start against the Yankees could be a disaster. In his first two outings against them this season, he allowed 15 runs in 4.1 innings. This is nothing new for Price considering he has a 4.90 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP against the Yankees in his career. Since joining the Red Sox, he has allowed 44 runs over 47 innings against them. Although the Yankees are missing two key bats in Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, they still have plenty of hitters who can do damage. This might be the week to put Price on your bench.
Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians: at MIN, vs. LAA
After a dominant stretch in June, Bieber has a 7.84 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in the month of July. He allowed four home runs during that stretch and only had a 7.4 K/9, which is not exactly a recipe for success. The lack of strikeouts isn’t all that surprising, either, since he posted an 8.4 K/9 during his career in the minors. The Twins only have a .671 OPS against left-handed pitchers, but they have a .735 OPS against righties. The Angels are also much better versus right-handed pitchers, posting the third-highest OPS (.775) against them in the league.
Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers: at LAD, vs. COL
Peralta has electric stuff, resulting in an 11.8 K/9 during his first taste of major league action. He’s been wild, though, with a 4.6 BB/9. After not allowing a single run in three of his first four starts, he’s allowed at least three runs in three of his last four outings. The Nationals hung a crooked number on him Wednesday, scoring seven runs across six innings. Although his strikeout upside makes him intriguing, this might not be the week to take a chance on him. The Dodgers have the second-highest OPS against right-handed pitchers (.777) in baseball. He’ll avoid Coors Field in his second start, but the Rockies still have several potent bats who can cause problems.
MLB Fantasy Baseball Schedule Analysis for Week 7
*Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*
MLB Fantasy Baseball Schedule Analysis for Week 7
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Injuries to starting pitchers are starting to pile up around baseball, the latest of which saw both Jacob deGrom (elbow) and Clayton Kershaw (biceps) land on the DL. Your starting fantasy staff might not be as strong as a result. If you are playing in a head-to-head fantasy league, using starting pitchers that have two starts in a week can give you a significant edge over your opponent. Here are some starters who will each start two games in the week ahead that you should either target or avoid for your lineup.
Starters With Favorable Matchups
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies: vs. SF, vs. NYM
Nola has followed up his breakout campaign last year with a 2.17 ERA, 2.98 FIP, and 0.92 WHIP through seven starts. His K/9 is only 6.9, but expect that to increase sooner rather than later since he has finished with a K/9 of at least 9.8 in back-to-back seasons. He has been a bit lucky with opponents posting a .236 BABIP, but he has thrown a first-pitch strike to 65.7% of the batters that he has faced and has a 33.2% O-swing % (the percentage of pitches a batter swings at outside the strike zone), both of which would be career highs. The Giants and Mets are both in the bottom 10 in the league in runs scored, leaving Nola with the potential for a great week.
Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs: vs. MIA, vs. CWS
Hendricks has a 3.19 ERA and 1.09 WHIP this season, but a deeper diver indicates he has not pitched that well. His FIP sits at 5.31 and opponents have just a .223 BABIP. He’s been victimized by the long ball as well, allowing eight home runs in 36.2 innings. He only has a 0.9 HR/9 for his career, so expect some improvement from him in that area as the season wears on. He has already faced the Marlins once this season, allowing one earned run to go along with five strikeouts in six innings. The Marlins have also hit the fewest home runs (24) in baseball, which should help Hendricks with his homer problems. He also has the benefit of facing the White Sox at home, so he won’t have to face the designated hitter. Although he’s not a big strikeout pitcher, look for a valuable week from Hendricks.
Dylan Bundy, Baltimore Orioles: vs. KC, vs. TB
Bundy has been unlucky this season, allowing a .345 BABIP to opposing hitters. It’s resulted to a 1.35 WHIP, but his 10.6 K/9 has helped offset the issue and result in a 3.76 ERA and 3.67 FIP. His increased K/9 can be attributed to his career-high marks in both O-swing % (38.2%) and swinging strike percentage (15.6%). He’s been roughed up in his last two outings, but that’s mainly because he allowed five home runs after giving up just one long ball in his first five starts combined. The Royals and Rays are both in the bottom 10 in the league in OPS against right-handed pitching this season, so look for Bundy to rebound in Week 7.
Sean Newcomb, Atlanta Braves: at TB, at MIA
Newcomb was lined up to start twice last week, but the Braves altered their rotation by calling up promising rookie Mike Soroka. Newcomb now gets his two starts in Week 7 and will look to continue his excellent start to the season. He had control issues last year with a 5.1 BB/9, but he’s cut that down to 3.9 this season, some of which can be attributed to him throwing a first-pitch strike to 64.8% of the batters that he has faced. He also provides excellent strikeout upside with a 10.9 K/9. Newcomb has been a better pitcher on the road during his Major League career, posting a 3.23 ERA compared to a 4.79 ERA at home. Amazingly, he’s still available in 51% of Yahoo! leagues, so he would make an excellent pickup this week if you can grab him.
Starters to Avoid
Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals: at BAL, at CLE
Duffy is not off to a great start with a 5.63 ERA and 5.61 FIP through seven outings. He’s had a problem keeping runners off base with a 1.49 WHIP, but his opponents .292 BABIP is not high by any means. He is giving up a lot of solid contact with a 41% hard-hit rate that is almost 10 percentage points higher than his career mark. His BB/9 and HR/9 are both up as well, which is not a recipe for success. The Orioles only have a .629 OPS this season against right-handed pitchers but have hit lefties much better with a .720 OPS. The Indians are also in the top 10 in baseball in terms of runs scored overall, meaning this might be the week to put Duffy on your bench.
Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays: vs. SEA, vs. BOS
Stroman couldn’t be off to a much worse start, recording a 7.52 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. His opponents .330 BABIP isn’t a lot higher than his .307 career BABIP allowed and he’s had significant control issues with a 4.5 BB/9. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, so he can’t afford to continue throwing a first-pitch strike to just 56.7% of the batters that he has faced this season. The Mariners and Red Sox are both in the top eight in the league in OPS against righties, so this could be a rough week for Stroman.
Jose Urena, Miami Marlins: at CHC, vs. ATL
Urena isn’t having a terrible season despite his 0-5 record, posting a 4.28 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. He doesn’t have much strikeout upside with just a 7.2 K/9 and his 43.1% hard-hit rate allowed is concerning as well. This week brings two very tough matchups, the first of which comes against a Cubs squad that scored five runs in four innings against him on opening day. He then has to face a Braves team that has scored the third-most runs in baseball, so this could be a bad week to take a chance on him in your lineup.