I am taking a few calculated risks with my pitcher recommendations for tonight’s big 14-game slate. On a night with many frontline aces including Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale and Madison Bumgarner, my “ace” is a pitcher who currently holds a 9.90 ERA through his first two starts. And my Darkhorse pick is a pitcher throwing against a team that won the World Series last year and has started off the season 7-2. Yes, tonight’s recommendations could blow up in my face but if I am right then you might be able to make some bank on tonight’s MLB slate.
Ace
Zack Greinke (FD-$10,400 / DK-$10,000)
Yes, Greinke has been hit hard in his first two games of the season but they were both against good hitting teams (Rockies and Cubs) and both at home in hitter-friendly Chase Field. Tonight is a different story as Greinke travels to pitcher-friendly Petco Park in San Diego to face a Padres team that has only scored four runs in seven games outside of Coors Field. Sure there are other top line Aces on the slate tonight but I will go with the “value” ace in Greinke so I can get some more expensive bats in my lineups.
Value
Carlos Martinez (FD-$9,000 / DK-$9,000)
Martinez broke out for the Cardinals last season and looks to build on that success this season. Tonight he will get to pitch at home as one of the biggest favorites of the night against the Reds. The Reds started out strong this season but were playing over their heads and came back to earth getting swept by the Cubs. Look for the Cardinals to give Martinez plenty of run support tonight and Martinez to put together a strong fantasy line while picking up the win.
Garrett Richards (FD-$8,700 / DK-$9,300)
Richards and the Angels travel to Minnesota tonight to face a Twins’ offense that has gotten off to a very slow start. The Twins have the 4th worst wOBA (.263) and have struck out at the highest rate (30.2%) against righties so far this season. While I do expect the Twins to start hitting better at some point, tonight will not be the night against Richards.
Darkhorse
Rich Hill (FD-$7,400 / DK-$7,300)
As I alluded to in the intro, I am going to roll the dice with Hill as my Darkhorse pitcher tonight against the Royals. I also considered Joe Ross for this spot but feel that Ross will be much higher owned and with just as much downside potential. Hill got roughed up a little bit in his first start of the season but bounced back in his second start against the Mariners recording 10 strikeouts and one run over six innings. As a small favorite in a game with a low total look to Hill as a sneaky contrarian, GPP-only play tonight.
Come back to DailyOverlay later today for the MLB Consensus list and some sample MLB lineups.
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