We have half the slate of games today with a split slate, and with another piss poor BvP outing Tuesday (take the lumps with the highs with BvP), there only will be half the picks. What is half when I come to the plate anyway, right?
We are going to have to get a little creative with the BvP picks tonight. For one, we need to end our slump. And two, there are very few players with eye-popping numbers.
Dustin Pedroia – 2B and Chris Young – OF – Red Sox – vs. Eric Surkamp
Pedroia BvP: 1-for-1
Young BvP: 0-for-1, 1 BB, 1 SB
Analysis: Yea, we are getting creative. A night after pummeling Manaea, the Red Sox face an even bigger lefty gas can in journeyman Eric Surkamp. When I say ugly, you say “how ugly is he?” Here’s how ugly…
| K/9 | GB/FB | HR/9 | BABIP | ERA | xFIP | SIERA |
| 4.19 | 0.67 | 1.4 | 0.306 | 5.59 | 6.73 | 6.39 |
Pedroia comes in with 11 hits in his past 10 games including a couple of 3-hit performances. Pedroia mashes at home and loves to use the Green Monster to his advantage. Young is a lefty platoon guy who had 3 hits last night. He comes in cheap for a guy who will come in likely underowned by many. I say take as many Red Sox as you can tonight. These are the only ones that qualify via BvP.
Josh Reddick – OF – A’s – vs. Rick Porcello
BvP: 3-for-8, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 4 BB
Analysis: “Ree-Dick,” as the DraftKings app calls him, is on fire! He has 15 hits in his last 7 games, including 5 multi-hit games! He’s up against his old team in a familiar ballpark with a +.400 batting average on the road. His price came down $500 on DraftKings for tonight’s contest.
Brandon Phillips – 2B – Reds – vs. Juan Nicasio
Phillips BvP: 5-for-11, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Analysis: Yesterday, I suggested Brandon Phillips against Juan Nicasio, who will take the mound today. You can read that analysis there, but I will stick with him today.
John Lackey – SP – Cubs – vs. San Diego Padres
PvB: 18-for-79, 5 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 28 Ks
Analysis: The last pick of the evening and it’s a pitcher for a change! Lackey will pitch the backend of a double-header, assuming the weather holds up. I love Hendricks in the early game and certainly love Lackey in the evening, especially since he will need a good outing to keep the bullpen off the field since they will likely have to use a few men in the later innings once Hendricks leaves the game. The Padres are one of the worst teams against RH pitching in or out of PETCO. I expect the consistent Lackey to be one of the top owned pitchers of the evening slate.
Lastly, the weather got me all out of wack last night and I swapped my lineup, but I did it in a hurry and at the last minute with the weather breathing down the neck of Cincinnati. What I coughed up was awful, so for once, I would like to not to switch anything tonight!
Narrative: Salty is a solid BvP option versus Max Scherzer who certainly has not been himself this season. After resting yesterday, I expect him back in the lineup. I snuck in 4 Red Sox against Surkamp and went back to Dietrich against Chase Anderson. Betts, Javier Baez and Jered Eickhoff are my other non-BvP plays. Baez is a punt against lefty Drew Pomeranz while Eickhoff has the lowly Braves to contend with.
