Cubs (Drew Smyly, LHP) @ Pirates (Osvaldo Bido, RHP)
Rockies (Austin Gomber, (LHP) @ Reds (Brandon Williamson, LHP)
Red Sox (James Paxton, LHP) @ Twins (Pablo Lopez, RHP)
Rangers (Andrew Heaney, LHP) @ White Sox (TBD)
Mets (Max Scherzer, RHP) @ Astros (Hunter Brown, RHP)
D-backs (Merrill Kelly, RHP) @ Brewers (Corbin Burnes, RHP)
Padres (Michael Wacha, RHP) @ Giants (Ryan Walker*, RHP)

Good morning! I hope you all had great weekends. I was fortunate enough to take down the third and final slate of the day Saturday. In my post for that slate, I talked about Bobby Miller having a tough matchup, and wanting to be overweight on the D-backs vs the field. I won’t always have the answers, but it was cool to have happen how it did. I will almost always have some percentage of my portfolio dedicated to the Giants when facing a righty, but the stance on the D-backs only paid off late in the game thanks to the solo Lourdes Gurriel home run. It was a fun sweat, and a nice opportunity for me to pat my own back. I really don’t like to tout my W’s on twitter, it feels uncomfortable and braggy in a space where cold streaks can have real effects on ones mental health. But, seeing as I am an aspiring living-maker in this space, I have to market myself when the opportunities present themselves. Here’s to more posts and more W’s from all of us in this space.

Pitching Preferences
James Paxton
Corbin Burnes
Merrill Kelly
Hunter Brown
Max Scherzer
Michael Wacha
Pablo Lopez
Drew Smyly
Andrew Heaney
Osvaldo Bido
Austin Gomber
Brandon Williamson

We’ve got some olds and we’ve got some youths on today’s slate! Wacha, Paxton, and Scherzer are all solid options today. Scherzer in particular I think could really benefit from some recency bias by the field. It’s not sexy on paper, but the Astros without Yordan just do not scare me enough to fade their opposing pitcher, even if it’s an up and down Max Scherzer.

Hunter Brown has been excellent this year. He faces the Mets today, who have gotten back Pete Alonso ahead of schedule. Brown is not being drafted like someone who can have the top score on the slate today, which I think is in his range of outcomes. It’s scary with a healthy Mets lineup, but I’m going to lean in to Hunter Brown’s discount today.

Favorite Teams
Reds (Austin Gomber, LHP)
Rangers (@ White Sox, TBD)
Padres (@ Giants, bullpen game)
Rockies (Brandon Williamson, LHP)
Pirates (Drew Smyly, LHP)
White Sox (Andrew Heaney, LHP)
Cubs (Osvaldo Bido, RHP)
Red Sox (Pablo Lopez, RHP)
Mets (Hunter Brown, RHP)
Astros (Max Scherzer, RHP)
Giants (Michael Wacha, RHP)

EDIT: There are legitimate weather concerns for Rockies @ Reds

I have to talk about the Pirates, I’m sorry. They face Drew Smyly, who has gotten great results this season, but does appear to be outperforming some of his expected stats. I will always play the Pirates against a LHP, and this is my blog based on my own leans so I’m here to tell you I am playing the Pirates today. Henry Davis has finally gotten the call up, but isn’t available in the player pool today. He brings legitimate 20 HR power as a right handed hitter, further bolstering the Pirates lineup against all arms, but especially lefties. I can see him batting lead off or cleanup today. I’ll want players around him today against Smyly at home. This is a personal stance and you can mirror me if you’d like. McCutchen, Rodolfo Castro, Connor Joe, Bryan Reynolds and Hayes will be on a handful of my teams.

On the whole, there are actually not many “smash” spots today, which to me indicates a good slate to fade whichever team is the most expensive on the slate. I’m curious to see who the White Sox start today, as the Rangers offense has been muted as of late, but I don’t expect that to last forever. I’ll continue to stack their 1 through 9 hitters in various combinations in my portfolio until they hit big. Leody Taveras and Ezequiel Duran are some of the most underrated players in baseball right now, and they go overlooked on every slate. I love finding ways to mix them in as one offs or used to make my Rangers onslaughts unique.

I love the Giants. My last two 1st place finishes had LaMonte Wade Jr. in the lineup. I don’t love them today against Michael Wacha. I will have some builds with lefty sticks from San Francisco included, but they will not be a priority target of mine today. Wacha is filthy, lol. His resurgence dating back to last season is remarkable.

Best of luck today! I appreciate you for giving this a read. If you have any suggestions on how this can be improved or anything you’d like for me to incorporate in the future please let me know. I understand the hubris that something like this gives off, to simply write out my favorite plays with little to no data to go alongside these. I try not to get too inundated with projections and numbers, and instead rely on my understanding of matchups and finding ways to leverage exposures against the field where there are blind spots. I play MLB dailies every day, and I don’t win every day. It’s a grind, but it can be rewarding. Best of luck if you’re playing today, and if you’re not but you are still here, thank you.

Nez