Greetings Gamers! Happy Friday as we are on the cusp of a holiday weekend along with lots and lots of baseball!
We’ve got loads of FREE content on the site today, including a one-time only chance to check out Awesemo’s projections. As well, Josh Engleman has you covered with his favorite Spotlight Pitchers.
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For a FREE Yahoo! MLB Strategy article for Friday’s action click here
Main Slate
Miami Marlins at RHP Kyle McGowin – 4.2 implied runs
No, this is not a typo, we are going to be looking at Miami on Friday as they present solid savings across the various DFS sites and they are away from Marlins Park which is a boost for their offense and they are going against RHP Kyle McGowin who is on his way to becoming a modern day pitching version of Crash Davis with this being the seventh season down in the farm system. This will be the second appearance this season for the 27 year old which gives him a grand total of six spanning 10.2 innings with a 5.91 ERA, 1.406 WHIP, 11 strikeouts and two home runs allowed across those frames.
On ESPN Sunday Night Baseball he got the call from the ‘pen and tossed 3.0 innings with three strikeouts, two earned runs and one walk over 44 pitches. Prior to that he had been fully stretched out with three starts between 95-100 pitches at the beginning of the month for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies in the Pacific Coast League.
At best, he is a fifth starter or a long reliever as he does not use his fastball much (92mph) relying more on his sinker and slider.
While the Marlins are essentially the laughing stock of the league, they are on a six game winning streak heading into Friday’s tilt with the Nationals and have that free and easy look of a team that knows is it punching well above it’s weight class but is enjoying the run. Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker, Brian Anderson and Garrett Cooper are the “better” hitters in this lineup and all available at below average prices on the respective DFS sites. Utilizing some of these guys and even the ghost of Starlin Castro will be the key that opens the lock to the Coors Field treasure chest.
Evening Slate
Kansas City Royals vs RHP Chad Green/Nestor Cortes Jr/Luis Cessa – 4.7 implied runs
The Yankees will be using RHP Chad Green as an opener again much like they did on Sunday and he will likely only go for one inning and maybe 1-2 outs in the next depending on how efficient he is (he also worked out of the pen on Wednesday for 18 pitches). In a corresponding move, New York recalled RHP Nester Cortes Jr. who made a 76 pitch appearance behind Green on Sunday allowing three runs, five baserunners and a home run with six strikeouts. He has not made an appearance since pitching for the big club last Sunday. Though he has been stretched out as a starter at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre he has spend about half of his time on the farm as a reliever.
For this series, keep in mind that the Yankees backstops are HORRIBLE against baserunners with Gary Sanchez allowing 13 of 16 successful attempts in 26 starts, Austin Romine 11 of 14 in 18 starts and Kyle Higashioka 10 of 13 in four starts.
Kansas City leads the league with 48 steals on 68 attempts (White Sox and Rangers 35 of 46 and Cleveland 33 of 46) with Adelberto Mondesi #1 17, Billy Hamilton #6 9, Whit Merrifield #10 8 and recent callup Nicky Lopez averaged just over 20 steals each of his first three seasons and had nine at AAA this year before being called up, though we are still waiting for his first swipe in The Show.
The Royals hitters have also been above average this season and from that angle we will again want to consider Mondesi and Merrifield along with Hunter Dozier, Alex Gordon, Jorge Soler and if you are feeling frisky, the slumping Ryan O’Hearn does have light tower power – when he can get contact.
Late Slate
Oakland Athletics vs LHP Wade LeBlanc – 5.5 implied runs
With Khris Davis ailing but not yet headed to the injured list (27 at bats since May 5th, sitting out five games and making pinch hit appearances in five more and starting in six, he may get one more day off. If he is out, The Masses will likely be less inclined to roll with the Athletics. Of course with LHP Wade LeBlanc allowing four roundtrippers in his last start, gamers should be on the scent.
Stephen Piscotty, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson (yes, even in the lefty/lefty matchup and recovering from the broken hamate bone from earlier this season) should be the main focus and naturally if Khris Davis is in Oakland’s lineup, we want him in ours. Also, Chad Pinder (pinch hit risk), Jurickson Profar (this is a perfect matchup for him) and even Josh Phegley can be considered as differentiation plays, particularly on the late slate.
Josh Engelman’s Spotlight Pitcher Article is free and available here
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions.
Good Luck Gamers! ~ EMac
Don’t forget to check out our Awesemo YouTube Channel featuring loads of free MLB DFS content, as well as Josh Engleman’s Spotlight Pitchers article.
