Mark Paquette 
Saturdays are always a fun slate for me. I like playing the all-game slate and treat it like a Sunday. Though there are a few trouble spots (CLE, PIT and STL); no games look like PPD threats. It will be nice and warm in places like WSH, NYM, PIT, STL and KC.
Top-Tier Arms
Carlos Carrasco, Rays at Indians ($10,400 FD, $10,400 DK): Carrasco only lasted 100 pitches and five innings in his last start against against Oakland in Cleveland. He looks to get back on track against a Rays team that is striking out 24.3% of the time over the last seven days and overall against right-handers they are at 22.1%. The Biebs pitched well against them last night, so there is no reason to think that a guy that is considered the Indians ace shouldn’t do as well. He is a GPP only play given his upside
Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers at Pirates ($11,000 FD, $11,200 DK): Ryu is in the middle of a Cy Young caliber year. He has been especially spectacular over his last five starts, going at least seven innings in each start, giving up more than five hits only once. Three times he has given up zero runs, one time one run and one time two runs. In 39 innings over those five starts, he has walked only two batters and struck out 36. The Pirates best hitter, Josh Bell, isn’t struggling against lefties (he has an OPS of .858 against them) but it pales in comparison to the scorching 1.227 he has against righties. Combined, the rest of the Pirates as a team strike out 26.2% of the time against lefties, good for 10th most in the league. He is my #1 cash option on this slate.
Middle-Tier Arms
Mike Minor, Rangers at Angels ($9,200 FD, $10,400 DK): Minor beat this same team 5-0 at April 16th for a three-hitter for his first career shutout. Since joining the Rangers, he is 3-0 against Mike Trout’s team. He has a 3.30 ERA on the road in 2019. The Angels do not have much pop against lefties, with a 26th ranked OPS at .653. He is Cash option #2 for me.
Yu Darvish, Reds at Cubs ($8,900 FD, $9,300 DK): Darvish is on a strikeout run. In his last three starts spanning 15.1 innings, he has struck out 25 batters. I like the Cubs chances of getting a W here against a bad Reds team after a tough loss yesterday afternoon. Over the last seven games, the Reds have struck out a fourth highest 26.7% of the time. On the season, they are striking out a ninth higher 24.7% of the time against righties. Probably my third favorite cash arm but pay attention to what the wind is doing here.
Bargain Basement Arm
Sandy Alcantara, Marlins at Nationals ($6,500 FD, $6,900 DK): Coming off a shutout of the Mets on 89 pitches, he hopes to continue his success against another NL East opponent. He threw a whopping 51 sinkers against the Mets and hopefully the Nationals pound the ball into the ground if you plan to roster him as your GPP option.
Monkey Knife Fight Pick of the Day Hyun-Jin Ryu over 5.5 Strikeouts
No brainer for me. Ryu has struck out at least six batters in five of his last six starts. As mentioned above, the Pirates have struck out 26.2% of the time against lefties. Play MLB Prop Games now and get 100 percent Bonus!
