DFS Pitching and Monkey Knife Fight Picks 5/19

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Sunday is my favorite slate of the week. All games generally start at two time groupings and you can see how you did before you go to bed. As of right now, it does not seem like we will have huge weather problems, so that is a plus.

Top-Tier Arms

Chris Sale, Astros at Red Sox ($11,600 FD, $11,200 DK): Chris Sale is back. After a philosophical decision to save him more for a deep postseason run and a nagging injury that he is now over, Sale is back to being the most dominant pitcher in the game. Yes, the Astros can hit a ton, and clobber lefties, and are red-hot, but it doesn’t matter when Sale is on his game. Plug him in and try to find cheap bats. He is good for 60 FD points. He is a cash play on both sites.

Noah Syndergaard, Mets at Marlins ($10,400 FD, $10,400 DK): We all know the Marlins can’t hit (except against Jacob deGrom). And they play in one of the worst hitting parks in all of baseball. So plug in a very good player who seems to getting his act together and roll with it. Count on at least seven Ks and only a couple of earned runs given up at the most. He is GPP-only for me as I want Sale in all of my cash lineups.

Middle-Tier Arms

Charlie Morton, Rays at Yankees ($9,700 FD, $10,100 DK): Morton has been excellent this year, and consistent too. The Yankee bats are scuffling right now, really starting to miss all the big hitters out of their lineup. Morton has only given up two HRs on the seeason and his given up 14 less hits than innings pitched. He has walked a few too many, with 21 in 50.1 innings, but in his last start he did not walk a batter against Miami. With 61 punchouts over those 50-plus innings, he is piling up the K points on FD too. Much like Thor, I can’t fully recommend a cash play here, but I am not opposed to it either.

Brandon Woodruff, Brewers at Braves ($8,600 FD, $8,300 DK): This guy is a developing ace. Coming off a very good start against a deep lineup in a good hitting park (Philadelphia), he looks to repeat that in Atlanta. Much like Sale, he is pitching so good that it may not matter the price nor the opponent with Woodruff. Over his last four starts, he has given up one run in three of them (in the other he did not allow any), pitched at least five innings (but never going more than six) and striking out 27 batters in 22 innings. Again, I am hesitant to take the savings and fade Sale on FD, but Woodruff could make an excellent duo with Sale on DK.

Bargain Basement:

Reynaldo Lopez, Blue Jays at White Sox ($8,100 FD, $6,900 DK): The Jays bats broke out in a big way Friday night but returned to their slumber yesterday in a game interrupted by rain. It seems to me Lopez will keep the Toronto bats quiet again. His last few starts have been quietly spectacular. Out of his last six starts, five of them have been very good, with at least six Ks in all but one (with a high-water mark of 14), three walks at the maximum. Five innings pitched has been the minimum in only one contest (all the other were exactly six and one with seven innings) and he has a record of 3-2.

Monkey Knife Fight Pick: Ryu Over 5.5 Strikeouts: Wow this seems too easy. In his last five starts, he has gotten six or more strikeouts. The Reds strike out a lot. Sign me up.