Mark Paquette 
It’s a decent sized schedule for a Thursday with 11 games scheduled. Games in BAL, NYY and BOS have some risk of rain but do not look like PPD threats.
Upper-Tier Arms
Jacob deGrom, Cardinals at Mets ($10,200 FD, $10,400 DK): The Cardinals can be beaten by righties and there are not many better righties in the game than the reigning NL Cy Young award winner. Though the Cardinals do not strike out too much against righties (21st in the league at 22.5%) they do not have much pop either (ISO is 26th at .157). While the perception lingers that deGrom is hurt or is just in the middle of a bad year, we are seeing signs that he might be rediscovering his Cy Young form as he has been very good lately. A 2.72 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning in his last eight starts backs the theory that he is rounding into 2018 form. In his career, deGrom is 4-2 with a 4.21 ERA against the Cardinals. He is a GPP-only option for me since we have better price options below.
Clayton Kershaw, Cubs at Dodgers ($10,400 FD, $10,100 DK): A theory of mine is that bats of a team leaving Coors have a “hangover” affect. The ball simply does not move the same at Coors than it does in other locations. Well, we get the Cubbies in this spot facing one of the best lefties in the game. For the season, the Cubs strike out the 12th most frequently against lefties at 24.9% and they walk the most frequently at 11.2%. Luckily, Kershaw is one of the stingiest pitchers in the game when it comes to issuing free passes, with only one walk allowed every 6.2 innings pitched. Kershaw has been very effective as of late, even if he is coming off a tough luck loss the arch-rival Giants. The middle-tier arm will likely be my cash option so I will save Kershaw for GPPs.
Matthew Boyd, Tigers at Royals ($10,500 FD, $10,700 DK): The Royals are just not hitting the ball well right now. Over the last seven days, they are striking out the second most frequently at 28.2%, their ISO is 25th at .126, their wOBA is 27th at .265. and their hard hit rate is an ugly 32.1%, good for 28th. Boyd starred in nearby Omaha for Oregon State in the College World Series in 2013, tossing a four-hit, 11-strikeout shutout of Indiana in a 1-0 win. He has had success against this Kansas City team this season, striking out nine Royals over seven innings of two-run ball in a May 3 victory. He is a possible cash game option but I like the guy below better.
Middle Tier Arm
Julio Teheran, Pirates at Braves ($8,600 FD, $10,800 DK): Not only has Teheran been tremendously effective over the last month plus, he gets to pitch at home where is much more effective (3.65 road ERA compared to 1.93 ERA home ERA). Since May 5, he has the second-lowest ERA in all of baseball at 0.70. During that span, Teheran has given up one earned run or fewer in each of seven starts. If I want to spend up for bats, he is likely my primary cash game pitcher but obviously only on FD.
See what our projection tools are saying about these arms here.
Bargain Basement Arm
Gabriel Ynoa, Blue Jays at Orioles ($5,600 FD, $5,400 DK): Ynoa has gone from a long reliever/spot starter to a member of the Orioles rotation, starting the last three turns in place of Dan Straily. Ynoa went six innings is his last start in an extra-innings loss to Houston. The six innings was his longest outing since 2017. Over the last seven days, the Blue Jays strike out the 12th most frequently in MLB, at 24.4%. GPP-only because we do not fully know whqat to expect.
