This is a weird Saturday slate with far more afternoon games than normal. Kansas City looks to be a game with only a minor threat of rain but it does not look like a huge problem. STL could be a bigger problem. Jose Berrios can help alleviate any DFS problems.
Upper-Tier Arm
Jose Berrios, Twins at Royals ($10,300 FD, $11,000 DK): There is not a ton of elite arms on this slate but one of the best of them is Berrios. He will have a tough act to follow after an incredible start against the Red Sox on Monday. In that start, he allowed only one run while retiring 19 straight batters at one point. The Minnesota right-hander struck out 10 without issuing a walk in a season-high eight strong innings.
He gets the Royals, who are without one of their best bats in Adalberto Mondesi (though they did get back Hunter Dozier). Berrios gets the benefit of a major park upgrade, going from Target Field to Kauffman Stadium. Considering how well Berrios is pitching and the Royals lack of pop, the Minnesota hurler is a great choice to be your cash pitcher.
Middle-Tier Arms
Mike Fiers, Rays at Athletics ($8,100 FD, $9,300 DK): A few years ago, Fiers was touted as an up-and-coming fireballing righty. Then with the Brewers, some baseball people believe his career turned for the worse when he broke Giancarlo (then known as Mike) Stanton’s cheek in a gruesome hit-by-pitch injury. The past few years, Fiers has been a guy the DFS industry would turn to to stack against due to his tendency to give up the long balls.
However, few pitchers have been as good as Fiers over the past two months. He owns a 2.70 ERA since April 26, good for seventh-lowest among AL pitchers. In his last start, Fiers held the Rays to two runs over six innings on June 11 in Tampa Bay. He now gets to repeat that strong start in Oakland. Though it would be tempting to say that he is cash-game worthy, I do not think he is there yet (at least in my eyes).
Lance Lynn, White Sox at Rangers ($9,500 FD, $10,100 DK): This pick is not for the faint of heart, so lets call this a GPP-only choice. One of the reasons why this pick comes with danger is that Globe Life Park, and the surrounding area, has warmed up temperature-wise. Even though this is a night game, it is still going to be hot, near 90 to start the game. And the wind shields installed at the park in 2015 that prevent this park from being a little different than Coors Field, are missing and thus the ball is carrying even better than normal.
However, Lynn is in the middle of a career resurgence. He is 4-2 with a 2.92 ERA over his last eight starts, averaging a terrific 11.35 strikeouts per nine innings while only walking 1.38 batters per nine innings. His eight straight quality starts in that stretch is the longest by a Rangers pitcher since Yu Darvish in 2016.
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Bargain Basement Arm
Elieser Hernandez, Marlins at Phillies ($7,000 FD, $6,500 DK): Hernandez finally gets to pitch against someone other than the Cardinals. Hernandez makes his third career start and his second road appearance. The 24-year-old lost both of his two MLB starts against St. Louis, but he he pitched well in both appearances. Hitters are 1-for-13 (.077) vs. his slider, and .188 off his changeup and WHIP is 1.17. So, he has deserved better than starting his career off 0-2.
Monkey Knife Fight Picks of the Day
Jose Berrios Over 6.5 Strikeouts/Danny Duffy Under 5.5 Strikeouts
Look for the deep, right-handed heavy Twins lineup to get to Duffy early and cause him to have a short outing. Berrios will likely continue his recent success against a predominantly right-handed Royals lineup. Over the last two weeks, Kansas City struck out the 13th most frequently at 23.1% while the Twins were 21st at 20.1%.
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