DFS

Mondays are typically light in the terms of number of games and today is no exception. Texas looks to be the only game with major weather issues.

Top-Tier Arms

Carlos Carrasco, Athletics at Indians ($10,500 FD, N/A DK): The most talented arm on the slate, Carrasco is always capable of pitching a terrific game, no matter who the opponent is or where he is pitching. He has not allowed a run in his past 12 innings pitched. In his last start, he went seven innings while giving up only six hits and struck out six batters. Look at that stat line as the floor in this matchup with the A’s, who are coming off a wet weekend series in Detroit. He is likely a GPP-only option mainly due to his price. Also note, this is a strange 6:10pm start time in Cleveland that is not on any DK slate.

Patrick Corbin, Nationals at Mets ($10,800 FD, $10,900 DK): This is Corbin’s second straight start (and fourth appearance overall) against the pathetic Mets, who were just swept over the weekend in Miami. He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA with a 24:4 K to BB ratio against them so far this year. And he gets a positive park upgrade in Citi Field, which always ranks as one of the best parks for pitchers year after year. As mentioned before, I like to pick on weak teams that are ice-cold in parks that favor pitchers. You can’t ask for a better matchup looking at it that way. He is a cash option across the board for me.

Middle-Tier Arms

Mike Minor, Mariners at Rangers ($8,800 FD, $9,700 DK): The Mariners are not in a good place after losing three out of four games in a weekend series against the Twins. Minor’s last start against the Mariners was likely his best outing of his career, when he held them to one run over seven innings and struck out 13 batters. That was in Seattle, a park that strongly favors pitching and this one is in Texas, which strongly favors bats. Due to his price and this fact, he is GPP-only for me tonight and likely only on FD. Oh, and the weather could cause him to be risky as well.

Brad Peacock, White Sox at Astros ($7,800 FD, $8,900 DK): Peacock is 2-0 with 15 strikeouts, only five walks and a 0.75 ERA over his last two starts. He seems to have turned the corner from a very inconsistent start to the year. We have seen the upside his possesses, with a 12 strikeout game on May 8th against the Royals a perfect example of that upside. He is cash game worthy on both sites.

Bargain Basement Arm

Jake Arrieta, Phillies at Cubs ($7,400 FD, $7,800 DK): Do you believe in narratives? This will be Jake the Snake’s first appearance at Wrigley Field since signing with the Phillies during the spring training of 2018. A strange fact in the veteran Arrieta’s career is the Cubs are the only team that he has never faced. The Cubs played a night game in Washington, D.C. yesterday and will have to travel back home to get ready to face their former teammate and ace pitcher. He is GPP only but one that could pay huge dividends.

Mondays are typically light in the terms of number of games and today is no exception. Texas looks to be the only game with major weather issues.

Top-Tier Arms

Carlos Carrasco, Athletics at Indians ($10,500 FD, N/A DK): The most talented arm on the slate, Carrasco is always capable of pitching a terrific game, no matter who the opponent is or where he is pitching. He has not allowed a run in his past 12 innings pitched. In his last start, he went seven innings while giving up only six hits and struck out six batters. Look at that stat line as the floor in this matchup with the A’s, who are coming off a wet weekend series in Detroit. He is likely a GPP-only option mainly due to his price. Also note, this is a strange 6:10pm start time in Cleveland that is not on any DK slate.

Patrick Corbin, Nationals at Mets ($10,800 FD, $10,900 DK): This is Corbin’s second straight start (and fourth appearance overall) against the pathetic Mets, who were just swept over the weekend in Miami. He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA with a 24:4 K to BB ratio against them so far this year. And he gets a positive park upgrade in Citi Field, which always ranks as one of the best parks for pitchers year after year. As mentioned before, I like to pick on weak teams that are ice-cold in parks that favor pitchers. You can’t ask for a better matchup looking at it that way. He is a cash option across the board for me.

Middle-Tier Arms

Mike Minor, Mariners at Rangers ($8,800 FD, $9,700 DK): The Mariners are not in a good place after losing three out of four games in a weekend series against the Twins. Minor’s last start against the Mariners was likely his best outing of his career, when he held them to one run over seven innings and struck out 13 batters. That was in Seattle, a park that strongly favors pitching and this one is in Texas, which strongly favors bats. Due to his price and this fact, he is GPP-only for me tonight and likely only on FD. Oh, and the weather could cause him to be risky as well.

Brad Peacock, White Sox at Astros ($7,800 FD, $8,900 DK): Peacock is 2-0 with 15 strikeouts, only five walks and a 0.75 ERA over his last two starts. He seems to have turned the corner from a very inconsistent start to the year. We have seen the upside his possesses, with a 12 strikeout game on May 8th against the Royals a perfect example of that upside. He is cash game worthy on both sites.

Bargain Basement Arm

Jake Arrieta, Phillies at Cubs ($7,400 FD, $7,800 DK): Do you believe in narratives? This will be Jake the Snake’s first appearance at Wrigley Field since signing with the Phillies during the spring training of 2018. A strange fact in the veteran Arrieta’s career is the Cubs are the only team that he has never faced. The Cubs played a night game in Washington, D.C. yesterday and will have to travel back home to get ready to face their former teammate and ace pitcher. He is GPP only but one that could pay huge dividends.

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.

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.

Yankees: Too bad this game is not on the main slate because of the early start. I love picking on the worst bullpen in baseball that is found in Baltimore, and it isn’t like Andrew Cashner is Cy Young. Look for at least two home runs hit by the Bronx Bombers.

Red Sox: Kyle Freeland is a good pitcher in Coors. He is not so good away from Denver. Strange, I know! The Red Sox are hitting the cover off the ball and are the hottest offense (and team in baseball). A few balls are bound to be hit off or over the Green Monster.

Athletics: Mike Leake is not a good pitcher. Even though this game is played in a great pitching park in Seattle, it is likely that Oakland is able to score runs here, especially if they get to the third worst bullpen (in terms of ERA) in the league.

Brewers: GPP stack here. Citizen’s Bank in Philadelphia is a great hitter’s park. Even though Milwaukee is not nearly as good of a hitting team on the road, they have a decent shot at scoring a bunch of runs in this spot.

Diamondbacks: Joe Musgrove has really struggled his last few starts. If that trend continues, the Snakes could get into the 21st ranked bullpen (4.56 ERA) early and pile up a bunch of runs.

Twins: Even though they will likely be without one of their biggest bats in Nelson Cruz, they are still in a terrific position here against Felix Pena and a potential bullpen game. The Twins can really hit at home and guess where they are at? Yup the Great White North.

Astros: This is likely the highest owned stack on the slate. And with good reasons, the Astros are hot and they are hitting long balls. Last night they got to much-improved Matthew Boyd for a couple, look for that to continue against Ryan Carpenter.