On the early slate, Gerrit Cole seems like the obviouschoice at $11,400 on DraftKings against Cincinnati. The Reds are middle of theroad in MLB in home strikeouts. Cole has 60 strikeouts in 40.1 road innings. Heis the apparent cash game play even though you will have to work in somecheaper bats to fit him into your day or full slate lineups.
Blake Snell is your gusty GPP play at 9500 at the Yankees.It’s obviously a big risk, but Snell is capable of dominating any opponent whenhe has his best stuff, and he has allowed three earned runs or less in seven ofhis last eight starts. He is not afraid of the Bronx, as last month he held theYanks to one run in six innings while striking out nine in a no-decision atYankee Stadium.
Zach Eflin (9100) is cheaper than Cole and may be just a tadsafer than Snell. He has allowed three earn runs while striking out 15 in twostarts since coming off the IL. Washington is 18th in home batting,and the lineup is less scary than the Yankees one that Snell has to face. It’seither the better pitcher in Snell vs, the slightly better matchup for Eflin. Iwould prefer Snell in a tournament but it’s close.
Chris Bassitt has to be your only choice for a second DKstarter and may be the best choice on the day slate for combination of value at 8000 and a vulnerable opponent, ashe hosts the Orioles. Baltimore is 27th in road batting and Bassitthas allowed more than three earned runs in a game once this season. You do haveto hope for higher K numbers here, but it’s possible you could just enough witha good chance of a victory.
On the night slate, but you definitely have to considerAndrew Heaney at $8500 at Toronto. He already has a pair of 10-strikeout gamessince coming off the IL and the Blue Jays are Top 7 in the American League inhome strikeouts. The lineup looks more formidable than it did earlier in theseason but it’s still a viable matchup for Heaney, who has looked good in two ofthree turns since coming back. He should get good run support against Aaron Sanchezfor a possible victory.
Lucas Giolito (11,300) is the obvious standout and cashpitcher of the night against the Cubs. Right now, I do not care who Gioloto isfacing, he is the top pitcher on the slate when he is listed among the probables.
Zack Greinke is a GPP play at 9000, as Colorado has been thesecond-best hitting team in the Majors over the past week. You may think theyare less threatening away from Coors, but the Rox have scored five or more runsin six of their last seven road games. Their lineup is clicking regardless ofvenue.
Rich Hill (10,300) faces San Francisco at home, and theGiants are 25th in road batting. Hill has a 2.61 home ERA with 33strikeouts in 31 innings. Hill is also starting to shed concerns about length,as he has worked seven innings in two of his past three starts. He is the bestcash game play if you don’t want to spend up for Gioloto against a betterlineup.
MonkeyKnife Fight Pick of the Day
Our experts have been terrific when pinpointing Monkey Knife Fight plays in our premium chat rooms. Tonight, I will take my shot in the Over/Under in the Angels/Jays matchup, locking in Heaney for over 6.5 strikeouts, Mike Trout easily over 1.5 hits plus walks, and considering Aaron Sanchez has not gone over four Ks in five of his past six turns, I’ll take the under on 4.5 strikeouts. Get in against Sanchez now and get 100 percent bonus!
