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Happy April Fools Day!!!
There are a lot of SP options to choose from today’s games. All due to the lack of a true ACE. The top three SPs available today are Jose Quintana, Gerrit Cole, and Gio Gonzalez. All valued over $20,000, which is a little pricey for my tastes. Also, keep in mind to check the MLB lineups before setting your lineup – A lot of teams rest their older players on the weekends.
FantasyDraft’s lone slate on Sunday consists of 11 games, and it begins early with Twins and Orioles setting it off at 1:05 p.m. It ends with the Indians and Mariners starting at 4:10 p.m.
Must Play SP: Sonny Gray, NYY($18,800) at TOR
Sonny Boy got back to his old ways in 2017 after injuries caused him to struggle in 2016. He is not an ace but neither are any of the other pitchers available today. Gray gets to face a weak Toronto lineup which was dominated by both Severino and Tanaka. Toronto hitters have struggled against Gray by going 15-74 in their matchups before. The matchup is in Toronto which is a slight advantage for a pitcher over the Yankees stadium.
Weather prediction- Sonny with a chance of K’s.
Honorable Mention: Trevor Bauer($19,700) @ SEA
Value Play Play SP: Luke Weaver, STL($14,900) at NYM
Weaver has shown excellent command of his fastball-changeup combo which was the main reason for the increase in strikeouts. He faces the Mets lineup with a healthy Yoenis Cespedes but that is not enough to scare me away from this matchup. In spring training, Weaver proved his doubters wrong by posting a 0.55 ERA in 16 IP while maintaining the strikeout improvements from last year. I expect Weaver to make a statement this year and this is a great first matchup to do so. Shohei Ohtani is another option as a value play but he struggled in all of his spring training starts and seemed very hittable. I am staying away for now.
Honorable Mention: Shohei Ohtani, LAA($12,500) at OAK
IF Joey Votto, CIN($9,200) vs WSH
He is not cheap but he does have a great matchup against Gio Gonzalez. In his career, Votto is 8-18 with 3 HR and 3 2B with an average exit velocity of 103 mph against Gio. The only concern with Votto is that sometimes he gets off to a slow start and that has people worried since he is 2-8 with no extra-base hits so far in the season. As demonstrated by .300+ batting average in the past three years, Votto is too good of a hitter to keep struggling at the dish.
Honorable Mention: Miguel Sano, MIN($8,200) @ BAL
OF Adam Eaton, WSH($7,700) @ CIN
Eaton exploded last night going 5-5 a HR and two doubles. Eaton has always been undervalued ever since his days with the White Sox and it didn’t help his case last after missing most of the season when he was off to hot start with his new club, Nationals. His numbers from last year are very enticing when looked at on a per game basis, 24 runs in 23 games. He gets a young pitcher in Sal Romano while batting at the top of a lineup that includes the like of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Anthony Rendon.
Honorable Mention: J.D. Martinez, BOS($8,200) @ TB
Value: OF Matt Joyce, OAK($6,700) vs LAA
I like a lot of A’s hitter today with the matchup against Ohtani as he is still struggling to get accustomed to major league hitters after coming over from Japan. Joyce improved his power numbers significantly last years and quietly hit 25 HR while maintaining very good plate discipline. He is better against RHP as demonstrated by his HR numbers from 2017, 24 of those 25 Hrs against righties.I expect quality at-bats from a veteran batter against a struggling pitcher. Piscotty($5,700) is another bat I would look at if you are looking to spend big on other position players or pitchers.
Honorable Mention: Nomar Mazara, TEX($6,800) vs HOU
Top Stack: Yankees at Toronto (RHP Marcus Stroman)
The Yankees lineup is loaded with great hitters and honestly could be stacked everyday but its some their lesser-known hitters that I like to stack today. Obviously, draft Giancarlo Stanton($10,500) if you can but there is value to be had in the likes of Didi Gregorius($7,700) and Miguel Andujar($5,900). Even Neil Walker and Brandon Drury valued at $6,400 each can be used if you are struggling to find cheap bats. Stroman is not someone you can pick on as he has only allowed a .212 BA to the Yankees hitters but the main culprit is the .189 BABIP which cant be maintained over a larger sample.
Honorable Mention: Astros @ Rangers (Mike Minor)