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Slate Details
OwnersBox- Main slate (9 games) – starts at 1:34 p.m. EDT
DK/FD – Main slate (9 games) – starts 1:35 p.m. EDT
Weather Impact
Numerous games look like they will be impacted by rain unfortunately and CLE@BOS, PIT@WAS, ATL@NYM, and TB@CHW are all in danger of a rainout. Proceed with caution and make sure you monitor those radars and forecast updates.
Pitching (Main Slate)
An entertaining first month of baseball is coming to an end today and hopefully, all of these last-ditch April showers will bring a plethora of May flowers. Due to all of the potential PPDs today, we are a bit limited with our reliable pitching options, and with all the clouds in the air, Sonny Gray stands head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. The veteran righty has been flat-out dominant over his first five starts, especially in his last four against the likes of the Astros, White Sox, Red Sox, and Yankees. Those lineups are titans compared to the lowly Royals, who Gray will be facing on Sunday. This is a no-brainer and with all the uncertainty of some other games, plug in old reliable and let Sonny Gray rack up points for you.
A pair of veteran left-handers will face off when the Rangers and Yankees get together Sunday, with Martin Perez taking the mound at home against Nestor Cortes. Perez is coming off four consecutive road starts, with the last one being 6.1 effective shutout innings against the Reds at Great American Ballpark. Cortes has shown a few cracks in his past couple of starts, allowing 3 ERs in each, but the mustachioed All-Star continues to do an excellent job of keeping batters off balance. Cortes is definitely the sexier name in this matchup but the reason I am going with Perez here is because of the way both offenses have been performing of late. Over the last two weeks, Texas has posted a 131 wRC+ while the Yankees have scuffled to a 72 wRC+. Over the last 10 games, New York has scored 2 or fewer runs six times. This will be a fun mirror of a pitching matchup to watch, but I think Perez’s offensive backing combined with his presumably lower ownership makes him the play here.
I am going to keep my Marco Gonzales slander to a minimum today because he has actually been pitching pretty well, but Chris Bassitt has also been pitching pretty well after a brutal opening start. Bassitt’s sinker has been on-point on his plethora of supporting pitches and should do enough to keep a weak-hitting Mariners lineup consistently guessing. Just take a look at the way these two teams are trending: Seattle has been shut out in 2 of their last 3 games while Toronto has pitched shutouts in 3 of their last 4 games. Bassitt certainly isn’t the type of pitcher to go out and flat-out dominate a team, but outside of Jarred Kelenic the Seattle bats just haven’t been able to get going lately and the 34-year-old righty has the savvy to keep them off the basepaths.
Hitting (Main Slate)
Brady Singer is a talented young pitcher who struggled to find it during his first few starts of 2023. Last time around he was able to hold the Diamondbacks to 1 ER in 6 innings and things look like they might be turning around. Unfortunately for Singer, he faces a scorching hot Twins team that has thoroughly enjoyed facing him in the past. Joey Gallo, Max Kepler, and Byron Buxton have been near the top of baseball in wRC+ over the last two weeks, and including them, a total of seven Twins batters have a career OPS over 1.000 against Singer. In addition to those three, if you can find a way to get Carlos Correa, Nick Gordon, Trevor Larnach, and Jorge Polanco in your lineup don’t hesitate. Minnesota is the move today as the AL Central leaders look to finish a successful April on a high note.
For some reason, people were busting at the seams with excitement over Colin Rea’s brief AAA success and first start in the Majors this season. Apparently, they forgot about the previous seven years of Rea’s incredibly mediocre career, but he has reminded everyone of that over his last two starts against the weak-hitting Tigers and Mariners. Now the powerful Angels are the matchup and with the limited options today, I will be trying to fit as many of their power bats as possible. That starts with not the superstars you would think, but with Brandon Drury who has a triple slash line of .417/.481/1.083 and 4 HRs over the past week. Of course, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Hunter Renfroe are always threats to go yard and in the comfy confines of Miller….ahem…American Family Field the Angels could be sending a number of balls soaring to the heavens on the Sabbath.
Other hitters of note:
- The Brewers have struggled against lefties overall this season, but they were able to rough up Reid Detmers yesterday and get a struggling Jose Suarez today. Willy Adames, William Contreras, and Brian Anderson should have prime middle-of-the-order spots but keep an eye on Owen Miller if you want to save some money in your lineups.
- Okay, maybe a little Marco Gonzales slander. Since nobody has been able to get out Matt Chapman this year, I imagine the soft-tossing lefty will also struggle with him. Whit Merrifield has also been on a tear lately and could accumulate points quickly with his ability to get on base and steal bases around the power bats that litter Toronto’s lineup.
Hitter Pricing 4-30-23