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Pitcher
Justin’s Pick: Chris Bassitt
Chris Bassitt is far from a good pitcher, but he’s in a great spot tonight. He’ll be making his first start of the season tonight, while posting a career 4.61 xFIP and a 4.54 SIERA. He also owns a career 17.8% strikeout rate, but that has increased substantially since 2018. Bassitt’s strikeout rate is low because he’s a sinker pitcher, which tends to produce more ground balls than strikeouts. He owns a career 44% ground ball rate with an elite 7.0% HR/FB rate. He’ll also benefit from playing in the Oakland A’s pitcher-friendly stadium tonight. Furthermore, the Texas Rangers are a significantly worse offense on the road, and they own the fifth highest strikeout per at-bat rate on the slate. As if that isn’t enough, Bassitt is a -138 favorite in a game set at 8 runs, giving the Rangers an implied run total of only 3.7 runs. His pitching style makes him a relatively safe option for his low price tag, while the matchup adds a bit to his upside, as well.
Jason’s Reaction: I don’t mind this recommendation, especially if fantasy owners need the extra salary, but Chris Sale and Yonny Chirinos are a little bit more enticing, as well as Zack Godley (obviously), in my opinion.
Jason’s Pick: Zack Godley
Zack Godley makes for an interesting tournament option tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that strikes out 0.265 times per at-bat. Godley is currently sporting a 9.2 K/9, and his home run per nine innings pitched is down under one. Tonight, the weather is ideal for pitchers in Pittsburgh, as the wind will factor minimally at only two MPH, and the temperate is in the low 60s. On the season, Godley has had some decent outings, most notably against the Boston Red Sox when he posted over 20 fantasy points in just under six innings. He only truly struggled against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and that seven-run performance is significantly hurting his 6.26 ERA. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitcher should be able to continue to lower that ERA tonight against the Pirates, and his high K/9 against a team with a high K/AB makes him a very solid option in tournaments, especially considering his moderate price tag.
Justin’s Reaction: Godley makes a strong option in tournaments, as Jason outlined. It’s hard to put any trust in him at this point, though.
Infielder
Justin’s Pick: Tim Anderson
Anderson is one of the more expensive infielders on this slate, but I’m comfortable using him because of the salary relief Bassitt offers at pitcher. His peripherals are far from elite, as he owns 16% hard-hit and 30% fly ball rates with an 88 mph exit velocity over the last 15 days. With that being said, he has posted a .342 average with a .526 slugging percentage and a .901 OPS over his last 10 games. He has recorded three extra-base hits (two home runs), eight RBIs, and seven steals in those games. Anderson is a powerful player for his position, but his speed is what truly adds to his upside. He always has a green light when on first, and three fantasy points for a single can quickly turn into eight with Anderson. He also gets an elite matchup against David Hess in a hitter-friendly stadium. Anderson has scored double-digit fantasy points in 7 of his last 10 games, and he makes an elite option tonight.
Jason’s Reaction: Anderson, despite his questionable taunting tactics and social media interactions, is absolutely on fire to start the season. Roster him in all leagues.
Jason’s Pick: Mark Canha
Mark Canha gets a good matchup against the Texas Rangers and Mike Minor tonight, who happens to be wildly overpriced on DraftKings. Canha is a powerful bat, especially against left-handed pitchers, against which he owns a 0.159 ISO differential. Over the last 15 days, which only happens to be five games for Canha, he is sporting an average batted ball distance of 296 feet. In other words, he is hitting the ball, on average, far enough to be a home run in most stadiums. He has an average exit velocity on those batted balls of 97 MPH, his fly ball rate is 57%, and his hard hit rate is the same. Most importantly, perhaps, is his recent batted ball luck indicator, which suggests his batted balls will start landing sooner rather than later. Canha has home run potential tonight, and even if that doesn’t happen, his upside cannot be ignored. He is an elite tournament option at his price tag right now.
Justin’s Reaction: I’m a huge fan of Canha against left-handed pitching, and tonight is no different. Minor should see some regression soon, and Canha comes with tremendous power against lefties.
Outfielder
Justin’s Pick: Christian Yelich
How can we avoid Christian Yelich at this point? For whatever reason, he’s the second most expensive batter on this slate, but he has been performing as well as some pitchers recently. Yelich is averaging 21.1 fantasy points per game over his last seven games, including a 52 fantasy point performance against the St. Louis Cardinals. Yelich also owns eight home runs in those games. Overall, he’s hitting .333 with a 1.000 slugging percentage and a 1.442 OPS over his last 10 games. He also enters this game with 62% hard-hit and 48% fly ball rates to go along with a 99 mph exit velocity over the last 15 days. It’s a bit worrisome that Yelich will be traveling to St. Louis tonight, as he has been significantly better at home this season. Still, he gets a plus matchup against Jack Flaherty, and he has been at his best against right-handed pitching. Yelich isn’t going to come cheap, but there are plenty of cheap pitching options to make him fit in your lineups tonight.
Jason’s Reaction: To answer your question, we can’t. Roster him.
Jason’s Pick: Joey Rickard
Joey Rickard is an underpriced outfielder with a plus matchup against the Chicago White Sox and the left-handed Manny Banuelos tonight. He has a solid 0.064 ISO differential against left-handed pitching, and he is hitting second for the Baltimore Orioles tonight. As an added bonus, the sharp money is coming in on the Orioles to win this game, so despite the current Vegas line, expect more runs for the home team than the White Sox. Over the last 15 days, Rickard as a worrisome 41% ground ball rate on batted balls, but his average exit velocity is over 90 MPH, his average distance is over 200 feet, and his hard hit rate is closing in on 30%. His sub-par .213 batting average should start to climb slightly, and his RBIs will increase, if that happens. As an added bonus, he does come with a little bit of stolen base potential. With outfielders like Christian Yelich priced so high, it is worthwhile to spend down on someone like Rickard in a plus matchup with plus splits and a solid position in the batting order.
Justin’s Reaction: There are a surprisingly number of salary relief options, so I likely won’t go Rickard. He does make sense, though, and he’ll come with low ownership.
Be sure to follow Justin (@BalesSJustin) and Jason (@BalesTJason) on Twitter!
