Welcome to another edition of Bales’ Top GPP Play. In this article, I will outline my favorite MLB GPP play for today’s games. If you want all of my core plays along with our staff’s Final Thoughts articles with access to our Discord, click here.
Cristian Javier
Javier performed well in the shortened 2020 season. He recorded a 7-2 record with a 3.39 ERA, and a 1.01 WHIP over 63.2 innings. He was a bit lucky, though, as his 4.86 xFIP and 4.43 SIERA suggest he’s due for some regression. Javier ended last season with 25.2% strikeout and 8.7% swinging-strike rates. He struggled a bit on the road but was at his best against right-handed batters. Overall, he ended 2020 with a 4.14 xFIP against righties on the road, although in limited innings. More importantly, Javier boasted a 30.3% strikeout rate against right-handed batters last season. That rate also jumped to 34.8% against righties on the road.
Javier gets an interesting matchup against the Oakland A’s on a smaller slate tonight. Oakland ranks second on the slate in strikeouts per at-bat, while ranking third-last in team wOBA. Javier’s a +114 underdog in a game set at 8.5 runs, giving the A’s an implied team total of 4.5 runs. The young pitcher saw mixed results against Oakland last season, needing only 2.1 innings to score 14.9 fantasy points in their final matchup. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the clear-cut best stack on this slate, and Javier is a cheap pitcher that will allow you to play them.
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