He’s not a GPP play, but I don’t know how you can avoid Clayton Kershaw ($15,100) in cash games. He is simply head and shoulder above every else on this slate in terms of ability of fantasy outputs. In the L30 days, Kershaw is averaging 36.57 DK points per game. The number highest average in that period is Carlos Carrasco with 22.66 points. Nearly 14 full points worse! That’s one of the largest gaps we’ve had all season. I actually think Kershaw might be underowned for a few reasons. His massive price tag, his subpar performance in his last outing (24.8 points) and the perceived difficult matchup vs. the Pirates. They matchup actually isn’t bad, the Pirated own the 5th worst wOBA in the L7 days and just lost Jung-Ho Kang and Francisco Cervelli to injuries. Those two were the two best hitters vs. LHP that the Pirates had. Expect a much softer lineup for Kershaw to slice through.
If you want to save up but still get of of the better pitchers on the board, then Carlos Carrasco ($11,400) is your guy. He’s basically second the Kershaw in every on this slate including xFIP. Carrasco has been rather impressive from a strikeout standpoint since returning off the DL. In two start, Carrasco has only lasted 8.2 IP but has 14 strikeouts. He has always been a big time K artist and that should be no different today when he gets the Chicago White Sox.
His counterpart, Carlos Rodon ($8,200) is today’s top pitcher according to the Pitcher Value Chart. If he returned his average L30 game of 21.63, that would be 2.6x his current value, the highest on the slate. Rodon just faced CLE in his last start, dicing them up for 8 Ks over 7 IP and 30.2 fantasy points. Rodon should be able to keep the good times rolling in the same matchup today.
The Rays will face Wei-Yin Chen ($8,000) in conflicting trends. The Rays are usually one of the better teams in the league vs. LHP but have been brutal as a team lately, owning the 6th worst wOBA and third highest K rate in the L7. I give the lean to Chen who’s coming off an impressive outing vs the Royals, lasting 7 IP and only giving up 2 ER. He will also benefit from this game being played a Tropicana Field which is in the bottom half of hitters ballparks.
There are a ton of spot-starters or young guys in bad matchups today. None of which I am interesting in investing with. The bottom third of the entire slate is garbage while the top third is super expensive. It will most likely be a day where you have to spend on the high end starters.