The first full slate of the week is on tap and there’s only really one game with weather concerns on the board. Coors is forecast to have showers this evening but tapering off later in the night, about midnight local time, and the Rockies might wait it out but might not which certainly makes it a risky game to involve.
Top Tier
Walker Buehler, RHP LAD - Steel sharpens steel right? So Buehler, who’s been ridiculously good over the last 10 starts with an ERA around 1.50 and more than a strikeout per inning, gets Houston in a highly anticipated match-up. Houston has been good against RHPs in the last few weeks and hence the steel versus steel comparison. This won’t be considered Buehler’s Day Off for sure but Buehler has been good enough to shut down even the best of offenses.
Zack Wheeler, RHP PHI - Wheeler has been the best part of the Phillies rotation all season and now he gets a solid match-up against a depleted Nationals’ lineup, that while scrappy, isn’t that threatening. On the road, Wheeler has done a good job of keeping the ball in the park, only giving up two of his nine homers away from Philly and with most of the pop missing from the Nats’ lineup at this point, that only benefits Wheeler.
Mid-Tier
Dylan Cease, RHP CWS - The rule for Cease all season has been to use him at home and avoid him on the road. Guess what? Cease is at home tonight against the Royals and that means we get a three run better ERA from Cease. Kansas City has been bad on the road since the All-Star break with a .268 wOBA and 67 wRC+ which also helps Cease. There is still risk of a blow up so he’s better for GPPs.
Taijun Walker, RHP NYM - Walker hasn’t exactly been great the last several starts out and his season-long numbers are trending in the wrong direction. Why is he in the pitching coach then? Well he faces Miami and they haven’t been good at home much of the last month with subpar wOBA and wRC+ and while he’s struggled against other teams, he’s still been good against Miami in his two starts against them.
Value Tier
Luis Patiño, RHP TB - Patino has split his innings pretty evenly at home and on the road so far with Tampa Bay but with vastly better results at home. Both his WHIP and ERA are sub-1.00 at home in 14.2 innings with a .140 BAA with nearly twice as many fantasy points as well. He’s fine for DK and Yahoo as an SP2 and even as a GPP option on FD as these prices and match-up.
Adrian Houser, RHP MIL - Houser has been good against Pittsburgh this year with a 2.49 ERA in 21.2 innings, though only 12 Ks. When we’re going down this far we’re not relying on strikeouts and instead just need an innings-eater who keeps runs off the board and chips in a handful of strikeouts. That’s exactly what Houser can do and the fact that he’s outscored his season average in fantasy points while playing the Pirates is a bonus too.