Top Tier
Walker Buehler, LAD - Buehler has been an absolute stud all season and it hasn’t really mattered who he’s faced in the batter’s box. Tuesday shouldn’t be any different. He’s pricey yes, but there’s a reason for that as he’s arguably the best pitcher on the slate tonight.
Lance McCullers Jr., HOU - McCullers has looked good in two of his last three starts going at least 5.2 innings in each and posting at least seven strikeouts each time too. Over the last few weeks, Seattle has struck out about 27-percent of the time against RHPs and have posted well below-average wOBA and wRC+ marks. Let’s also toss in that he’s been more than a run better on the road this year in ERA and T-Mobile Park is one of the best pitcher-friendly parks in the league.
Brandon Woodruff, MIL - Listen, I know last time I wrote Woodruff up in the pitching coach it didn’t go well, but he’s been too good this year to let one hiccup stop us. While it’s true that San Fran doesn’t strike out much against RHPs, they’re also not making a lot of contact or doing much with the contact they’re making as they’ve posted a .260 team wOBA and 63 wRC+ mark over the last few weeks. In a playoff type atmosphere we should see Woodruff rise to the occasion with another great start.
Mid-tier
Lucas Giolito, CWS - The last four starts for Giolito have seen him give up just six total earned runs in 25 innings while striking out eight in three straight. Now he gets the abysmal Pirates’ offense to try and keep the good run going against and frankly it shouldn’t be that hard for Giolito to pull off. Against RHPs the last few weeks, Pittsburgh has the worst wOBA and wRC+ in the league and the fourth-worst batting average as well.
Hyun-Jin Ryu, TOR - It’s no secret that the Orioles’ offense has struggled against LHPs in the second-half of the year and currently in the last few weeks they’ve managed just a .224 team batting average and .283 wOBA with a 79 wRC+ while striking out nearly 26-percent of the time. Ryu has been very good in the previous meetings with Baltimore this year as well.
Austin Gomber, COL - The rule with Gomber has been to play him in Coors and clearly they’re playing in Texas tonight which should make him non-playable, however he did well against the Rangers the last time he faced them and they haven’t been that daunting of a unit recently either. There’s also the benefit that the Rangers’ home park is one of the best pitcher’s parks in the league. He’s for GPP builds.
Value Tier
Edward Cabrera, MIA - Cabrera was spectacular for six innings against the Nats in his debut and now he gets an equally shoddy offense in the Mets for his second start. New York has struck out a quarter of the time against RHPs the last few weeks and Cabrera has an impressive array of stuff that led to 48 strikeouts in 29.1 Triple-A innings before getting the call to the majors.