Monday means we have a shorter slate of games and boy does the pitching tonight look ugly! All you have to do is look at the names in the top tier and you know it only goes downhill from there. However, we certainly have some players that have the chance to go out and put up some solid fantasy points so let’s take a look at some options at all salary levels to help you cash those lineups and start the week out right!
Top Tier
Tylor Megill, NYM – If you would have told me back in April that I would be talking about Tylor Megill as a top tier DFS option I would have certainly questioned your sanity, but here we are! He doesn’t go deep into games, but Megill has allowed one earned run or less in five straight starts and on the season, he has 39 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. He will face the Marlins who have the third fewest runs in the National League, the fifth most strikeouts in all of baseball, and just traded away their best hitter. Miami is hitting .234 as a team and just scored five total runs in a three-game set over the weekend against the Yankees.
Andrew Heaney, NYY – Let’s stay with the New York teams as Heaney will make his Yankee debut today. It has been an inconsistent season for Heaney, but he has allowed three runs or fewer in three of his last four starts including just two home runs over that span. The draw here is the strikeout potential. Heaney might have an ERA over 5.00 but he does have 113 strikeouts in 94 innings this season, including five or more whiffs in five of his last seven starts. Baltimore has the fourth fewest runs in the American League and strikes out about one in every four at-bats against left-handed pitching. He is sure to want to make a great first impression with his new team and the Orioles should help Heaney provide just that.
Mid-Tier
Michael Wacha, TOR – We are only in the mid-tier and things are already getting questionable. Wacha is far from the most consistent pitcher you will find as evidenced by the three runs he allowed to the Orioles two starts ago and then following it up by allowing just one unearned run to the Yankees the other day. When he is on his game, he can give you great outings as he has returned 23+ DK points in three of his last six starts. He didn’t pitch overly well against Seattle in June, but the Mariners have the sixth most strikeouts in all of baseball and are hitting just .221 as a team. Wacha has also been a far superior pitcher at home with a 3.58 ERA and 1.06 WHIP as opposed to a 6.15 ERA and 1.57 WHIP on the road.
Dane Dunning, TEX – I’m not going to act like I don’t know that the Angels have hit Dunning twice pretty well this season, but I am choosing him because I feel like he is improving. Since June 1st he has allowed more than two earned runs just three times in nine starts and one was against the Dodgers who have scored the second most runs in baseball. He also has a very nice and tidy 9.0 K/9 on the season. Dunning has been a completely different pitcher at home than on the road. His ERA is nearly four runs lower at 2.58 in Texas and his K/9 is 9.8 is well ahead of his 7.9 mark on the road. The Angels are also not quite the same team on the road as they score four runs a game away from home and 5.2 runs in Anaheim. The team batting average also falls 27 points to .240 when on the road.
Value Tier
Bryse Wilson, PIT – I said at the top that this slate isn’t exactly loaded with top end starting pitching, which means it gets really iffy at the bottom. However, if you are really looking to roll the dice to try to save some pitching dollars, give Wilson a look. He is making his debut with the Pirates, and while the team securing a win against the first place Brewers might be asking too much, he could still get you some points. Milwaukee has the second most strikeouts as a team in the league and are hitting just .227 as a team. When it comes to facing right-handed pitching, the Brewers have the most strikeouts of any team and the average ticks down a couple points to .225. Despite him not having a great season, Wilson will get a bit of a break with Christian Yelich on the Covid Injured List right now as well. While he isn’t an elite strikeout pitcher, Wilson has a chance to rack up a decent number of them today and is the only bottom of the barrel option I have any faith in.
Player News
Cristopher Sánchez allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings in a loss to the Pirates on Sunday.
The Phillies offense couldn’t muster anything against Paul Skenes, so Sánchez went back out for the eighth inning in a 1-1 game and promptly walked Oneil Cruz to lead off the inning. Cruz then stole second and scored on a single to saddle Sánchez with the loss. The left-hander struck out nine and walked two on the day and now has a 3.10 ERA on the year.
Kerry Carpenter (hamstring) told reporters after Sunday’s victory over the Cubs that he doesn’t expect to miss any time.
Carpenter was lifted from Sunday’s series finale against the Cubs in the seventh inning for a pinch-runner. The 27-year-old slugger admitted that he’s still fighting through the hamstring tightness that has bothered him lately and he was simply being overly cautious on the basepaths. The Tigers have an off-day on Monday and with left-hander Cade Povich on tap for Tuesday it’s possible that he’ll get an extra day off to rest, but it doesn’t sound like Carpenter should be looking at any sort of extended absence.
White Sox signed RHP Dylan Cumming to a minor league contract.
The 26-year-old right-hander was recently released by the Giants after spending three years in their organization. He posted a 4.05 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and a 23/11 K/BB ratio over 20 innings in 14 appearances at Double-A Richmond this season. He’ll add bullpen depth in the upper minors for the White Sox.
Paul Skenes allowed one run (none earned) in 7 2/3 innings in a no decision against the Phillies on Sunday.
The Pirates swept the Phillies but they still couldn’t give their ace any run support, scoring the go ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. Skenes struck out seven and walked one while posting a 32 percent whiff rate and 29 percent CSW. He’s really good, but you knew that. He doesn’t ever come out of your lineup, and you just hope the Pirates score some runs for him.
Matt McLain went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run against the Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run against the Diamondbacks on Sunday