MLB First Look: Wednesday, July 23rd
MLB First Look provides you a quick overview of the most noteworthy DFS tidbits for tomorrow’s MLB matchups and player pools, and is brought to you by none other than Derek “Notorious” Farnsworth (#6 Ranked Overall, DraftDay MLB Champion, DSBC Finalist x3, DSBBC Finalist, DFBBC Finalist). Each night before weekday games (and occasionally weekends), Notorious will analyze the daily matchups and player pools to provide you with his initial thoughts on strategies for that day. The preview will begin with a starting pitcher overview, then move onto matchup notes, teams to target, player pricing, general strategy and more. Additionally, Derek will give you a quick recap of how his night in DFS transpired.
Today’s MLB Schedule
| TIME | AWAY | HOME | AWAY STARTER | HOME STARTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:10 PM | Cleveland | Minnesota | Bauer (4-4) – 3.89 ERA | Swarzak (1-5) – 7.34 ERA |
| 2:10 PM | Kansas City | Chi. White Sox | Shields (9-5) – 3.70 ERA | Quintana (5-7) – 3.26 ERA |
| 2:10 PM | Cincinnati | Milwaukee | Leake (7-8) – 3.63 ERA | Lohse (10-4) – 3.16 ERA |
| 3:10 PM | Washington | Colorado | Strasburg (7-7) – 3.55 ERA | De La Rosa (10-6) – 4.39 ERA |
| 3:40 PM | N.Y. Mets | Seattle | Colon (8-8) – 4.12 ERA | Iwakuma (8-4) – 2.95 ERA |
| 3:40 PM | Detroit | Arizona | Sanchez (6-4) – 3.22 ERA | Cahill (1-6) – 5.63 ERA |
| 7:05 PM | Texas | N.Y. Yankees | Darvish (9-5) – 2.88 ERA | Phelps (4-4) – 3.87 ERA |
| 7:05 PM | San Francisco | Philadelphia | Bumgarner (11-7) – 3.38 ERA | Burnett (6-9) – 4.08 ERA |
| 7:05 PM | L.A. Dodgers | Pittsburgh | Haren (8-7) – 4.30 ERA | Liriano (1-7) – 4.43 ERA |
| 7:07 PM | Boston | Toronto | Buchholz (5-5) – 5.46 ERA | Dickey (7-10) – 3.95 ERA |
| 7:10 PM | Miami | Atlanta | Eovaldi (5-5) – 4.08 ERA | Santana (8-6) – 4.03 ERA |
| 7:15 PM | Tampa Bay | St. Louis | Cobb (5-6) – 4.08 ERA | Lynn (11-6) – 3.13 ERA |
| 8:05 PM | San Diego | Chi. Cubs | Kennedy (7-9) – 3.62 ERA | Wada (0-0) – 0.00 ERA |
| 10:05 PM | Baltimore | L.A. Angels | Tillman (7-5) – 4.03 ERA | Weaver (10-6) – 3.43 ERA |
| 10:05 PM | Houston | Oakland | Peacock (3-6) – 4.39 ERA | Chavez (7-6) – 3.14 ERA |
– Click the “$” icon to view a player’s price on each of the sites
Wednesday’s Noteworthy Research Findings
1) Starting Pitcher Overview
At first glance, here are the pitchers that I like for tomorrow’s slate of games:
- Madison Bumgarner – Bumgarner takes the cake as the top pitching option on Wednesday. He is facing a Phillies offense that has been free-falling in the rankings against LH pitching. Bumgarner is extremely good against LH batters and shouldn’t have too much difficulty dealing with the RH batters in this lineup either.
- Kyle Lohse – Lohse continues to pitch well and he continues to be on very few people’s fantasy radar. While he doesn’t have the highest K-rate, he’s sporting a 2.43 ERA at home this season while holding opponents to a .241 batting average. He will be facing the depleted lineup of the Reds on Wednesday.
- Francisco Liriano – Liriano is coming off of one of his better starts of the season. When he is healthy, he is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the National League. On Wednesday he faces a Dodgers lineup that is not only short-handed, but they have also struggled vs. LH pitching this season (ranked 24th in team wOBA vs. southpaws).
2) Two Easy Teams to Target
- Washington Nationals – Once again, the Nationals are the top team to target offensively. They once again play in Coors Field against a mediocre LH pitcher. On Wednesday they face Jorge De La Rosa who has an ERA well over 4.00 this season. The Nationals lineup is littered with batters that feast on LH pitching and De La Rosa has given up a .358 wOBA to RH batters this season.
- Oakland A’s – The A’s face Brad Peacock at home tonight. While Peacock has a respectable K/9, he also has an ERA well over 4.00 on the season and he is giving over 4.00 walks per 9 innings. That could spell trouble for him on Wednesday as the A’s draw more walks than any team in baseball. The swinging A’s should have a nice night offensively.
3) wOBA Play of the Day
- Andrew McCutchen – Even though Cutch is typically targeted vs. LH pitching, he’s is no slouch against righties either. Cutch has a .424 wOBA vs. RH pitching this season and faces Dan Haren who is a reverse splits pitcher. Haren has given up a .357 wOBA to RH hitters this season. A righty/righty matchup typically doesn’t stand out as a top play in terms of handedness, but it does in this case.
4) Streaky Hitter Segment
- Austin Jackson – Last night’s streaky hitter came through with flying colors as Neil Walker had a huge outing against Beckett and the Dodgers. Jackson will have some big shoes to fill, but he’s also been swinging a hot bat. He’s 8/19 with 5 XBH’s while also drawing 3 walks over the last 7 days. He’s still a very cheap option on most sites and he draws a favorable matchup against Trevor Cahill.
5) Daily Dong Prediction
- Anthony Rizzo – Rizzo is on a HR tear right now. He’s racked up 8 HR’s in his last 12 games, including a double-dong performance last night. It’s hard to tell which way the wind will be blowing the night before, but if it’s blowing out to center like it was on Tuesday night, take advantage and get Rizzo in your lineups. While Ian Kennedy has been good against LH hitters this season, he’s historically had trouble with batters from the left side of the plate.