Jalen Beeks Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

There are a lot of bats worth spending on tonight, so it makes sense to look for a cheap SP2 to get to upside offense. Tampa's Jalen Beeks is projected to be the primary pitcher tonight following Diego Castillo, and despite what happened to chalky Brendan McKay last night, the Mariners are a good team to pick on with left-handed pitching. They have the 2nd highest strikeout rate in the league against lefties, and while Beeks is nothing special, he's close to a league average pitcher. Even at only 4-5 innings, he's cheap enough to turn a profit here.

I really hate trusting this Rays long relief/opener situation. With that being said, we don't have a lot of great value pitching tonight, and I really like this spot for Jalen Beeks. Since the start of 2018, this projected starting lineup has a .115 ISO with a .306 wOBA and a 16.5% strikeout rate against left-handed hitters. They don't really have the power to beat Beeks with the long ball, and a lot of this start will come down to BABIP. Given the ballpark and matchup, Beeks is worth a look on two pitcher sites today.

If you listened to the Morning Grind podcast today, you already know my love for Jalen Beeks. As a Red Sox fan, I try to keep track of the prospects, and I really like the off-speed stuff for Beeks. His changeup is above average, and his breaking ball grades out really well. I'm always worried when the fastball is the third best pitch though. Still, Beeks has a 12.78 K/9 in AAA and a 35.4% strikeout rate with a 13.1% swinging strike rate in AAA this season. With the limited options on this slate, I'm willing to take a chance on the strikeout upside.

Beeks is making his major league debut tonight against the Tigers. He’s the team’s sixth overall prospect and has shown some tremendous upside in the minors this season — 2.98 FIP with a strikeout rate of 35% and a walk rate of 6%. These pitching debuts typically don’t go as planned, but we have very few options to choose from in this slate. Beeks has plenty of upside at this price point and I like that he’s getting respect from the betting markets as a -170 favorite against the Tigers.

Beeks will be called up to make a spot start in place of the injured Drew Pomeranz. He has been very good in Triple-A this season, as he currently sports a 2.56 ERA and has piled up 80 strikeouts in just under 57 innings pitched. I wouldn't expect him to jump to the majors with that kind of success, but it's clear that the potential is there. He also draws a fairly soft landing spot against a mediocre Tigers lineup, so there's reason to consider him as a GPP pitcher tonight. He's one of the better options if you are looking to fade Gerrit Cole, or you can definitely consider Beeks as an SP #2 on the multi-pitcher sites.