Jesus Sucre Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

If you assumed Andrew Cashner was the subject of this note, you are sadly mistaken. Masahiro Tanaka will start Opening Day against the Orioles, who are trotting out a glorified Triple-A caliber roster. Let’s take a look at Baltimore’s 3-7 hitters: Jonathan Villar (.117 ISO, .311 wOBA, 25.8% K-rate vs. RHP in 2018), Trey Mancini (.188 ISO, .319 wOBA, 25.8% K-rate), Rio Ruiz (.000 ISO, .198 wOBA, 33.3% K-rate in 15 AB), Joey Rickard (.143 ISO, .295 wOBA, 20.8% K-rate) and the all-mighty Chris Davis (.124 ISO, .253 wOBA, 36.7% K-rate). Jesus Sucre and rookie Richie Martin round out the bottom two spots in the order. Although New York’s stellar bullpen will not require Aaron Boone to push Tanaka this season, he has double-digit strikeout potential in this one, even if he’s limited to five or six innings on the hill. Last season, he struck out 25.0% of his opponents and had an elite 5.5% walk rate. His “stuff” was sensational, as evidenced by the fact that opposing hitters swung at 36.3% of his pitches outside of the zone. We will want to pick on this Orioles lineup all season long and Opening Day is certainly no exception, even in the hitter-friendly confines of Yankee Stadium. Since the Bombers are massive favorites, Tanaka should fully be expected to not only dominate, but also earn a win in this contest, boosting his DFS outlook. He won’t come cheap, but he has similar scoring potential to higher-priced aces like Max Scherzer, Jacob DeGrom, Justin Verlander and company.