Zack Greinke (SP-ARI) - Monday was a glorious day for Dodgers fans, as not only did the boys on blue roll to a 15-0 win over Tyson Ross and the Padres, but Zack Greinke was hammered for seven runs in his opening start against Trevor Story (two homers) and the Rockies. Greinke incidentally allowed seven runs in the entire month of April last year, as well as five runs in May and four in July. Time for Greinke owners to panic? Not at all. Maybe Greinke was hanging out with Madison Bumgarner, as he also was dealing with the flu and was clearly not himself in this one. Greinke's velocity looked fine in this one, but his command was way off. It seems unlikely any Greinke owners in your league are going to panic based off one start, and I'd fully expect a rebound on Saturday. He'll face the Cubs at Chase Field in this one, so as a DFS play, I'd probably look elsewhere given the opponent and the fact we'll want to ensure Greinke is 100% before investing $10,000 in a DFS play.
Noah Syndergaard (SP-NYM) - Syndergaard opens as the de facto #3 starter with the Mets, but is it really a stretch to think he'll be their ace sooner rather than later? Tuesday, Syndergaard went nearly full Kershaw, holding the Royals to three hits over six shutout innings with a 9:1 K:BB to pick up the win. Does anybody really see enough of a difference in the Mets' top three starters at this point? Syndergaard's stuff may be the best of the trio, and if you were to tell me that he would finish in the top-5 Cy Young voting, I wouldn't argue one bit. I personally have several shares of Syndergaard in my fantasy leagues and am hopeful for 200+ strikeouts, a sub 2.50 ERA, and 15-20 wins.
Jon Niese (SP-PIT) - Niese is Pirates' pitching coach Ray Searage's latest reclamation project, and it may be his toughest challenge yet. Niese is 29, is left-handed, has made at least 24 starts in each of the last six seasons, and he's had sub-3.75 ERAs in three of those six campaigns. So, there's some stuff to like here. Niese took the hill Tuesday and allowed four earned runs over five innings, but that line also came with an impressive 7:1 K:BB against a solid lineup of Cardinals' right-handed hitters. Niese allowed 14 runs in 15 innings this spring, but the Pirates are still confident enough to have him start the team's second game of the season. Going forward, he will still be a risky DFS and fantasy play, but the 7:1 K:BB is certainly encouraging.
Michael Wacha (SP-STL) - I have yet to think of Wacha as a #1 type starter and franchise type talent, but as a #2 starter on a contending team, sure, the upside this there. That said. Wacha is off to a rough start, allowing five runs (four earned) on a whopping 10 hits over 4.1 innings Tuesday against the Pirates. Wacha made 30 starts for the first time in this career last year, accumulating 181.1 innings with a 3.38 ERA, 17 wins, and 153 strikeouts, making him a borderline top-30 pitcher headed into this year. That talent is still there regardless of the poor Tuesday, so as usual this time of year, don't overreact this time of year.
Jimmy Nelson (SP-MIL) - After the Giants took the Brewers' de facto #1 starter Wily Peralta and his successors for 12 runs Monday, it's pretty impressive to see Nelson hold them to two runs over 7.1 strong innings on Tuesday. Nelson struck out three and walked one while allowing a solo home run to Brandon Crawford as well as Matt "Ruth" Duffy's fifth RBI of the young season. Nelson is easily my favorite Brewers' starter this season, and though that's like saying Jorge De La Rosa is my favorite Rockies' starter, Nelson does have some upside. In 2015, Nelson averaged 93.5 mph with his fastball en route to a 4.11 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 30 starts. Nelson has had some inflated BB/9's in his minor league career, so if he can drop his BB/9 into the 2.0-2.5 range, he'll have plenty of value, even if the Brewers aren't projected to net a lot of wins this year. In DFS formats, keep in mind that LH hitters batted .302 against him last year, so if he's facing a RH heavy lineup, he's a solid play.
Neil Walker (2B-NYM) - It's a bit surprising to see Walker batting fifth in a lineup coming off a World Series appearance, but with manager Terry Collins preferring David Wright in the two-hole, this makes some sense. Tuesday, Walker went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer after going 0-for-4 in this first game of the year. He's now batting .250/.250/.625 through two games against the Royals, and if he can stick in the five-hole, Walker has an outside chance at topping his career-high in RBI, set back in 2011 with 83 as a Pirate. Walker looks to be a lock to hit in the .270 range given his career .272 mark and 17.3% career K%, but if he can stick in the five-hole, a .275-20-90 type season isn't out of the question, and given the lack of depth at 2B in fantasy leagues, he'd turn quite a profit with those numbers. From a DFS perspective, just make sure you keep these HR totals in mind: 53 HR vs RH hitters over the last three years, and 2 HR vs LHP.
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