Cheslor Cuthbert- 3B- KC- Idea- Cuthbert has put up a strong .339/.369/.548 slash line against southpaws. The Royals will be facing newly acquired Francisco Liriano. Liriano had a decent .258 average against RH hitting, but with 15 homers allowed and 57 BBs against them in 86.1 IP the rest of his slash line was a poor .374 OBP and .450 SLG. This gives a decided edge to Cuthbert. Value play- Draft Kings salary $3000
David Robertson- RP- CHA- Hot- Robertson had good and bad in his performance yesterday. The good was that he recorded his 26th save, didn't give up a run for his 4th straight appearance, and did not walk anyone for the 6th time in 7 outings. On the bad side he didn't strike out anyone and only has 2 Ks in those 4 scoreless outings. Robertson has had control issues this season, with a 4.47 BB/9. His K/9 is still an outstanding 10.35 but his ERA of 4.06 and FIP of 4.08 is not what you like to see from a dominant closer.
Hector Santiago- P- MIN- Cold- Santiago's debut with the Twins was less than auspicious. He allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. Santiago's record dropped to 10-5 and his ERA rose to 4.37. With that ERA and a FIP of 5.15 he overperformed in the win column before the trade. Now with the Twins the odds of that kind of overperformance have dropped drastically.
Drew Smyly- P- TB- Hot- Smyly was at his best yesterday, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk in 7 IP while striking out 7. He exhibited strong control, needing only 95 pitches, 64 of which were strikes. It was Smyly's third consecutive quality start. There may be some regression to the mean going on here as his FIP of 4.32 is still well below his 5.14 ERA. If he can maintain control both of those numbers should go down as the season winds down.
Shin-Soo Choo- OF- TEX- Hot- Choo had a successful return from the DL, going 2-for-5 with a run scored from the leadoff spot for the Rangers. His BABIP is at .307, well below his career mark of .342. This allows for positive regression to the mean coming, bringing his average up from .266. Choo has scored 23 runs in 34 games with the Rangers this season. At the top of a bolstered offensive Texas lineup that kind of production or better can be expected if Choo can avoid injuries. He is still exhibiting an excellent sense of the plate, with a 12.0 BB%. He doesn't have the same steal potential he had before coming to Texas but his OBP is still at .373, even with an unlucky average.
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