Chris Sale (BOS) - Chris Sale continues to build his case that he's the best pitcher in baseball after striking out at least 10 batters for the 8th straight start in a row. He dominated the Athletics and finished with a line of 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, and 10Ks. The lefty now owns a great 2.19 ERA (2.25xFIP) with an unbelievable 39% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. Most importantly, the home runs allowed that plagued him last year seem to be a thing of the past with just 4 allowed in only 58 innings thrown this season compared with 27 allowed in 226 innings last season. With Clayton Kershaw's dip in strikeout rate this season, Chris Sale just might be the top overall pitcher this season and is quickly pressing for the top overall player. There's not a whole lot in his profile to suggest any of this cannot continue. His strand rate is exactly at his career levels and his strikeouts are being fueled by a swinging strike rate of 16% that's 5% higher than in 2016.
Ariel Miranda (SEA) - Don't look now, but Ariel Miranda has now posted back-to-back excellent outings, adding a line of 7.0 IP, 4H, 1 ER, 2BB and 9 strikeouts to his last outing of 5 IP, 3H, 1 ER, 3 BB and 8K. So you say, 'fine, but how much is driven by favorable luck?'? The short answer is not much. Miranda has been doing this without smoke and mirrors and has the contextual indicators on his side. Miranda is much more of a contact oriented pitcher than a strikeout pitcher, but thanks a hard hit rate allowed of the league average 30%, he's letting his team's above average defense take care of most of those balls in play. From an ERA and xFIP perspective, the two numbers fall within .07 of each other and if you remove his nightmare start against the Phillies (8 ER in 3.1 IP), Miranda's ERA would actually be 2.79. So do these of this point towards Miranda being a recoomended pickup this week? I'll go with cautiously yes, but just realize what you're buying. At the end of the day, you're still buying a pitcher without big time strikeout upside and one that attempts to let batters put it in play.
Jose De Leon (TB) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline in 2016, Jose De Leon has yet to make his 2017 debut with the Rays due to flexor tendon discomfort in his elbow after participating in the World Baseball Classic earlier this spring. De Leon is now on a rehab assignment and threw 5 scoreless and hitless innings for High-A Charlotte earlier this week. The performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A and with the struggles of Blake Snell, De Leon could be an option for the big club if he can continue to prove he's a more valuable rotation piece than Erasmo Ramirez. The latter pitched into the 6th inning on Friday night, allowing 2 runs and striking out 5, but he was only able to throw 65 pitches since he's transitioning from the bullpen to a starting pitcher. De Leon has shown plus strikeout ability and above average control throughout his minor league career. In a brief cameo with the Dodgers big league club last season, he struggled to the tune of 6.35 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Don't let that limited sample size fool you, De Leon is the real deal and could be a difference maker down the stretch.
Nelson Cruz (SEA) - While he lacks the split advantage, Nelson Cruz remains a great option for DFS on Saturday when he faces Mike Pelfrey and the White Sox at home in Seattle. Cruz has been Seattle's most consistent hitter to begin the year and while Mike Pelfrey hasn't been lit up in any one start, he's still sitting with a 6.03 xFIP with more walks (10) than strikeouts (8) over his first five starts. Cruz is maintaining his above average 35% hard hit rate into this season and his 20% HR/FB rate remains a solid mark for a hitter who hits flyballs about 50% of the time. He's $4,100 on FanDuel.
Miguel Sano (MIN) - Sano grabs an intriguing matchup against Ian Kennedy on Saturday. Sano, of course, is a great flyball hitter and he mashes against two-seam fastballs (6.24 wFT/c). Kennedy has shifted his usage towards more two-seamers this year, throwing one 42.5% of the time. Additionally, this is the 4th straight season that Kennedy has increased his flyballs allowed, and he's now sitting with a 48% flyball rate. Sano will be playing at home in Minnesota, a place where his ISO is "just" .211 compared with .500 on the road. Nonetheless, Sano has most other contextual factors on his side and he's reasonably priced at $3,800 on FanDuel considering the upside he brings.
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