Max Kepler- OF- MIN- Idea- LH hitters are slashing .291/.391/.421 against Matt Cain. Kepler's slash line against RH pitching is .295/.369/.506. Combine those two and Kepler has a distinct advantage against the veteran. Value play- Draft Kings salary $4000
Delino DeShields- OF- TEX- Hot- After going 3-for-20 in a stretch of 10 games, some as a pinch runner, Deshields has had exceptionally good luck over his last 5 games. Yesterday's 2-for-4 was his 4th straight multihit game and he has gone 9-for-16 in those last 5 games. Deshields has 4 steals, 4 runs and a RBI in that stretch as well. He is back to fearing regression to the mean as his BABIP has soared to .421. This hot streak is very likely not sustainable.
Kelvin Herrera- RP- KC- FYI- Herrera pitched the 9th inning yesterday, but with the Royals up by 6 runs, it wasn't a save situation. As an audition to keep his closer role, though, it might have been a success. Herrera retired all 3 batters he faced, striking out 1 and throwing 8 strikes in his 12 pitches. Reportedly he worked on a mechanical flaw that pitching coach Dave Eiland. If yesterday's results are an outcome of that, Herrera's performance could be on the rise.
Josh Tomlin- P- CLE- Cold- It seems as if it weren't for bad luck, Tomlin wouldn't have any at all. Yesterday he was charged with 4 runs (3 earned) in 2.2 IP on 9 hits. Tomlin didn't walk or strike out anyone. His ERA for the game was 10.13 but his FIP was 4.20. This puts his season numbers at 5.73 for ERA and 3.79 for FIP. After giving up 36 HRs in 174 IP in 2016, Tomlin has only allowed 9 in 66 IP this season. That was his main issue last season and he seems to have it under control. Tomlin's BB/9 has also been cut almost in half, down to 0.55 from 1.03. His K/9 is a rather pedestrian 6.00, so whether he will gain a huge amount of value from regression to the mean is debatable.
David Robertson- RP- CHA- FYI- Robertson picked up his 10th save of the season, retiring 6 of the 7 batters he faced and striking out 4 while walking 1. He threw 29 pitches, 20 of them strikes. It was impressive, but it may mean he is unavailable for a little while. The last time Robertson threw close to this many pitches (32 on May 16) he didn't make an appearance for 2 days. Admittedly there were no save opportunities on those 2 days. Robertson also had an appearance of 33 pitches on April 29 and didn't pitch again until May 7. Once again, there weren't save opportunities in that stretch, but his first appearance after the long outing wasn't a save opportunity. Almost 30 pitches would be a lot of pitches to come back on a consecutive day for someone with Robertson's track record, so don't count on him getting another save today.
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