The Tuesday slate of Major League Baseball action delivers a 13-game main slate, with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Pitchers
There are a few big-name starting pitchers on the card, the first being Lucas Giolito. The Chicago White Sox standout is the top-rated pitcher on the Bales Model via DraftKings.
Giolito has a bloated ERA due to his performance last time out against the Boston Red Sox. He only recorded three outs, giving up seven earned runs. That is an outlier game to me, especially with that game occurring at 11 a.m. ET on Patriot’s Day.
Now, Giolito gets to face the Detroit Tigers. They have an implied run total of 3.1, which is the second lowest on the schedule. They have the highest strikeout percentage in all of baseball at 28.9 percent. They also average exactly 3.0 runs per game, which is easily the lowest in the Major League Baseball.
Giolito hits for seven ProTrends tonight and this looks like a fantastic get right game for him.
The other big name starting pitcher for tonight is Walker Buehler. Buehler has notched a quality start in all four of his turns in the rotation this year, including two starts in a row against the San Diego Padres. The downside, so far, is that he has only had four strikeouts in a start three times.
Buehler is the top rated pitcher on the Bales Model on FanDuel.
Tonight, Buehler gets to see the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have actually scored the most runs per game in the MLB at 5.55. They also rank in the bottom-third of the league in strikeout percentage.
There are still quite a few who think Buehler enjoys success in this start. Vegas has the Los Angeles Dodgers as strong -237 favorites for this game, with the Reds sitting at an implied run total of 3.0, the lowest of the slate. Buehler also hits for nine ProTrends.
To me, it seems like Giolito would be the safer option between these two. I think both have paths to success in these matchups, but Buehler does not quite have the strikeout upside.
Ian Anderson is a name that could get some love tonight. He gets to face the Chicago Cubs, who have struggled offensively in quite a few games so far. Anderson is third on the Bales Model for DraftKings and fourth for FanDuel.
The Cubs have the fourth worst strikeout percentage in the MLB and Anderson is coming off of his best start of the season. The worry so far with Anderson is the number of walks he is giving up, as he has four in each of his last two outings.
Anderson hits for seven ProTrends on the evening and the Cubs have an implied run total of 3.8.
The punt option of the night is Aaron Sanchez.
He is a tough pitcher to trust, but gets a juicy match-up pulling the Colorado Rockies out of Coors Field. They have an implied run total of just 3.5 runs and Sanchez hits for eight ProTrends.
It’s a definite contrarian play, that should not be utilized in cash games. Placing him in your lineup allows you the flexibility to go really wherever you want for your bats, just realize how easily it could blow up in your face.
Hitters
Notable Stack
The top stack of the night belongs to the New York Yankees:
- 1. DJ Lemahieu (R)
- 2. Giancarlo Stanton (R)
- 3. Aaron Judge (R)
- 4. Gleyber Torres (R)
This group of four is projected for 49.2 FanDuel points on a $12,700 salary. This is really interesting, especially seeing how much the Yankees’ offense has struggled so far in 2021. They are facing a young left-hander in Bruce Zimmerman, who is not getting much respect. The Yankees’ have an implied run total of 5.5 for tonight. Zimmerman has not really done that poorly in his four starts in 2021, he has given up three earned runs in three starts and just two earned runs in the other. He has given up four home runs so far, which is exactly how the Yankees offense intends to score runs.
Other Hitters
Marcell Ozuna likes to see Trevor Williams on the mound when he steps in the box. Lifetime he is 7-or-18 off of Williams and the Atlanta Braves offense has been a good one to target this season, having scored 4.50 runs per game.
Another hitter who likes their matchup tonight is the newly returned Anthony Rendon. Rendon is 10-for-31 lifetime with three doubles, a triple, and a home run off of Mike Foltynewicz. It might take awhile for Rendon to get his swing back, as he returns from injury. He will only bolster a Los Angeles Angels offense that is averaging 5.05 runs per game.
His price is going to reflect is, but Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He had just an insane weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, between launching homers and swiping bags. The San Diego Padres get to face Merrill Kelly tonight, who is kind of a mess. Kelly has given up a minimum of three earned runs in each of his starts and sits with a 7.71 ERA. Tatis Jr. is a casual 5-for-12 lifetime off of Kelly, with three home runs. He pops up frequently in the Lineup Optimizer.
The Dodgers will probably be a popular stack for the evening, facing Jeff Hoffman of the Reds. For a peculiar stat-line, Mookie Betts is 2-for-2 lifetime off of Hoffman and both hits have left the yard.
The top of the lineup hitters for the Houston Astros are all worth considering. Most of them are right-handed hitters facing lefty Marco Gonzales. They were the second-best stack of the night and Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman, and Yordan Alvarez all hit for at least five ProTrends.
