There are a lot of ace pitchers out on the mound tonight, so I am tempted to spend money on one for my daily fantasy roster at FanDuel.
And I am going to do so. For $8200, Ivan Nova brings his low WHIP and high strikeout rate to Oakland to face a team that strikes out a lot. Liriano fanned 15 A’s last week. I want to see what Ivan Nova can do tonight.
Which means I have to save money on bats. SS Ruben Tejada is 3 for 3 previously vs. Harang, and only $3200.
Brewers pitcher Marco Estrada has been striking out a lot of batters (over 10K/9IP) but when hitters make contact, the ball is in the air (ground ball rate of 33%) and those balls leave the yard at a rate of 16.7%. 2B Brandon Phillips is already 4 for 6 against Estrada this year. Phillips is a reasonable $3400 tonight.
Orioles 3B Wilson Betemit has gone hitless in 4 of his last 6, so he costs only $3000. Tonight, though, he faces Derek Lowe and is 3 for 4 against the man with the 1.56 WHIP.
OF Lorenzo Cain is still affordable at $2600 and tonight gets to face Nick Blackburn. I’ll take it.
That leaves some money for others.
Like plenty of other Phillies fans, I don’t quite like seeing OF Cody Ross play baseball, but he is on a roll of late, is $3600 tonight, and faces a lefty tonight. Ross is htting .329 and slugging a silly .814 against lefties this year.
Arizona C Miguel Montero is 4 for 8 lifetime against Bud Norris, with 2 walks. He is somewhat expensive though at $3700.
