Michael Beller got off to a nice start in Period 2 Week 1 of the four-week contest. Week 2 goes off tonight.
Here are Tout Picks for tonight’s contest:
CHARLIE WIEGERT
The last time Taijuan Walker ($8,400 @SD) pitched good was April 27th vs San Diego. He gets them again tonight and I’m hoping for another 10+ KO performance.
Nolan Arenado ($5,200 @Cincinnati) and Charlie Blackmon ($5,300) against Reds rookie pitcher Bonilla, and hot hitters Jose Altuve, Jonathan Lucroy and Aaron Judge.
GENE McCAFFREY
Luis Severino ($8,800 @Tampa Bay) has 17 Ks in 56 PAs vs. the Rays lineup, which means his expected performance range is mediocre-to-great. Which is a lot better than poor-to-mediocre.
Assuming the game is played, Brandon Crawford ($3,300 @St. Louis) has hit Michael Wacha well and he’s cheap.
JEFF BOGGIS
Chris Sale ($13,000 @Oakland) has been on fire and he is worth paying top dollar to roster him this week. Over this past 5 starts, Sale is 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA and averaging over 7 innings pitched and 11 strikeouts per game. He pitches on the road tonight at Oakland where he owns a 2.49 ERA and 0.83 WHIP on the road this season. You must be more savvy when rostering your hitters to justify Sale’s top salary at $13,000, but he can carry your team tonight. Roster Chris Sale tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 2, week 2 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr
Chris Taylor ($3,700 vs. Miami) By rostering Chris Sale at SP, I must find hitter values and I think I have that tonight with Chris Taylor. After going 0/3 on Wednesday, he was given the day off on Thursday and rested for tonight’s game. Taylor will face left-handed pitcher, Justin Nicolino tonight. Chris Taylor is hitting .381/.500/.571 with 1 HR and 1 RBI against lefties this season. He also has a 0.923 OPS over the last 14 days. Roster Chris Taylor tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 2, week 2 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr
BRIAN WALTON
With the big money likely on Chris Sale, I will save $4600 by leading with Alex Wood ($8,800 vs. Miami) and field a decent offense. With a 2.27 ERA, 48 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings and back to back double digit strikeout games, Wood is finally stepping to that long-anticipated next level. Making this play even better is the arrival of the toothless Miami offense in Dodger Stadium Friday night.
On offense, my pick of the day is scalding-hot J.D. Martinez ($4,700 vs. Texas). Over his last 25 plate appearances, the Detroit outfielder is 8-for-16, including five home runs, 11 RBI and he took nine walks to boot. There should be little contest between this Martinez and Rangers starter Nick Martinez (5.04 ERA) Friday evening.
LAWR MICHAELS
Charlie Morton ($8,700 vs. Cleveland): Morton has slipped into the Astros groove, adding three MPH to his fastball, averaging 18.7 fantasy points per game. That means pairing him with Alex Wood gives me solid arms and big time bats. The move is also a crapshoot, as I am assuming my mates will go for Chris Sale against the Athletics, which is certainly the called for pick. But, going against the grain Week II gives a chance to jump by my mates with a good day, and still affords two more weeks to try and rectify a potential Morton meltdown.
Lorenzo Cain ($4,100 @Minnesota): Cain is having a solid year despite those around him, averaging eight points while facing lefty Hector Santiago, who has pitched pretty well, but is indeed vulnerable to the long ball.