It's Friday, and you know what that means...
OK, well besides Rebecca Black's anthem, it means it's time for some FanDuel lineup breakdowns with the CSN Fantasy crew.
Tonight, Jose Fernandez is the most expensive pitcher tossing against that woeful, awful, no-good Phillies lineup. But is Fernandez worth the risk?
The Marlins ace is only is his third start back from Tommy John surgery, but he's already 2-0 with 15 strikeouts in 13 innings and a sparkling 2.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.
But don't assume Fernandez is back to his old self (2.24 career ERA, 10.3 K/9) already. With the advancements in Tommy John surgery, recipients have had more success earlier after the procedure, but there is still a period of inconsistency with command and overall results.
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Even with the great pitching matchup tonight and Fernandez's awesome stuff in his first two starts, it would be wise to wait for the other shoe to drop.
MLB
There are cheaper, safer options out there. It's not worth the risk of having a Tommy John guy at a ridiculous $10,500 salary.
John "The Professor" Paschall
It was reeeaaalllyyy hard not to take Jose Fernandez against the Phillies tonight. But I exercised some self-control and looked at some slightly cheaper options. Lance Lynn at home against the Mets' weak lineup is the ideal pitcher you want in your lineup. His price tag won't cause you to dive into the bargain bin and he's still a quality enough pitcher that you know you'll get a solid start out of him.
A couple of Cubs headline my lineup tonight. Bryant's price tag has dropped a little and I think having a couple days off will help him return to form. Schwarber is surprisingly listed as an outfielder instead of a catcher but I'll still take him at $2,600. All he did when he was up in the majors earlier was mash and I think he could do the same now.
[LISTEN: Previewing White Sox & Cubs second half on new podcast]
Fielder eats right-handers for dinner so expect the big fella to feast tonight against McHugh. His average won't show it, but Pederson puts on a power show against righties (17 HRs vs. RHP compared to 3 HRs vs. LHP). Consider yourself warned, Zimmerman.
We've talked about at length how bad Cano has been this year but did you see where he's playing tonight? I get it that it's not his first time back to Yankee Stadium but you can't tell me he won't be energized after the break to return to New York, looking to figure out his swing.
How Bogaerts is still only costing owners $3,000 is a mystery to me. Picking him up saves you money and gets you a quality player.
Tony Andracki
Kyle Hendricks hasn't given up a run in his last three-plus starts and draws a nice matchup against a weak Braves lineup. Plus, you can't beat that $7,300 price tag for a solid pitcher. Save some money and go bigger on my hitters.
Evan Gattis draws a nice matchup against a lefty in Martin Perez, who's coming off the DL and hasn't had much success this year. I'm calling a longball from Evan "I don't wear batting gloves and don't pee on my hands, either" Gattis. Anthony Rizzo adds another Cub to my list and the guy's been just ridiculous this season and now is hitting fourth behind Kris Bryant (third) and new catcher Kyle Schwarber (second).
For the rest of my lineup, I found some value with Scooter Gennett (career .311 average, .818 OPS vs. RHP) and Evan Longoria (facing Drew Hutchison who has a 5.33 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 18 starts this year). Christian Yelich is facing a lefty, but his splits aren't very pronounced this year between the two sides (.261 AVG/.686 OPS vs. LHP; .265/.719 vs. RHP), so I figured it was good value for a guy that I'm head over heels crazy about in the second half this year.
I spent a little bit more for a trio of young guys (Carlos Correa, A.J. Pollock and Mookie Betts), but I love what they've been doing this year and they all have solid matchups coming out of the break. Plus, all three guys can steal and their legs could not feel any better for them right now than after four straight days off (Pollock only played a few innings in Tuesday's All-Star Game).