The one bright spot for the White Sox in 2015, Chris Sale, will take the mound tonight against the Rangers in what should be another good opportunity for the left-hander to state his case for starting the MLB All-Star Game for the American League.
But is he worth the $11,100 price tag tonight?
It seems like a question we deal with every Friday over the best pitchers available and usually it will come down to who the cheaper options are. This week there are certainly a few enticing hurlers in some good matchups that are worth consideration.
Here are our picks for this Friday's slate of actions and, as always, good luck tonight:
John "The Professor" Paschall
He may look like he's still in high school in his FanDuel photo, but Gray has been bringing big boy stuff to the mound. He leads the majors in ERA and is taking on an Angels team he already dominated in his last start (7.2 IP, 0 ER, 11 K). He's my guy tonight and saves me $1,000 on my cap compared to Chris Sale.
I'm going with a lot of hot bats tonight against some favorable matchups. Colabello might be one of the best hidden gems in all of baseball as he continues to just find ways to get hits. Since returning from his frightening injury, Betts has had nine hits over his past four games, including a RBI in all but one of them. Burns has a nine-game hitting streak going and is always a threat to swipe a bag on the base paths.
MLB
Holt, who is also smoking the ball at the plate and Bogaerts are facing Yohan Pino, who is making his first career start. It's a risky move but those two Red Sox infielders have been the only offense the team has gotten lately. My pick to homer tonight is Abreu, who continues to smash right-handers (watch out, Colby Lewis).
Wieters has been hitting well since returning from Tommy John surgery and was given a day off yesterday, so hopefully he comes back refreshed against a struggling Marco Estrada.
Scott Krinch
Chris Sale is on a remarkable run so there's no way I was going to make a lineup without him in it.
Yes, he comes with an $11,000 price tag, but if he keeps notching double-digit strikeout totals with a low WHIP he is well worth the hefty fee.
The last time Sale toed the rubber against the Rangers he allowed just three hits and no runs with 13 punchouts. I'm hoping for a little déjà vu on Friday night.
My two main offensive pieces tonight come from the AL East. Manny Machado is looking like an All-Star once again and I'm banking on a Chris Davis dinger or two north of the border off right-hander Marco Estrada.
The rest of my lineup is sprinkled with players that can fill up the box score in Kolten Wong, Marcus Semien, Gregory Polanco and Justin Upton.
My wildcard is Avisail Garcia. After a much-needed off night, I'm predicting Garcia to break out of his slump in a big way against burly Rangers starter Colby Lewis.