Kody Clawson | May 2nd, 2019

Unlike the beginning of the season, I’ve begun to keep a spreadsheet of my pitching matchup’s performances as of Monday. The previous three top options performed, shall we say, strangely at best, with Mike Soroka pitching masterfully and Sandy Alcantara and Felix Pena not so much, although Pena did sneak away with a win. To be honest, the entire pitching landscape has been strange so far this season, with rumors swirling of the ball being juiced again. It’s hard to say how we should take these findings, but hopefully, in the stretch of the full season, these starts will look better than they currently seem. Now, on to the weekend matchups!

Friday, May 3rd

Sonny Gray, CIN vs SFG (29% Owned)

I may seriously have to start a petition to get Gray’s ownership up. Currently, he’s owned in only 29% of ESPN leagues. WHAT?!? The guy is striking out 30.3% of batters he’s faced so far this season and has only walked 6.3%. Not only that, but he’s also kept the ball in the park so far this year, allowing only 0.30 HR/9. While that and his HR/FB rate of 5.0% are due to regress back to the mean, he’s still earning a 2.85 xFIP based on what he’s done so far this season. While I don’t necessarily expect him to keep on this kind of tear, he’s certainly rolling right now, and he can definitely be used against the lowly Giants, who’ve only hit at a 74 wRC+ away from home and a 69 wRC+ against righties. Stream him Friday and consider holding if you can. He should certainly be worth it.

Others Receiving Votes:

Jerad Eickhoff , PHI vs WSH (15% Owned)

Brett Anderson, OAK @ PIT (11% Owned)

Saturday, May 4th

Mike Soroka, ATL @ MIA (34% Owned)

If anyone were lucky enough to be playing in a weekly league in which Soroka was available, I sure hoped they jumped on him. He was the featured pitcher for Monday here on our daily league streaming options, and he did not disappoint, giving up one run on four hits with one walk, striking out eight through six innings and getting the win against the Padres. He gets another juicy matchup here, taking on the Marlins. Their park is one of the best pitchers parks there is and the lineup is scaring absolutely no one. They hit at an 81 wRC+ at home and a 73 wRC+ against righties. Woof.

Others Receiving Votes:

Tanner Roark, CIN vs SFG (8% Owned)

Mike Leake, SEA @ CLE (8% Owned)

Sunday, May 5th

Frankie Montas, OAK @ PIT (42% Owned)

I was a bit wishy-washy looking at the top three on my board for the Sunday matchups (you can see the other two on the Others Receiving Votes section below). I decided to go with Montas because he has been the better of the three lately, his Boston start notwithstanding. He’s been a bit hittable, but he has some strikeout stuff and has only allowed more than two walks just once in his last six starts. Getting to go face an NL lineup in Pittsburgh should be very beneficial, as the Pirates have only an 84 wRC+ at home and an 84 wRC+ against righties. There’s no reason Montas can’t perform here.

Others Receiving Votes:

Brad Keller, KC @ DET (28% Owned)

Julio Teheran, ATL @ MIA (40% Owned)

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