The Weekend Round Up — June 11th
Recap of MLB News, Fantasy News, and Gambling Picks.
Episode 3: God Hates The Mets
The 3rd episode of our podcast is out! On this episode, the crew talks the MLB Draft, the Mets inevitable losing season, the Dodgers resurgence, the Trade Deadline, and our iconic one-minute opinions. Listen Here:
Scherzer Loses First Time Since April 4th
Max Scherzer has been a dominant force to begin the 2018 season. In fact, he had not lost a decision this season since April 4th, his second start of the season. Mad Max has been a statistical God this season, only allowing more than two earned runs once, and he still received a win. In his two losses he has only allowed two runs each time. The two time reigning Cy Young is virtually unhittable, but Brandon Crawford did something no one has done since the 2015 season versus Max; he got three hits, including a homerun. Let that sink in, he is the first player in two and a half seasons to have three hits and a homerun against Scherzer. Even in a loss, it seems like Scherzer is breaking records and making noteworthy contributions. He projects to face the Blue Jays next weekend. That should be fun!
Kluber First To 10
Corey Kluber is looking like his old self again. After going 8 strong innings this weekend he notched his 10th win, making him the first pitcher in the AL to do so. This year is shaping up to be a big for the Indians ace because their bullpen is bad and they need him to eat up a lot of innings. If Kluber can put up great numbers like he did last year, the Indians will be in a great position for the playoffs. The are almost a certainty to make the playoffs, but it helps to be hot when moving towards October.
Goldschmidt Is Back
12 games ago, Paul Goldschmidt was batting .201. Now he’s batting .250. He also has 5 of his 12 home runs in the past week. I think it is safe to say that his slump is over. If you listened to the third episode of our Podcast, we called Goldschmidt a “fantasy disappointment” but now he is just telling us to go fuck ourselves. Goldy is back and you can count on his average being back to .300 in no time.
Yankees Get Blanked
Baseball is a funny game, isn’t it? The 42–18 New York Yankees were looking to sweep the 27–34 Mets and spot starter Seth Lugo with their ace Luis Severino on the bump. The Mets had lost 8 in a row coming into Sunday night and the Yankees had not yet been shut out on the season, and just as baseball works sometimes, Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, and Anthony Swarzak somehow blanked the red hot yanks, 2–0. It’s a small moral victory from the Mets as they try to pick up the pieces from the last 2 weeks of their demise, and a blip for the Yankees who will likely continue to steamroll teams left and right. However, Gary Sanchez is now batting .190 again. The yanks are fine and the Mets are not, but the Bronx Bombers will not be the first team in the modern era to avoid getting shutout all season as the Mets bullpen, of all things, holds them scoreless. Oh baseball, you’ve done it again.
Fantasy News
Reynaldo Lopez
Rookie pitcher Reynaldo Lopez has been a revelation for the White Sox. An under-the-radar acquisition from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade, Lopez has been great this season for the struggling ChiSox. Lopez owns a 3.26 ERA and is only owned in 20.9% of leagues, so he is available in most leagues. He will not be a guy who wins you a league, but he is capable of giving solid spot starts, with high upside. He was once a top 100 prospect, and he is finally showing his untapped potential. It could be the time to buy in on the young righty, he is out there in a lot of leagues.
Strasburg Injured
If you’re like me, Steven Strasburg was the life blood of your fantasy baseball team. He left the 1st inning of his start this weekend clutching his shoulder, and then went off for an MRI. LUCKILY, his MRI came back negative and he isn’t expected to miss a ton of time. However, he is on the 10 day DL with no time table to return. If you’re familiar with Strasburg, you know he is very injury prone. This is a bad sign, trade Stras if you can.
Nathan Eovaldi
Nathan Eovaldi has finally made his return to the mound following surgery and although the results haven’t looked like anything to drool over yet (26, 2, 8) he should definitely be monitored closely. His fastball is still very high 90s and his breaking stuff is rusty, but strong. The 26 he had in his first outing was against the Athletics, and after somewhat holding his own in tough matchups against Washington and Seattle, he has proven to the Rays that’s he’s capable of taking the ball every first day and turning in some production. As for us fantasy owners, he may be worth a pickup if your light on your staff. It’s early, but the reward highly outweighs the risk.
Gambling Picks
Scaf’s Picks
This weekend our picks did terribly. We are hemorrhaging money out of our ass. It’s bad. These picks will turn it all around.
- Boston Red Sox (-120)
- Milwaukee Brewers (+115)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (-120)
Balzy’s Beat The Streak Pick
The streak continues. Don’t jinx it. Today’s picks are Matt Carpenter and Mike Trout. #RoadTo56
Streak Counter — 4
Bonus
Lord Stanley Visits Nats Park
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you heard the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup. A tradition after you win the Cup is that each player get to get a week to bring the trophy where ever he wants, starting with the captain. Ovi is the captain for the Caps, and let’s just say he’s having a good time.
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