Hector Santiago (SP-LAA): Santiago fell prey to the regression monster on Wednesday, as the lefty allowed 5 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings, only striking out 3 Rays. Interestingly enough, the monster left some meat on the bone, as Santiago still carries a 2.69 ERA/4.66 xFIP as he has been extremely fortunate with his BABIP and LOB marks. It does appear that Santiago is altering his deployment, throwing more sinkers and cutters, but he still is posting a 30% GB rate and a league-average 8% swinging-strike rate. Be careful.
Lance McCullers (SP-HOU): Sir Lance McCullers tossed a complete-game-gem against the Orioles, allowing 1 earned run and striking out 11 in picking up the W. With a 1.88 ERA/2.81 xFIP and a 29:6 K:BB ratio, McCullers looks to be handling the jump from AA to the Majors quite well. His swinging-strike and linedrive rates are only at league average, but I see them improving--McCullers is gaining confidence with his stuff and attacking hitters. He didn't walk a batter last night and was hitting 96 MPH past the 100-pitch mark, which are all excellent signs in moving forward. Buy.
Mike Moustakas (3B-KC): Moustakas continued his dominance of Corey Kluber, going 2-for-4 with 1 RBI to lead the Royals. The Mouse was 13-for-27 with a 1.311 OPS against the reigning AL Cy Young winner coming into the contest. It's been an incredible breakout season for Moustakas, as the lefty has improved his contact, swinging strike, walk, and linedrive rates while also showing marked improvement against southpaws. His 104 MPH average speed off bat on his homers is above average and supports the power production. Buy.
Phil Hughes (SP-MIN): The Twins veteran allowed 5 earned runs and a-whopping 11 hits in 4 and 1/3 innings in earning the loss. 2015 has been quite the disappointment so far for Hughes.
Opponents are slugging .578 off of his 4-seam fastball and swinging and missing on all pitches just 6% of the time. The control is still there, but his fastball velocity is down significantly, and unless he makes the necessary adjustments with his deployment, this could be one ugly season. Avoid.
Carlos Rodon (SP-CHW): At $5600 on DraftKings, Carlos Rodon makes for an intriguing tournament play today against the Rangers. Sure, he's nearly walked the planet with a 14.5% BB-rate, but he didn't offer a free pass in his last start; and with a 19% K-rate and a Rangers team sans Adrian Beltre that is 2nd in K's against lefties, I see Rodon delivering nice value.
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