Ryan Weber (SP-ATL) - It's not often that I see a name in the boxscore that I'm not familiar with, but Weber is that guy this week. Tuesday, Weber tossed six innings of two-run ball against the Phillies, allowing four hits while posting a 2:1 K:BB. The 25 year-old had a 2.35 ERA in 99.2 minor league innings this year, including nine starts and 29 relief appearances. Weber is a pitch-to-contact type guy given his 59:10 K:BB in those 99.2 innings, but with his groundball tendencies, he's going to have some good nights mixed with some pretty bad ones should he stick in the rotation. Weber hasn't gone more than six innings in a game this year and shouldn't be expected to pitch too deep into games going forward. He may have some NL-only streaming value, but that's about it.
Matt Harvey (SP-NYM) - It's quite possible that had Tommy Lasorda limited the innings of Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser in the 80s, both former Cy Young winners would have been more effective in their 30s. It's also possible that the Dodgers would not have won the World Series in 1981 and 1988. With all the controversy surrounding Harvey's IP count this year, the Mets' ace took the hill Tuesday and proceeded to allow seven runs in just 5.1 innings against the Nationals. Harvey did post a 6:2 K:BB, but he was hit pretty good and it's possible that the controversy affected his performance. Harvey still has a solid 2.88 ERA, but his last two starts have not been of the quality start variety, making him a questionable Draft Kings pick going forward at what should still be an exorbitant salary.
Raisel Iglesias (SP-CIN) - Just when I thought Iglesias was poised to finish strong and open as the Reds' #2 or #3 starter next year, he's taken a step back. Iglesias was hit for five runs on six hits over five innings against the Pirates Tuesday. His 4:1 K:BB was decent, but the runs pushed his ERA this year to 4.18. Iglesias had been on an incredible run of six consecutive quality starts, and had notched three 10+ strikeout efforts in his last three outings prior to Tuesday. That said, these ratios are nothing to scoff at: 10.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9. I'm regretting dropping him in my NL-only keeper league, so for my sake I hope he continues taking, but that's not likely.
Francisco Liriano (SP-PIT) - The Pirates are going to be tough should the wind up in the playoffs this year. Gerrit Cole, Liriano, and hopefully a healthy A.J. Burnett could be a formidable bunch. It was vintage Liriano against the Reds Tuesday, as the lefty spun six shutout innings, allowing just three hits while walking one and striking out 10 to lower his ERA to 3.28 on the year. Liriano had a mediocre 4.94 ERA in August and was coming off a subpar first outing this month (5 IP, 4 ER), but he had it going Tuesday for his sixth double-digit strikeout effort of the season. His 9.7 K/9 is as strong as ever, and his 3.4 BB/9 is a nice step forward over last year's 4.5 mark. Liriano is throwing as hard as ever and generating close to 2.3 GB's per FB, so if the ERA continues to drop, it would be no surprise. Liriano's $9.600 Draft Kings salary doesn't leave a whole lot of room for profit, so I'd probably hold off there until he has another outing like this one.
Odubel Herrera (OF-PHI) - The Phillies have plenty of openings in their 2016 projected lineup and are using this month for open auditions. One guy seemingly with a leg up is Herrera, who went 2-for-3 with a walk, his eighth home run, and three RBI Tuesday to raise his slash to a solid .302/.340/.434. In 424 at-bats this year, Herrera has swiped 14 bags to go with the long balls, his 4.5% BB% is probably keeping him from the leadoff spot for now, but with Cesar Hernandez (not a true leadoff man) occupying that spot now, Herrera could still ascend in the lineup either this month or next season. He's striking out about 23% of the time compared to closer to 15% in the minor leagues, so there's still plenty of potential for him to improve given he's still just 23. The lefty is also hitting a respectable .273/.330/.405 against southpaws, so he's shown so far at least that he doesn't need to be platooned. Herrera goes for a reasonable $3,200 in Draft Kings leagues, but I probably wouldn't use him unless he were facing a below average RHP. Wednesday's opponent is RHP Julio Teheran, so I'd pass.
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