Fantasy Baseball analyst Fred Zinkie takes a look at the Monday MLB slate and offers up his top waiver wire add of the day along with some DFS picks.
Pickup of the Day
Cristian Javier (SP, Houston Astros, 41 percent rostered)
Javier is going to make a spot start for the Astros on Wednesday, as manager Dusty Baker uses a six-man rotation for at least one turn. The guess here is that this will be far from the last time that Javier starts for the Astros this season. The right-hander has been dynamite out of the bullpen this year, posting a 12:1 K:BB ratio across 8.1 innings. And in his career, Javier has produced a 3.42 ERA when working as a starter. The Astros have endured awful pitching from Jake Odorizzi (9.00 ERA, 2.56 WHIP) this year and could shift him to a long-relief role at some point. This is the time to scoop Javier off waivers.
DFS plays of the day
Walker Buehler (SP, Los Angeles Dodgers, $45)
Buehler is not off to his best start this season, having posted a 4.02 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP across three starts. An unusually high .306 BABIP bears some of the blame, and the guess here is that the right-hander with a lifetime 2.93 ERA will return to his ace form when he faces a D-backs lineup that is hitting .189 with a .612 OPS. With few games on the Monday evening docket, this isn’t a night to go cheap at the pitcher position.
Kyle Tucker (OF, Houston Astros, $12)
Tucker is off to a miserable start this season (.449 OPS), which has significantly deflated the DFS cost for one of baseball’s most talented hitters. Tucker could turn things around on Monday when he faces Rangers righty Dane Dunning, who in his career has allowed left-handed hitters such as Tucker to post a .788 OPS (.717 OPS allowed to lefty batters as a whole). Tucker could also excel late in the game against a Rangers bullpen that ranks 28th in baseball in ERA.
Need-to-know Notes
· Steven Kwan (OF, CLE) left Sunday’s game with hamstring soreness. He is listed as day-to-day.
· Joc Pederson (OF, SFG) homered twice on Sunday. With the Giants scheduled to see many right-handed starters this week, the southpaw-slugging Pederson should be rostered in many leagues.
· Lucas Sims (RP, CIN) earned his first save of the season on Sunday and is the favorite for save chances in the coming days.
· Liam Hendriks (RP, CWS) served up a three-run homer on Sunday before manager Tony LaRussa reported that his closer is dealing with back tightness. Managers with Hendriks may want to cover their bases with Kendall Graveman.
· Dany Jimenez (RP, OAK) picked up his third save of the season yesterday but could lose his ninth-inning role when Lou Trivino returns from the COVID-IL.