Joel Dorcas |July 18th, 2019
Welcome back to yet another edition of Around the Horn. If you are a fan of high scoring, homer-happy baseball you are in your glory this season. The ball continues to fly out of the park at a record-breaking pace and nothing suggests that this won’t continue until the postseason. As for DFS, we don’t really care how the game plays out, as long as we pick the right players, if not, well, most of us are fans regardless. Enough of the pre-game talk, let’s burn around the bases, and go Around the Horn!
PITCHER
Charlie Morton TB $10,200
Morton, when it comes to DK pts per game, is the best pitcher on the slate. However, he isn’t priced as such as the Rays will be at Yankee Stadium to close out their four-game series. Morton has been tremendous this season, and although the Yanks are a powerhouse offense, he can reach double-digit strikeout totals and finish the day with a great outing. The Yankees carry the second-highest K% for the month of July at 26.3%. and have scored 48 runs this month, 24th in baseball, one less than the lowly Baltimore Orioles. Morton is averaging 20.7 pts in two games versus the Yanks with the most recent, July 7th being his best, five innings, 10 K, just a single earned run, 31.2 DK pts.
INFIELD
Jose Ramirez CLE 3B $4,000
It certainly has been a rough stretch for 28-year-old left-hander Matthew Boyd. This was thought to be the breakout season for Boyd but the last seven games, despite high strikeout totals, have gone poorly. Five games of at least four earned runs, with the other two totaling three earned runs in each game. As for Ramirez, we are finally seeing glimpses of what we are normally accustomed to seeing. In his previous 22 games before Wednesday, he has slashed .294/.355./.541. A great improvement over his full-season line of just .226/.310/.362. Boyd’s last outing against the Tribe came on June 21st at Progressive Field. Five earned runs, three home runs given up in six innings of work.
Matt Adams WAS 1B $4,200
The Washington Nationals are all of the sudden very relevant in the playoff picture. They have compiled a 9-3 record since June 29th before entering Wednesday’s game. They open a series against a great team in their own right, the Atlanta Braves Thursday with righty Julio Teheran getting the start. Teheran has been decent this season but regression could be on its way. Teheran hasn’t faced the Nationals this season but last year pitched to a 6.57 ERA in 12.1 innings of work. Slugging first baseman Matt Adams is likely to get the nod against a right-hander at hitter-friendly Sun Trust Park. Adams has compiled five hits in 12 at-bats with two long-balls and five runs driven in against Atlanta this season. As for facing Teheran, Adams has just five at-bats, two hits, with one clearing the fence.
OUTFIELD
Ramon Laureano OAK $4,700
As the Athletics go so does 25-year-old Ramon Laureano. Since the beginning of June, the A’s are 24-13 heading into Wednesday night’s action. Laureano has been a key cog during the resurgence. He has slashed 277/.338/.600 with 12 taters during the time frame. Comparatively, he had just six homers and a .259/.303/.405 slash line in the opening two months of the season. Laureano has a limited sample of work versus Twins starter Kyle Gibson but the results have been good. 4-for-5 with a double and a home run.
Oscar Mercado CLE $4,400
Given Tigers starter Matthew Boyd’s recent struggles and the fact that the Indians are running extremely hot right now, we have to continue to ride the coattails of as many Cleveland players as possible. Like many on this surging squad, Mercado has owned Tigers pitching this season. He is slashing .395/.452/.711 and is averaging a hefty 15.1 FK pts per game in nine games.
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