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Monday brings a full schedule of games to Major League Baseball and Monkey Knife Fight is there with contests to make every game even more fun.
There are few premier pitching matchups for Monday’s slate of games. Triston McKenzie taking the mound for Cleveland at the Chicago White Sox and Carlos Rodon is a little interesting but hardly a battle of aces.
With questionable starting pitchers on the schedule, it could be another day of more productive games for the hitters. It is early in the season and teams are struggling offensively, scoring 4.54 runs per game while posting a .710 OPS compared to last year when teams were scoring 4.65 runs per game with a .740 OPS.
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STAR SHOOTOUT - MAIN GAMES
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Tyler Glasnow MORE THAN 8.5 STRIKEOUTS
This is never easy when it comes to the Rays ace because, as great as he is and Glasnow is averaging 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings in his 36 starts with the Rays, he is also not likely to go beyond six innings. But, he gets the Texas Rangers on Monday, and the Rangers have a strikeout rate of 28.9% this season, the second highest rate in MLB.
Gerrit Cole MORE THAN 8.5 STRIKEOUTS
The Yankees ace has thrown 97 pitches in both of his two starts this season though he went 5 1/3 innings in the first start and seven innings in the second. Cole has whiffed 21 hitters in 12 1/3 innings and faces a Toronto Blue Jays lineup that has a strikeout rate of 25.9%, a little higher than MLB average.
Pete Alonso LESS THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
The Mets slugger has more than one total base in just one of five games so far this season. Certainly, his home run power makes him a threat to go over the total with one swing but if he does not hit a home run, the odds get stacked against him. Maybe the Philadelphia Phillies, with Chase Anderson on the mound, are not a difficult matchup but that’s not enough to ignore Alonso’s early struggles.
Alex Cobb LESS THAN 16.5 TOTAL OUTS
Although Cobb pitched six innings in his first start for the Angels, he went more than 5 1/3 innings just three times in 10 starts last season. Against a Royals side that has been around league average offensively early in the season it could be safer to have conservative expectations for Cobb.
Mike Trout MORE THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
With a .564 on-base percentage, Trout is off to an incredible start, and has reached base multiple times in six of his nine games this season. Going against the Kansas City Royals and young starting pitcher Brady Singer is not reason to expect Trout to be held in check.
RAPID FIRE
Ronald Acuna Jr. -0.5 fantasy points vs. Shohei Ohtani
Acuna Jr. is off to a ridiculous start this season, slugging .917 with nine of his 16 hits going for extra bases. He matches up with the Miami Marlins, who have Sandy Alcantara on the mound Monday. Ohtani has been great in his own right, slugging .706 through the first nine games and Ohtani faces the Royals and Brady Singer, which is not enough of a reason to take the underdog in this matchup.
STAR SHOOTOUT - LATE GAMES
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Zack Greinke MORE THAN 5.5 STRIKEOUTS
Greinke has been excellent early in the season but he is doing it as a crafty veteran and not necessarily missing bats as he has eight strikeouts in 13 innings through his first two starts. But he is facing a Detroit Tigers lineup that strikes out 27.9% of the time, the fifth highest rate in MLB this season.
Triston McKenzie MORE THAN 5.5 STRIKEOUTS
Making his first start of the season for Cleveland, McKenzie did strike out five in 3 2/3 innings in his first appearance of the season. The challenge facing McKenzie is that he faces a White Sox lineup that has a lower than average strikeout rate (22.3%). With 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings early in his major league career, it is still achievable for McKenzie to get at least six if he stays in for 5-plus innings.
Michael Brantley LESS THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
While the Astros outfielder has .417 on-base percentage, which is very good, he reached base multiple times in his first two games of the season but not in the four games since.
Carlos Rodon LESS THAN 15.5 TOTAL OUTS
Rodon had a brilliant first start, striking out nine in five innings and now the question is whether he stays in the game to get one more out. He threw 95 pitches in five innings in the first start so it may be asking a lot for him to go any deeper into the game.
Brady Singer LESS THAN 15.5 TOTAL OUTS
A promising young arm in the Royals rotation, Singer got hit hard in his first start of the season, allowing six runs in just 3 1/3 innings before getting pulled. Could he rebound against the Angels? Sure, it’s possible but that lineup may be a tough task for Singer, too.
RAPID FIRE
Jose Ramirez -0.5 total bases vs. Salvador Perez
Cleveland’s star third baseman, Ramirez, is slugging .533 early in the season and has a reasonable matchup against left-handed starter Carlos Rodon while Perez, the Royals catcher, is slugging .444 and goes against the Angels’ Alex Cobb. Ramirez facing a lefty is enough of an edge to like him as the favorite in this matchup.
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