Dr. Mike Hass is a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan and a lawyer who lives in Washington DC. He started playing DFS a couple years ago when he no longer had time for season long leagues, and has been hooked ever since. He plays most DFS sports but focuses his time on MLB, especially pitching. He started posting his pitching analyses on Twitter (@msonichdrhass) last season mostly because it helped him organize his thoughts, but enough people started reading it that he does it as regularly as possible (around family and career).

You can read his past “DFS Thoughts” on his personal blog http://DFSThoughts.wordpress.com. He’s primarily a GPP player, but also writes advice for cash games, too. You can always catch him on Twitter, and hes responds to individual questions.

“Thanks for reading, and I hope it helps you make money!” – Dr. Hass

May 11th (EARLY) Quick Pitching Notes

Bumgarner (SF): Jays starting to hit (a tiny bit), but Bumgarner is still elite. Price and matchup would normally push this to GPP territory for me, but this is a pretty meager slate, so I’d play him in cash games, too.

Salazar (CLE): Elite K% facing a team that Ks a lot. It’s HOU, so there’s danger, and Salazar can sometimes struggle with walks, but this has a ton of GPP upside to it. Don’t hate him for cash games, either, especially on this slate.

Archer (TB): Striking guys out at an elite rate, but SEA is a tough matchup right now. I still like him for GPPs, but staying away in cash games. Will likely have lowest ownership of the $10k+ guys.

Walker (SEA): Burned a lot of people last time out due to injury. If he’s healthy, I love his matchup today. TB a K machine, and Walker looking great (SIERA of 3.06). Assuming he’s fine, I like him in both cash and GPP, but I get the risk, so I can understand fading him in cash games.

Hamels (TEX): Pitching fine, limits the trouble, but CWS tough right now and not striking out much. There’s little I hate about Hamels today but there’s nothing I really like. I will pass.

Hendricks (CHC): Top cash option, and it’s not particularly close. Strong GPP play, too. SDP a weak lineup and Hendricks pitching very well. Check the wind, but he’s your safe play and has big upside. Ownership should be extremely high. 40% in tourneys?

Stroman (TOR): Has pitched really well last two starts, but SF isn’t LAD or TB. Facing Bumgarner. Easy choice to fade.

Rea (SD): Cubs cutting down on their K tendencies a bit, and that’s bad news for opposing pitchers. Here, Rea is already well below league average. Could Ks come? Sure, but I’m not expecting much here.

Latos (CWS): ERA is 2.62. SIERA/xFIP are 4.92/4.91. Texas is not an easy out and has been playing well recently. Could be the day he comes crashing down, so I’ll fade.

Hughes (MIN): Maybe not pitching as bad as his numbers say, and BAL is sometimes prone to Ks, but Hughes not a K guy. Low upside, high risk = fade.

Bettis (COL): Only one team has really been hitting this series. Unfortunately for Bettis, it’s not COL. Fade the Coors game for pitchers, as usual.
Fister (HOU): Fister has been passable recently, and he only costs $5400, but will he make it to 10 points vs CLE? Possible, but not a foregone conclusion. For price savings only, you could do worse (?), but there’s very little to like here at all.

Ray (ARI): This has the look of an ugly start. That said, COL bats have been pretty quiet this series. This seems unlikely to continue. Ray can get his Ks, and COL can strike out, but this has the strong potential to be a blowout. Like every game at Coors.

Wilson (BAL): Let me put it this way—there are 5 batters who cost at least as much as Wilson, and I’d use any of them before I use him. They at least have 15-20 point upside. He does limit the damage (usually), so there’s that.