1st 5 Innings - ROYALS -0.5 (-110) 3 Units
Dustin McGowan is one of my highly faded starters. His low GB%, low K/9, high WHIP, and low Swinging strike %, make him an absolute run machine. His fastball, changeup, and slider have been absolute meatballs this season. The Royals are a good fastball hitting team so they can handle the 95mph velocity, given his lack movement on the pitch thus far in the season. Plainly put, he's not fooling anyone. Jason Vargas, on the other hand, is trending towards a career best season. After 5 starts, he's sporting a 1.54 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Although I believe these numbers will almost certainly come back down toward the league average, there is also reason to believe that his success will continue. He's kept a steady average of GB/FB/LD that's been consistent to his previous seasons, but the spray chart fits Kaufman better than almost any other stadium he's pitched in. The batted balls are left very fieldable. If this continues, he could finish the season near the 3 ERA mark.