BEST LINES:  Pinnacle -1½ +180 BET365 -1½ +180 SportsInteraction -1½ +180 5DIMES  -1½ +180

Posted at 12:00 PM EST.

7:10 PM EST. German Marquez threw a pitch two starts back that hit Chicago’s Kris Bryant in the face. Bryant left the game and Marquez was very shook up. Marquez proceeded to get whacked in that game afterward and didn’t look particularly sharp in his last game either. Personally, I was quite interested in watching Marquez pitch his last game because of said incident and there was no question he was affected by it. Marquez was “scared” to come inside and left a lot of pitches over the plate. While the box score last game doesn’t look bad (6 IP 6H 3ER), many balls were hit hard and that start was at Miami. We’re wagering that Marquez is not the same after that scary incident that looked like Bryant was never going to get up again. We’re suggesting that German Marquez is damaged but even if he’s not, we still like this wager. 

Back in 2015, Zack Wheeler owned a unique combination of strikeouts and groundballs. At that time (back in ’15), Wheeler was striking out almost a batter per inning while his 95 mph fastball and plus swinging-strike rate supported it. Wheeler was also inducing a ton of groundballs and heading into 2016, we wrote, “Zack Wheeler is another premium young breakout target with elite upside. RH bats had no chance against him and when they put the ball in play, it was usually on the ground” but then bad fortune struck. Zack Wheeler had TJS and has not been the same since after missing two full years and throwing just 81 innings last year over 17 starts. Now three years since going under knife, that 2014 breakout is a distant memory but we’ll now urge you to jump in before the market recognizes the signs are there that Wheeler is back and perhaps better than ever. In his last start, Wheeler struck out nine batters in five frames and now has 21 K’s in 22 innings. His swinging strike rate last game was an off-the charts 17% and is now at 12% overall. To add to that dominance, Wheeler is inducing an elite 55% groundball rate once again. Zack Wheeler is just 28 years old and was on the verge of stardom back in 2014 but TJS and a lot of missed time has put him on the back burner. If his under the hood stats are legit, and nothing suggests they are not, Zack Wheeler is one of the best under the radar starters in the game and he’ll be facing the weak road offense of the Rockies here.

Please note: We have leans posted daily on Twitter and you can follow us there for leans, possible late plays or any other info we might have to pass along. 

Open an account today at Pinnacle Sports and take advantage of their -104 style pricing on sides and totals, which is 60% better than other sportsbooks.