Start: July 11th vs. Kansas City Royals
ESPN ownership: 21.8%
Optimists among us will be tempted to split hairs on Lance Lynn's summer returns, noting that the Minnesota Twins' righty has offset his lackluster 4.21 ERA since the start of June with a passable 3.73 FIP.
I don't know anyone who plays in a FIP league, though. Even as his 69.0% strand rate and 29.5% hard-contact allowed over that span point to some imminent regression, Lynn's walk-rate concerns make him a hard pitcher to consistently trust in standard leagues.
To be fair to Lynn, he's been grinding it out even as he's struggled with command, notching six innings in six of his past nine starts. You have to like his chances to go deep this week against the anemic Royals offense, a group that has mustered a very poor .249 on-base percentage against righties over the last 30 days.