A nice and easy slate of games on hand for tonight. What makes DFS easy? Nothing. But we feel like it’s easier when there aren’t as many games being played. It helps us narrow down our research and eliminate overlooking good match-ups. With that said, you still never know what is going to happen. That is the beauty of sports. That is the beauty of baseball. Anything can and most likely will happen. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to predict how the games will go. Here are some guys in good spots that I’ll be using as Core Plays tonight.
Core Pitchers
Yu Darvish ($9,700 on DK and $9,400 on FD)
I sent out a tweet earlier today stating this, but over Darvish’s last 41.2 innings pitched, he has 53 strikeouts and two walks. That’s a pretty darn good stretch and a highly productive one from a fantasy perspective. The Philadelphia Phillies aren’t typically a team we pick on, as evidenced by their 11-run outburst last night. But with Darvish’s consistency as of late, I’ll take a shot. The Phillies have a below-average 90 wRC+ versus right-handers this season. They also strikeout 22.8% versus righties.
Sonny Gray ($9,100 on DK and $9,800 on FD)
Sonny Gray has proven he can pitch at Great American Ballpark. The St. Louis Cardinals have gone through periods where they’ve slumped. Sonny Gray is one of the most talented pitchers on the slate tonight. His 27.9% K rate is one of the best on the slate. Seven of his last eight starts have been quality starts. The Cardinals strikeout a decent amount at 23.1% versus righties. And they only hit .243 against them, tied for the fifth-worst wOBA (.305). I like Gray’s strikeout potential as a solid floor for cash games.
Other Targets: Aaron Sanchez and Julio Teheran.
Core Hitters
SS Didi Gregorius ($4,400 on DK and $3,200 on FD)
I like the match-up for Sir Didi tonight. He’ll be going up against Adam Plutko of the Cleveland Indians. Gregorius has only faced Plutko twice but has hit a bomb against him. Left-handed batters are hitting .280 with a .342 wOBA versus Plutko. Didi is reasonably priced across the industry.
OF Eddie Rosario ($5,000 on DK and $3,800 on FD)
Rosario has been swinging a hot stick of late. Going into tonight, Rosario has put up no fewer than 14 Draftkings points in four of his last five games, and each of his last three. The weather is warm in Texas and we know how the ball can fly in that ballpark. Pedro Payano has a 5.21 xFIP to lefties this season. Fire up, Rosario.
Aaron Judge ($4,400 on DK $3,900 on FD)
It sounds ridiculous because usually we don’t have to wait too long, but I’m just waiting for Aaron Judge to erupt. He’s too talented and due for a big game soon. Judge has only hit one home run since July 20th. That home run came back on August 4th, against the Red Sox. Judge’s .403 xwOBA is eighth highest out of all hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this year. His 57.1% hard-hit rate ranks first out of all hitters with at least 50 batted ball events. It’s only a matter of time before he busts out in a big way. I’m calling for tonight to be the night.
BvP
14-41 7 XBH 1 HR 4 RBI (.341 avg) 1.002 OPS – Very good numbers for Votto against Wacha. He’s reasonably priced on Draftkings at only $4,000.
Stacks
Minnesota Twins vs Pedro Payano
Although Payano has a decent 3.86 ERA, he has a 5.73 xFIP. He only strikes out 16.9% of batters and the Twins are not the team to play around with. I’ll be using a lot of them tonight.
New York Yankees vs Adam Plutko
Plutko has a 4.68 ERA and 5.96 FIP. He has a 2.34 home runs per nine inning rate. The Yankees are primed to smash at home tonight.
Cleveland Indians vs Chad Green and the bullpen
The Indians might not be very highly owned. The ballpark upgrade is good for them. I could see this game being high scoring once the Yankees go up a few runs and the pitchers start grooving fastballs down the middle.
Chicago Cubs vs Drew Smyly
Drew Smyly has been better since joining the Phillies, but you can’t take away his 2.76 HR/9 rate. The Cubs have to be frustrated after the way the first two ballgames have gone in this series. I expect them to come out raking tonight. My favorite hitters to stack are Nicholas Castellanos, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez.
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