We are now through the opening weekend of the short 60-game MLB season! There isn’t a single team that is still undefeated after the first three or four games for every team. With all the uncertainty this season brings, make sure you are staying up to date on our DFS articles prior to setting your lineups every day! With that in mind, let’s take a look at who I will be rolling with for today’s 10 game slate. All pricing is based on DraftKings.
Studs
Pitchers
Josh James ($8,600) – While the Mariners did breakout for seven runs yesterday, they are still the Mariners and I don’t see them replicating that same performance. That’s where James comes in, who was impressive out of the bullpen for the Astros last season. Over 61.1 innings pitched,”Josh Flames” held a 14.67 K/9 rate and a 1.32 WHIP. He was scratched from his last scheduled exhibition start against the Royals, but only because of the risk of rain and Astros’ manager Dusty Baker didn’t want his innings to be cut short. Given that, he should get a good five or six innings in and rear back while throwing up to 100 mph.
Adrian Houser ($8,300) – The Pirates put out five runs in their first win of the season yesterday, but a performance is far from repeatable for their lineup. Houser was solid last year in 35 games (18 GS) as he held a 1.24 WHIP and 117/37 K/B rate over 111.1 innings. He has not faced any of the Pirates hitters much, only facing them for a total of 14 at-bats. Colin Moran has done the most damage in a small sample size, going 3-for-4 against him.
Other targets: Tyler Glasnow, Jon Lester, Aaron Civale, Mike Foltynewicz
Hitters
Nick Castellanos ($4,500) – Out of all the big boppers in Cincinnati’s lineup, none have hit Jon Lester harder than Castellanos. Albeit with a small sample size, he has gone 7-for-12 against him in career, three of those seven going over the fence. He hits the ball hard, shown in his 2019 .337 BABIP and .334 for his career. He also mashes southpaws, as he hit .370 with a 1.138 OPS against them last season.
Jose Altuve ($5,000) – As I mentioned with the Mariners earlier, playing anybody against them is a good play any day of the week. That’s certainly true for Altuve as well, who went 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base in yesterday’s game. Kendall Graveman gets the start for Seattle who Altuve has gone 9-for-25 against with a homer, two doubles, two walks, and three RBIs. He also hit righties .286 with 20 homers and an .849 OPS last season.
Stacks
New York Mets – I know, know, the Mets offense has been basically asleep thus far. But trust me, they are facing an opener today in Josh Osich who will most likely go two innings max. From there, they will go with bulk reliever Zack Godley who has only faced two Mets’ hitters (Michael Conforto and Amed Rosario) with a limited sample. The Red Sox pitching has been very, very, very bad so far and it is essentially what lost them their series against the Baltimore Orioles, giving up seven runs in the two losses. I look for the Mets big bats to pounce early. My favorites in the lineup are Pete Alonso, Amed Rosario, Yoenis Cespedes, and Michael Conforto.
Milwaukee Brewers – Facing the Pirates, the Brewers should be able to mash the ball in a hitter-friendly PNC Park against a combination of Steven Brault (opener) and most likey Chad Kuhl to start the game. While the Brewers lost a lot of fire-power from last year, they still have hitters who can hit the ball and are also familiar with Brault who has faced them more than any other team in his MLB career. Christian Yelich has done the most damage against him, going 4-for-11 with a homer and two walks. I also like Lorenzo Cain and Keston Hiura the most in this lineup.
Value Hitter
Matt Adams ($3,400) – Facing Tyler Glasnow is a tough task, but he also has a short leash since it will be his first start of the season. The Rays want to ease him into it and Adams is someone who has had his share of success against him. In a small sample size, he has gone 4-for-7 with a homer. He also hits righties well, putting up a .757 OPS and 16 home runs against them last season and 20 bombs in 2018. After that, the Braves don’t have the greatest bullpen in the world.
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Hit us up on the Socials:
Twitter @thescorecrow
Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Facebook at The Scorecrow
Instagram at The Scorecrow
Check out our Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow
Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
Follow Alex Kielar on Twitter @AlexKielar
Main Image Credit: [getty src=”1159731800″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]
