Joey Ricotta| June 10th, 2019
I will not pretend or attempt to be a weatherman but the early look ahead doesn’t seem pretty, at least for a couple of games. I’ll be avoiding the game in New York and the game in Philadelphia until we hear the word that it’s a full go. So, let’s take a look at some of the other games and options that seem to be playable tonight.
Pitching
Chris Sale ($10,900 on DK and $11,800 on FD)
The Boston Red Sox are -251 favorites over the Texas Rangers. Facing a lineup that is predominantly left-handed, Sale should be in good shape. The Rangers have struggled against lefties this year, batting only .240. Sale continues to dominate as of late. He’s coming off of an outing in Kansas City where he tossed an absolute gem. Sale put up 51.5 Draftkings points while tossing a complete game three-hit shutout. He struck out 12 batters, walked zero, and threw another immaculate inning.
Sandy Alcantara ($6,900 on DK and $7,000 on FD)
Alcantara gets a matchup at home against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds will be traveling from Chicago where they played Sunday night baseball on ESPN. Normally, St. Louis isn’t a lineup we pick on, but the Cardinals have struggled lately. Over their last five games, the Cardinals have hit only .205 with a .581 OPS. Alcantara has pitched much better recently as well. He’s 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA over his last four starts, including giving up only one run against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park his last time out.
Other Targets: Charlie Morton, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Michael Wacha.
Value Bats
2B Starlin Castro ($3,100 on DK and $2,700 on FD)
Castro has Michael Wacha’s number. He’s 12-25 (.480) with three bombs and nine RBI. Wacha is typically a reverse splits pitcher, meaning he is better against batters hitting from the opposite side of the plate than on the same side (in this case the right side). Wacha has given up 10 HR, a .316/.400/.624 slash line, and .417 wOBA against righties this season.
OF Eloy Jimenez ($3,300 on DK and $3,000 on FD)
There’s no way he will homer three days in a row, right? Well, the encouraging thing is not only did he homer yesterday, but he doubled as well. At this price, we will take a double as a solid floor and still hope for the home run because we know he has that kind of upside.
OF Khris Davis ($3,100 on DK and $3,400 on FD)
Way too cheap for a guy who has hit at least 42 HR in each of the last three seasons. Charlie Morton is no slouch or gas can pitcher by any means, but Davis hits righties well. He has hit only one fewer home run against righties than lefties this year. And last year, Davis hit 37 of his 48 HR vs right-handed pitching, while also hitting for a higher average. Davis is 3-16 lifetime vs Morton, but two of the three hits are homers. I probably won’t be using him in cash games and I would lean towards the player highlighted below, but Davis is definitely worth taking a stab at in tournaments.
Other Targets: Carlos Gonzalez, Daniel Descalso, and Yolmer Sanchez.
Spend Up
1B Jose Abreu ($4,200 on DK and $3,900 on FD)
Abreu owns Anibal Sanchez. Over his career, Abreu is 13-26 with two homers, nine RBI, and three doubles vs Sanchez. Sanchez’s 2.4% HR/FB rate to righties will not hold up all year. Neither will his 0.28 HR/9 rate to right-handed hitters, especially when he is giving up 46.7% fly balls against them. That number is too high for the other numbers not to regress.
SS Javier Baez ($5,400 on DK and $4,600 on FD)
On August 5, 2014, Javier Baez made his debut at Coors Field in Colorado. During that game, Baez hit his first big league homer which was also his first big league hit. In 12 games at Coors Field, Baez has a slash line of .271/.300/.688 with six homers. The six home runs are more than he’s hit at any park outside of Wrigley Field. Baez will have the advantage of facing German Marquez for the second time in less than a week. A good hitter like Baez makes adjustments and he should be able to improve on his 0-4 showing.
OF Kyle Schwarber ($4,500 on DK and $3,800 on FD)
Schwarber has been unloading “Schwarbombs” all over the field for the last week. In his last seven games, Schwarber is 11-25, batting .440 with two homers. German Marquez has struggled at times at home against left-handed batters (4.67 FIP, .316 avg, .350 wOBA).
Other Targets: Cody Bellinger, Nolan Arenado, Yoan Moncada, Brandon Lowe, and Juan Soto.
Joe Ricotta has been playing fantasy sports for a little over 10 years. Ricotta began playing daily fantasy shortly after its inception. He has taken down a few large field tournaments and regularly cashes in his head to head matchups. This is not to say that he always will, but he always has a reason behind his lineup constructions. Fanduel pricing has been included but for all intents and purposes, the article was based on DraftKings research. The main slate of games beginning at 7:05 EST were the ones addressed. Recheck starting lineups and weather concerns before the games start and make changes accordingly.
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