MLB First Look: Friday, August 29th
MLB First Look provides you a quick overview of the most noteworthy DFS tidbits for tomorrow’s MLB matchups and player pools, and is brought to you by none other than Derek Farnsworth aka Notorious (#7 Ranked Overall, DraftDay MLB Champion, DSBC Finalist x3, DSBBC Finalist, DFBBC Finalist). Each night before weekday games (and occasionally weekends), Notorious will analyze the daily matchups and player pools to provide you with his initial thoughts on strategies for that day. The preview will begin with a starting pitcher overview, then move onto matchup notes, teams to target, player pricing, general strategy and more.
Friday’s MLB Schedule
| TIME | AWAY | HOME | AWAY STARTER | HOME STARTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:05 PM | Cincinnati | Pittsburgh | Leake (10-11) – 3.51 ERA | Volquez (11-7) – 3.56 ERA |
| 7:05 PM | Minnesota | Baltimore | May (0-3) – 8.79 ERA | Gonzalez (6-7) – 3.75 ERA |
| 7:07 PM | N.Y. Yankees | Toronto | Capuano (1-3) – 4.37 ERA | Buehrle (11-8) – 3.41 ERA |
| 7:10 PM | Philadelphia | N.Y. Mets | Buchanan (6-7) – 4.21 ERA | deGrom (6-6) – 3.13 ERA |
| 7:10 PM | Boston | Tampa Bay | Ranaudo (2-0) – 4.50 ERA | Archer (8-6) – 3.09 ERA |
| 7:35 PM | Miami | Atlanta | Koehler (9-9) – 3.82 ERA | Santana (13-7) – 3.60 ERA |
| 8:10 PM | Texas | Houston | Baker | Oberholtzer (4-9) – 4.01 ERA |
| 8:10 PM | Detroit | Chi. White Sox | Verlander (11-11) – 4.82 ERA | Carroll (5-8) – 5.05 ERA |
| 8:10 PM | Cleveland | Kansas City | Salazar (4-6) – 4.52 ERA | Vargas (10-6) – 3.17 ERA |
| 8:15 PM | Chi. Cubs | St. Louis | Hendricks (5-1) – 1.78 ERA | Miller (8-9) – 4.26 ERA |
| 9:40 PM | Colorado | Arizona | Bergman (1-2) – 6.75 ERA | Collmenter (9-7) – 4.05 ERA |
| 10:05 PM | Oakland | L.A. Angels | Lester (13-8) – 2.53 ERA | Weaver (14-7) – 3.72 ERA |
| 10:10 PM | Washington | Seattle | Zimmermann (9-5) – 2.93 ERA | Hernandez (13-4) – 2.07 ERA |
| 10:10 PM | L.A. Dodgers | San Diego | Haren (11-10) – 4.44 ERA | Cashner (2-6) – 2.43 ERA |
| 10:15 PM | Milwaukee | San Francisco | Peralta (15-8) – 3.56 ERA | Vogelsong (7-9) – 3.78 ERA |
1) Starting Pitcher Overview
Felix Hernandez (vs. Washington Nationals): King Felix and Clayton Kershaw are two pitchers that I don’t mind paying top dollar for. They both have the potential to throw complete games while racking up double-digit strikeouts. Felix owns a 2.07 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 9.6. He’s dominant at home and should have no trouble with this Nationals offense.
Ervin Santana (vs. Miami Marlins): Santana is one of my top plays thanks to his great strikeout potential in this game. He has a 3.60 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 8.6. He’s facing a strikeout happy Marlins offense that strikes out at a 25% clip on the road this season which is the highest of any team in baseball.
Jacob Degrom (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): Degrom has come back down to Earth a little bit in the month of August, but is still having a fantastic rookie season. He owns a 3.13 ERA with a K/9 of 8.6. He draws a terrific matchup against the Phillies who are ranked 28th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. It also helps that he is facing them at home in the pitcher-friendly Citi Field.
2) Two Offenses to Target
Detroit Tigers (vs. Scott Carroll): The Tigers are my favorite offense to target on Friday night. They are facing Scott Carroll who has had a season to forget. He owns a 5.05 ERA and is striking out very few batters. The Tigers should be able to put the ball in play here and good things tend to happen when they do. Look for Miggy and company to hang a bit number on the White Sox.
Baltimore Orioles (vs. Trevor May): The Orioles are projected as the highest scoring team on Friday night. They are facing Trevor May who has been absolutely terrible in his first 3 career major-league starts. He has an ERA of 8.79 and has given up a .389 batting average to opponents. The powerful Orioles lineup should have some fun in this one.
3) wOBA vs. BvP
Round 21 (Thursday, August 28th): Joe Mauer ended up getting the night off which means Thursday’s match will not count. We are still all tied up at 10 a piece and we will replay Round 21 Friday night.
Scoreboard: BvP 10 – wOBA 10
Friday’s Matchup:
Brett Gardner (vs. Mark Buehrle): Friday’s BvP play of the day is a lefty/lefty matchup. Typically, you want to avoid these matchups in daily fantasy, but Gardner has a great track record against Buehrle. He is 11/26 with 4 XBH’s off of him in his career. Plus he has one of the best profile pictures on RG.
Martin Prado (vs. Mark Buehrle): This matchup should be interesting as the BvP and wOBA plays of the day are both on the same team so they both get to face the same pitcher. Prado has hit LH pitching well this season with a .430 wOBA. He’s facing Buehrle who has given up a .336 wOBA to RH hitters.
4) He’s on Fire!
Jacoby Ellsbury (vs. Mark Buehrle): I decided to pick Ellsbury for two reasons. First off, I might as well continue the Yankee trend. And second, Ellsbury has been red hot. He has 18 hits (3 HR’s) and 6 stolen bases over his last 10 games. He’s raised his batting average 15 points over the last couple of weeks which is hard to do for an everyday player at this point in the season.
5) Daily Dong Prediction
Oswaldo Arcia (vs. Miguel Gonzalez): I figured I’d pick an off the board play for the Daily Dong. Arcia is not a popular fantasy option on most nights, but draws a great matchup against Gonzalez who has given up 21 HR’s on the season, 12 of which were to LH hitters. Arcia has a ton of power vs. RH pitching and could knock one over the fence Friday night in Camden Yards.