FantasyDraft MLB Expert Survey: Sunday, August 11th
Want to know who Notorious is definitely paying up for in MLB DFS today? Wondering which value play STLCardinals84 is eyeing most? You’re in luck. Our daily fantasy baseball analysts will answer a handful of questions to help you make crucial lineup building decisions for tonight’s contests. NOTE: Surveys for early slates will be posted when there are four or more early games.
Sunday, August 11th
Who is your favorite hitter for cash games?
STLCardinals84: J.D. Martinez
MrTuttle: Aaron Judge
Naapstermaan: J.D. Martinez
a25smith: Paul Goldschmidt
Who is your favorite hitter for tournaments?
STLCardinals84: Paul Goldschmidt
MrTuttle: Jorge Soler
Naapstermaan: Paul Goldschmidt
a25smith: Yordan Alvarez
Who is your favorite pitcher for cash games?
STLCardinals84: Justin Verlander
MrTuttle: Justin Verlander
Naapstermaan: Justin Verlander
a25smith: Justin Verlander
Who is your favorite pitcher for tournaments?
STLCardinals84: Lucas Giolito
MrTuttle: Jacob deGrom
Naapstermaan: Jacob deGrom
a25smith: Jacob deGrom
Who is your favorite cheap pitcher for cash games?
STLCardinals84: Mike Foltynewicz
MrTuttle: Mike Foltynewicz
Naapstermaan: Mike Foltynewicz
a25smith: Mike Foltynewicz
Who is your favorite cheap pitcher for tournaments?
STLCardinals84: Mike Foltynewicz
MrTuttle: Masahiro Tanaka
Naapstermaan: Aaron Civale
a25smith: Jordan Lyles
Who is your favorite salary saver on the board?
STLCardinals84: Sam Travis
MrTuttle: Chris Owings
Naapstermaan: Chris Owings
a25smith: Josh Reddick
Who is your top contrarian play on the board?
STLCardinals84: Jorge Soler
MrTuttle: Eugenio Suarez
Naapstermaan: Whit Merrifield
a25smith: Freddie Freeman
Which player are you most afraid of having little to no exposure to?
STLCardinals84: Yulieski Gurriel
MrTuttle: Ronald Acuna
Naapstermaan: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
a25smith: Pete Alonso
Which high-priced pitcher will you have little to no exposure to in tournaments?
STLCardinals84: Jose Berrios
MrTuttle: Jose Berrios
Naapstermaan: Jose Berrios
a25smith: Jose Berrios
Which high-priced hitter will you have little to no exposure to in tournaments?
STLCardinals84: Max Kepler
MrTuttle: Rafael Devers
Naapstermaan: Javier Baez
a25smith: Javier Baez
What’s your sneaky home run call of the day?
STLCardinals84: Nick Senzel
MrTuttle: Michael Conforto
Naapstermaan: Jose Martinez
a25smith: Randal Grichuk
What’s your favorite overall team stack?
STLCardinals84: BOS
MrTuttle: HOU
Naapstermaan: HOU
a25smith: HOU
What’s your favorite sneaky team stack?
STLCardinals84: TEX
MrTuttle: ATL
Naapstermaan: STL
a25smith: HOU
Which useful trend or statistic stuck out most during your research?
STLCardinals84: Eight teams have an implied team total above five runs this afternoon (BOS, LAA, NYY, HOU, CIN, ATL, MIN, and STL). With high-end pitching also available today, managing the salary cap will be a major challenge.
MrTuttle: Luis Castillo owns the slate’s top SwStr% (16.4%) ahead of the likes of Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom.
Naapstermaan: Patrick Sandoval had a strong MLB debut but based on his AAA numbers this year I’m expecting a rude awakening in Boston. In 60 IP at AAA he had a 6.64 ERA and allowed a .335 average to righties. Boston is 2nd in HR’s and 3rd in runs scored off lefties this season and I expect a crooked number from them today.
a25smith: The red-hot Astros offense, which has scored at least 9 runs in 5 of their last 7 games, looks to be in a great spot, with the top implied team total on the board at 6.4 runs. The BAT agrees as 6 Astros check in as top 13 raw points hitter options, including 4 of the top 6.
What is your hot take of the day?
STLCardinals84: Mike Foltynewicz pitches seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against the Marlins.
MrTuttle: Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso combine for five HRs.
Naapstermaan: KC and STL each hit 4+ HR’s
a25smith: Jordan Lyles is the top P/$ pitching option on the slate
Who is your top overall pitcher (when considering price, matchup, projected ownership, etc.) on the board and why?
STLCardinals84: Justin Verlander – In terms of a combination of floor and ceiling, Verlander is definitely the top pitching option on the board. While he does have the issue with home runs, the rest of his profile is elite. His command is impeccable with 34% strikeouts and under 6% walks, and his ERA, SIERA, and xFIP all sit under 3.50. A matchup against the feeble Orioles makes him an even better option, and Verlander sits as a ridiculous -390 road favorite in Vegas. I will try to find a way to make the salary work.
MrTuttle: Mike Foltynewicz – While it’s Justin Verlander I like the most from a raw projections standpoint it’s Mike Foltynewicz I find myself gravitating the most towards because of his cheap price tag. Folty had a tough first couple months of the season but looked sharp in his first game back in the Majors when he struck out seven Twins in 5+ IP. However, it’s the matchup that Folty draws that’s the main sell as the Marlins offense has been the worst in the league against right-handed pitching this season.
Naapstermaan: Justin Verlander – If Verlander is on the slate and facing a mediocre offense he will pretty much always be the top play the way he’s pitched this year. Baltimore is bottom 5 in OPS and bottom 4 in runs scored against righties this year (bottom 8 in HR’s and AVG too), and the career numbers of their lineup off Verlander is 9 for 50 (.180) with just one extra-base hit and 27 strikeouts.
a25smith: Mike Foltynewicz – There are some great options up top with Verlander and deGrom, but we also have several intriguing mid-priced arms facing beatable offenses like Folty, Junis and Lyles . With some high priced offenses like HOU/BOS/NYY/ATL, I’ll take the savings and land in the mid-tier. Folty has struggled with injuries this year and has not been good overall, but we know when he’s right that he’s a $9,000+ arm. He looked good in his return last week and now draws the worst offense in the Marlins, and he’s still priced down based on his season long struggles. There are a lot of high implied team totals on the slate, but Miami is one of the few teams under 4.0 with just an implied run total of 3.8
Who is your top overall hitter (when considering price, matchup, projected ownership, etc.) on the board and why?
STLCardinals84: J.D. Martinez – The Astros will obviously get a ton of attention today after scoring 23 runs on Saturday, and you can certainly consider a Houston hitter as the top bat on the slate. However, I’ll side with J.D. Martinez. He gets to face a young lefty in Sandoval today, and Martinez’ splits against LHP are simply ridiculous. He is hitting .400 against lefties this year with a .538 wOBA and .476 ISO. He owns a career .408 wOBA against lefties. He is an elite play in all formats.
MrTuttle: Jorge Soler – I’m not sure Soler is getting the hype he deserves. Soler’s having a tremendous offensive season and has slugged four HRs in his last four games. Somewhat suprisingly Soler has been better against same-handed pitching for his career – and this season – but this still remains a tremendous power spot against the southpaw Daniel Norris.
Naapstermaan: J.D. Martinez – Betts is getting the day off so Martinez is a priority for me as the top bat on one of my favorite offenses of the slate. He’s hitting .400 with a .476 ISO against lefties this season and is hitting .550 over his last five games. I expect Houston and Aristides Aquino to be extremely popular today so you may even get Martinez at a lower than usual ownership for this good of a matchup.
a25smith: Yordan Alvarez – Vegas and the BAT both are loving the Astros today so I’ll continue to ride the hot streak against an awful Baltimore pitching staff. Asher Wojciechowski has struggled with power to both sides of the plate so far in his career allowing 2.22 HR/9 to LHB, and 1.78 HR/9 to RHB, but his numbers across the board are down agaisnt LHP. He’s allowed a .410 wOBA, a 5.78 xFIP, and his strikeout percentage drops from 29.4% against RHB to 19.7% against LHB. Given those splits, I’ll start my Astros ownership with the LHB in Alvarez and Brantley with Alverez’ absurd power putting him at the top of my list.
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