DFS Alerts
Cheap Exposure To Top Offense
The Dodgers are my favorite offense on this slate and Puig is a great contrarian cheap option to target. Puig has a .247 ISO, .375 wOBA and a .436 CxwOBA against right handed pitching. He gets a matchup against a bad pitcher in Deck McGuire who is allowing a .419 ISO against right handed hitters. I love Puig as a contrarian play in your stack and think he hits one or two out of the park tonight!
Cheap Power With Position Flexibility
I always like it when I can find some cheap power and Descalso fits that well on this slate. He also gives you the option to play at 2b or 3b and it makes it a ton easier in the roster construction process. This is going to be a slate where we need value plays in order to play the big pitching options and I think Descalso is a great cheap option.
Expensive Option
Cody Bellinger is the one expensive hitting option I’ll highlight for cash games. If pairing Scherzer + Ray it’s unlikely you’ll be able to squeeze enough cheap bats in to roster Bellinger but he’s a top priority if spending down at SP2. As a team, the Dodgers are the top stack of the night as they’ll square off against Angels righty Deck McGuire, who allowed 5 ER in 3.1 IP his only start of the season last week against the lowly Orioles. McGuire is far from impressive and Bellinger and his career 133 wRC+ and .295 ISO versus RHP should have no issue finding success on Saturday night.
Best Of The Cheap Options
I really don’t like the cheap pitching options but if you want to go below David Price, Tyson Ross is the guy I would look at. I am mainly just buying on that he is a way more talented pitcher than Keller, Chen and McGuire. I don’t love these cheap options but Ross gets a good pitching environment in Arizona compared to these other options that are all pitching in tough pitching environments. I am likely not paying below David Price tonight but if you want some big bats this is the guy I trust.
Pricey SP2
On multi-starting pitching sites it looks like the best approach will be to roster your SP2 from the Padres/Dbacks game. Tyson Ross is cheaper than Robbie Ray but is the far inferior option. Provided there’s enough hitting value (currently projects that way) I’ll be doing everything I can to find the money to roster Ray as my SP2. Ray struggled in his second start since returning from the DL but most importantly threw 94 pitches indicating he’s fully stretched. When healthy, Ray is a top starter in the league – he put up strong numbers last year in 162 IP (3.53 SIERA, 32.8 K%, 14.2 SwStr%) and has put up similar numbers this season in a very limited sample. This is a great matchup for Ray against the Padres (24.1 K%, 88 wRC+ vs LHP) and alongside being my favorite SP2 of the night, he’s also my favorite GPP pivot off of Scherzer on single SP sites.
Save Some $$
Ross Stripling isn’t a pitcher I typically look to target but a combination of a small slate + poor OF options has me looking to save some salary at the position. Calhoun had a brutal start to the season and finally looked like he was turning things around after he returned from the DL but has largely cooled back off since (to be fair, he does have two games of 21+ DK points in his last five). Regardless, despite being a mostly average player offensively (107 wRC+, .164 ISO vs RHP) Kole is a top pt/$ option on this slate provided he finds himself leading off.
Best Pitching Value
I understand that Ray might not be a very cheap play but I do think that there is a lot of value getting him at only $9000 on FanDuel and $9500 on DraftKings. Ray can get hit hard at times but his upside is elite at this price against a Padres team that has been terrible. The Padres strikeout 24.1% of the time against LHP which ranks 3rd most in the majors. Ray has a 3.51 xFIP and a 32% strikeout rate. The upside is immense for Ray in this matchup and I think he is a great discount for this matchup.
Cheap Exposure To High Powered Offense
Coming off his walk off home run last night, Mark Reynolds provides cheap power in a potent lineup. It’s tough to get exposure to this Nationals offense but luckily Reynolds is only $2600 on FanDuel and $3700 on DraftKings. He is the best way to get exposure against Chen for cheap if you are paying up at pitching. Chen is certainly worth targeting, coming in with a 5.12 xFIP and allowing a .346 wOBA and a .197 ISO to right handed hitters this season.
Weak Position
It’s not that I think Descalso is even an above average offensive player, rather the way roster construction is shaping up is forcing you to go cheap at the second base position. Descalso stands out as one of the few guys playable at a weak position and his value will only increase if he can find himself hitting top five in the Diamondbacks order.
Floor + Upside
Robbie Ray is the only other SP option that can rival Scherzer in terms of upside on this short four game slate but Scherzer’s floor is significantly higher and his safety is worth the extra money. Scherzer has been other worldly this season with a league leading 17.2 SwStr% which has lead to a league high 36.9 K%. Add into the mix a matchup with one of the worst offenses in baseball (Marlins 88 wRC+ vs RHP) and you have the easiest cash game play of the night.
Rangers Bats Provide Value and Upside
If you’re looking for lesser owned bats than the likely-popular Astros and Indians, consider the Rangers in a plus-matchup against Mike Fiers. Fiers is particularly susceptible to left-handed power, allowing a .462 SLG and 1.84 HR/9 to LHH thus far this season. This should bode well for a Rangers lineup with some stand-out lefties, including Nomar Mazara and on-base machine Shin Soo Choo. Keep an eye on if Joey Gallo is in today’s lineup after he was a late scratch last night due to blurred vision after an outfield collision during batting practice, as he would be another great addition against a HR-prone Mike Fiers.
Other tagged players: Nomar Mazara, Joey Gallo
Carlos Martinez a Good Value at SP
Carlos Martinez definitely disappointed in his first few starts after coming off of the DL, but appears to be rounding back into form after stringing together solid starts in his last two outings. In his last two starts Martinez struck out 7 and 8 batters, going 6 innings in each en route to two wins. Before his month on the DL Martinez was regularly priced above 10K on both sites, but currently sits at just 8.1K on DraftKings and 8.4K on FanDuel. Given that he will take the mound in the pitcher-friendly confines of AT&T Park against a Giants offense with one of the lowest BB%s and team ISOs on the slate, this is a good opportunity to continue to buy low on a proven talent until his price point returns to normal.
Astros a Top Stack Option on the Early Slate
On a slate with a multitude of solid pitching options and not a lot of obvious pitchers to pick on, the Astros squaring off against James Shields stand out as one of the top options for bats on the early slate. Shields has one of the lowest K%s on the board at only 15.9%, and struggles with batters from both sides of the plate alike, allowing wOBA’s of .359 and .348 to lefties and righties respectively. The Astros offense has been hot of late, scoring 25 runs in their last 4 games including 11 last night against this same White Sox squad. There is no reason to expect the offensive explosion to stop today as Houston has the highest Vegas-implied team total on the slate, and should be able to put the ball in play and turn over their lineup often against Shields.
Other tagged players: Alex Bregman, George Springer Tom Murphy scratched Friday; Tony Wolters replaces
Murphy has been scratched from the Colorado Rockies original confirmed lineup and will not start in Friday’s matchup against the Seattle Mariners due to a presently unspecified reason. He’ll be replaced in the lineup by Tony Wolters, who will handle the catching duties and slot into the ninth spot in the order, which does bump Raimel Tapia up one batting position to Murphy’s vacated eighth spot, respectively. However, the remainder of the Rockies lineup does stay intact as they face off against right-hander Felix Hernandez on the road this evening.
As reported by: Patrick Saunders via Twitter
Joey Gallo (eye contusion) scratched Friday; Ryan Rua replaces
Gallo has been scratched from the Texas Rangers original confirmed lineup and will not start in Friday’s matchup against the Detroit Tigers due to a left eye contusion. He’ll be replaced in the lineup by Ryan Rua, who will play left field and slot into the eighth spot in the order, which does bump Robinson Chirinos and Ronald Guzman up one batting position, respectively. However, the remainder of the Rangers lineup does stay intact as they face off against right-hander Jordan Zimmermann on the road this evening.
As reported by: John Blake via Twitter