Welcome into the Tuesday edition of the FanDuel daily fantasy baseball column! We have a nice 11 game slate tonight so let’s jump in.
The alternate title to this article could have been called “Last night was Coors Chalk Night” and we were on the wrong end of it. The Rockies and Padres scored a combined 18 runs and our lineup was out of it way too early in the night. We’re not making that mistake again and the Coors Field game could go nuts tonight. We have to eat the chalk and play as many Rockies and Padres as we can. I’ll be talking about other players, but virtually any player from that game is in play tonight.
For once, we’re going to be pretty interested in the all day slate. The White Sox draw a lefty tonight, and a bad one at that. For whatever reason, that game starts at 5:10 today and I really want some White Sox exposure. It also doesn’t hurt that the Cubs get Josh Tomlin, who gives up home runs like almost no other pitcher in the league. If I highlight a player that’s not on the main slate, I’ll give two options in the “Also Consider” space. We’ll also have a sample lineup for the All Day, Main, and Early slate at the end.
Starting Pitcher, High End Spend
Rick Porcello, $8,800
.244(43 for 176), 20.6 strikeout rate
The high end options at pitching tonight are in a very weird spot. Shohei Ohtani and Charlie Morton square off but both face very good offenses. Jose Berrios has the ability to dominate any lineup but in Yankee Stadium isn’t very comforting. We’re going to turn our attention to Porcello, who suddenly looks like he’s back to his form from 2016 when he won the Cy Young. He struggled with his sinker last season, which is chronicled in this article from the Boston Globe. Porcello only threw the pitch about 30 percent of the time last year because he wasn’t seeing success with it. So far in 2018, that rate has jumped to just about 40 percent and the results show. His strikeout rate, ground ball percentage and walk rate are all closer to his 2016 form. He gets a Blue Jays squad that ranks 28th in wOBA against the sinker this season. They also stand to be without their best hitter in Josh Donaldson. There’s plenty of big names on the mound, but Porcello seems like the best bet from a matchup standpoint.
Also Consider – Robbie Ray, $9,300 (GPP only)
Mid-Range
Tanner Roark, $8,300
.325(25 for 77), 13.1 strikeout rate
Roark isn’t always someone I consider too heavily in DFS because he tends to have average strikeout totals and he’s just a league average pitcher. Tonight is a good spot of r him though as he gets to pitch in one of the pitcher friendliest parks in the league and he gets to face the team ranked fifth in strikeout percentage against right handed pitching. The Giants are also 23rd in OPS, 26th in ISO and 24th in wOBA. Their big bats like Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey are both better against lefties and Rorak should be able to hit that quality start bonus and possibly pick up a win with about 5-7 strikeouts along the way. His price is plenty fair for tonight.
Also Consider – Luke Weaver, $8,500
Value
Andrew Triggs, $7,400
.114(5 for 44), 18.4 strikeout rate
Triggs has already faced this Texas lineup when it was relatively full strength and he was very good for fantasy purposes. You’re not likely to get a quality start out of him but he’s been serviceable other than a disaster start against the White Sox. His strikeout rate has jumped up this season and when he’s at his best, he’s keeping the ball on the ground. That’s a big thing with Texas as they do possess some power in that lineup. There’s always potential for disaster in this price range but the Rangers are struggling for the most part on offense and carry an appealing 24.3 strikeout percentage against righties in 2018.
Also Consider – Jake Faria, $5,900