DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdown – Saturday, August 4

 Welcome into the Saturday edition of the DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdown! We have a bigger than normal slate tonight with 12 games so let’s go to work!

Since we had a huge 14 game DFS MLB slate last night, I threw out three different lineups that I felt pretty comfortable with…and then we had a full on panic about 15 minutes before lock because the Nationals postponed their game out of nowhere. I typically read Kevin Roth and Mark Paquette’s tweets before the games to check on the weather. That postponement caught them by surprise as well. Fortunately for us, there were solid pivots in the price range of all our Nationals and all three lineups scored at least 148. Let’s dig into this big Saturday night slate!

DFS MLB – Reds at Nationals

Reds Probable Starter – Matt Harvey, RHP 

5.13 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 17.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .264 average, .349 wOBA, 17.1 K rate, 43.3 fly ball rate and 42.5 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .256 average, .323 wOBA, 18.5 K rate, 31.8 fly ball rate and 36.3 hard hit rate

With the exception of a start against the Buccos, Harvey has been pitching somewhat better lately. That’s pretty faint praise because he’s been dreadful through a large chunk of the season. This isn’t the spot that appears set up for success for Harvey because the Nationals lefties should have their way. The fly balls and hard hits to lefties could spell doom for Harvey and the first player that really leaps out is Juan Soto. You should check out Chris Towers from CBS Sports on Twitter, as he had a thread about just how rarified the air is for Soto overall. The historical nature of the season is pretty awesome to see.

For tonight’s purposes, Harvey is relying on his fastball 57 percent of the time to lefties. Soto tattoos righty four spasms with a .492 xwOBA and carries a .229 ISO and a .390 wOBA on the season against righties. $4,000 seems expensive but it really isn’t for this matchup. Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon all crush fastballs, even though Turner and Rendon are righty hitters. They all have interesting traits here. Turner has swiped eight bases in the last five games and Rendon has a .463 xwOBA against Harvey in 26 at-bats. Murphy has fewer at-bats but an even higher xwOBA at .537. Any of these Nationals are great options and look like a premier stack on the evening.

Nationals Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy

Secondary Options – Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner

Nationals Probable Starter – Jeremy Hellickson, RHP 

3.59 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 18.9 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .238 average, .315 wOBA, 18.8 K rate, 29.9 fly ball rate and 29.2 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .260 average, .291 wOBA, 18.9 K rate, 33.0 fly ball rate and 29.4 hard hit rate

Hellickson has started to go downhill his past few starts and even though some of the metrics still look very good, there might be some Reds offense we can exploit. It’s more of a question of if we want to pay for the top two hitters in their lineup. I generally prefer to play Eugenio Suarez against lefty pitching but man has he been hot lately. You can play Joey Votto or Scooter Gennett since they both have a wOBA of at least .380. The issue becomes they’re not exactly power hitters, especially Votto who is still in singe digits. He hasn’t shown the ceiling you’d want for a tournament play even though his price is low by his standards. This is a spot where I’ll bookmark it because I’m lukewarm on it. I have a feeling there will be offenses we get more excited about.

Reds Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Joey Votto, Scooter Gennett

Home Run Pick – Juan Soto and Daniel Murphy

DFS MLB – Marlins at Phillies

Marlins Probable Starter – Jose Urena, RHP 

4.40 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 20.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .261 average, .322 wOBA, 17.6 K rate, 31.0 fly ball rate and 44.1 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .240 average, .293 wOBA, 22.4 K rate, 27.5 fly ball rate and 38.0 hard hit rate

I’m not quite as hot on Urena as I was Trevor Richards yesterday but he’s really not the worst play. I wouldn’t expect more than 30 or so points because the strikeout rate isn’t super high. He throws his four seam a ton to each side of the plate and every lefty for the Phillies other than Nick Williams has an xwOBA of .345 or lower against that pitch. That’s typically right around my cutoff of what I want to chase so I’m not too excited or a lot of the Phillies bats either. Now, Williams himself is an interesting bat. His xwOBA is up at .413 and he has a .210 ISO. Rhys Hoskins has been crushing the ball but the metrics would not normally point me to him. I think this spot will be an avoid other than Urena or Williams and maybe you can mix in Hoskins if you really want to.

Phillies Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Nick Williams, Rhys Hoskins

Phillies Probable Starter – Zach Eflin, RHP 

3.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 22.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .265 average, .349 wOBA, 22.0 K rate, 46.5 fly ball rate and 29.7 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .220 average, .267 wOBA, 22.9 K rate, 37.4 fly ball rate and 26.8 hard hit rate

This is a rinse and repeat game for Eflin just like the past two Phillies pitchers against the Marlins. He’s significantly worse against lefty hitters so Justin Bour and Derek Dietrich are front and center once again from the Marlins offense. Dietrich might be a little safer for cash but he can’t match the upside of Bour and his .226 ISO against righty pitching. It never hurts when Bour gets to play in any other park than his home park in Miami. They’re both about the same price so it’s more of what format you’re playing in than anything else. The big difference is Eflin doesn’t carry the same strikeout rate that Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta did these past two nights, so he might not hit the 50+ plateau that Velasquez did last night. He’s had a few rough starts in a row so game log hunters should be off of him tonight.

Marlins Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Justin Bour(GPP)

Secondary Options – Derek Dietrich

Home Run Pick – Nick Williams

DFS MLB – Cardinals at Pirates

Cardinals Probable Starter – Austin Gomber, LHP 

3.22 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 20.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .278 average, .355 wOBA, 14.6 K rate, 33.3 fly ball rate and 30.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .122 average, .242 wOBA, 24.5 K rate, 37.0 fly ball rate and 41.4 hard hit rate

Depending on what lineup manager Clint Hurdle puts out, I’m likely either going with Francisco Cervelli or I’ll Walk With Elias. Either catcher smacks lefty pitching and has a factor in their favor over the other one tonight. Diaz has the clear better ISO(.246 to .196) and wOBA(.441 to .313) but Cervelli has the much better xwOBA against the main two pitchers in Gomber’s arsenal(.528 to .410). Cervelli has played three straight and one would think they wouldn’t try to ride him too heavily with the concussion issues he’s had this season. They’re only $100 apart in salary so it won’t be to much of an adjustment either way. Starling Marte’s numbers don’t look good this year but he’s always had success against lefty pitching.

The real trick here is how you want to treat the splits for Gomber. He’s not even pitched 25 innings yet but lefties have hit him harder. If those splits hold, Gregory Polanco and the returning Corey Dickerson are interesting since they have wOBA’s of .329 and .343, respectively. Polanco’s numbers overall look average against lefties but he scuffled through a large chunk of the year. He’s swinging the bat much better at this point. Those two hitters would be tournament only for me.

Pirates Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Whoever catches, Starling Marte

Secondary Options – Corey Dickerson and Gregory Polanco(GPP), David Freese, Jordy Mercer

Pirates Probable Starter – Ivan Nova, RHP 

4.33 ERA, 1.29 WHIP nad 16.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .291 average, .362 wOBA, 11.7 K rate, 39.2 fly ball rate and 33.7 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .251 average, .314 wOBA, 22.1 K rate, 28.2 fly ball rate and 35.1 hard hit rate

We could get a pretty solid start here from Nova. The Cards lost Dexter Fowler to a fractured foot yesterday and they don’t have a lot of lefty hitters to throw at Nova tonight. Matt Carpenter looks to be one of the better high end plays on the slate. Nova gets worked by lefties, Carpenter is still hitting balls out of the yard like he did last night and he destroys the four seam/sinker mix that Nova leans on with a .506 xwOBA. If you can’t strike Carpenter out, things aren’t typically going to end well. Even though Nova is solid against righties, Tyler O’Neill is a good cheap upside play. Nova still has nine home runs given up to righties and O’Neill has always had a reputation for power. It’s not hard to see why if you Google a picture of him. He has a .244 ISO and a .449 xwOBA against the pitch mix. He’s worth a shot in tournaments for sure tonight. The righty heavy lineup for the Cards is going to give Nova a shot. We’ll see if he can take advantage of it.

Cardinals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Matt Carpenter

Secondary Options – Tyler O’Neill, Yadier Molina, Jose Martinez

Home Run Pick – Starling Marte

DFS MLB – Braves at Mets

Braves Probable Starter – Kevin Gausman, RHP 

4.43 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 19.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .258 average, .336 wOBA, 19.6 K rate, 33.9 fly ball rate and 27.1 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .296 average, .354 wOBA, 19.4 K rate, 31.1 fly ball rate and 35.9 hard hit rate

We saw last night that a pitching debut for a new team can not go as well as the fans were hoping for(Chris Archer will be better next time out) but the trade out of the A.L. East should help Gausman as well. I sort of want to see how Gausman does in his first star before I play him and that also holds true for the Mets hitters. If you want to go after Gausman, it looks like the righties are the better bet. It’s only a 10 at-bat sample size but Austin Jackson has been productive in those at-bats. The hitter I would go with if I played a Met would be Wilmer Flores. It goes under the radar but this player used to be a lefty specialist and now has a .234 ISO and a .365 wOBA against righties. That’s pretty solid for someone who isn’t supposed to hit righties all that well. Gausman is cheap enough he’s worth taking a shot on since the Mets offense is totally mediocre, though it’s likely not where I’m going.

Mets Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Wilmer Flores

Secondary Options – Austin Jackson, Todd Frazier

Mets Probable Starter – Zack Wheeler, RHP 

4.11 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 22.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .266 average, .331 wOBA, 23.5 K rate, 37.7 fly ball rate and 34.9 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .228 average, .265 wOBA, 22.3 K rate, 33.0 fly ball rate and 20.8 hard hit rate

Wheeler was absolutely dominant in his last start but he’s facing a tougher challenge tonight with the Braves offense. Freddie Freeman rates very well tonight as he carries a .546 xwOBA against Wheeler in 16 at-bats, a .451 xwOBA against the fastball that Wheeler throws 55 percent for the time to lefties and he has a .376 wOBA. Johan Camargo also smashes the righty fastball with a .421 xwOBA and even though he is generally better against lefties, Camargo seems to come through every time I play him. Last but not least for the lefties, Ozzie Albies has the highest ISO among hitters that will hit left-handed(Ronald Acuna has the highest at .248). Wheeler is at too high of a price to really consider playing tonight and I would just pick out some of the Braves lefty hitters that I liked best.

Braves Hitters to Target 

Elite Options -Freddie Freeman,

Secondary Options – Nick Markakis, Ozzie Albies,Johan Camargo

Home Run Pick – Freddie Freeman

DFS MLB – Rockies at Brewers

Rockies Probable Starter – Tyler Anderson, LHP 

3.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 22.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .272 average, .347 wOBA, 22.8 K rate, 37.8 fly ball rate and 29.9 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .209 average, .285 wOBA, 22.5 K rate, 40.0 fly ball rate and 30.9 hard hit rate

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t giving Anderson some thought tonight. He’s roughly the same pitcher at home and on the road and he might be able to do some damage against the righties. It’s really the lefties that hit Anderson well, which is always weird. That’s probably not enough of a concern to the Brewers that it will matter all that much. Milwaukee doesn’t have too may lefties that can hit lefty pitching well so Anderson might be in for a good start with some decent strikeout potential. The one real exception is Christian Yelich who has an ISO over .200 and a wOBA over .400 so he could be a very sneaky option tonight. Even with the splits being the way they are, Lorenzo Cain continues to be way too cheap. He’s the best lefty hitter on the team with a 1.027 OPS, .222 IO and a .439 wOBA. The .395 xwOBA against the pitch types of Anderson put things over the top for me.

Brewers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain

Secondary Options- Ryan Braun, Jesus Aguilar

Brewers Probable Starter – Freddy Peralta, RHP 

3.61 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 32.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .235 average, .362 wOBA, 29.1 K rate, 45.5 fly ball rate and 38.2 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .064 average, .153 wOBA, 37.1 K rate, 55.8 fly ball rate and 37.8 hard hit rate

If you really want to punt pitching and take chances with the temptation of a big reward, we’ve found your game. Peralta is only $7,400 and we all know his upside is immense. The matchup against the Rockies is scary in some respects but they strikeout 24.7 percent of the time away from Coors Field. The only hitters that I’m looking at is power lefties with some chance to take the ball out of the yard. The only real options reside in the outfield with Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez. They both have ISO’s over .200 and a wOBA of at least .360. This is the same team that Peralta dazzled for 13 strikeout in Coors Field in his debut. I would definitely not trust Peralta in cash but I’m planning on having a lineup with him, hoping for another 45 point night.

Rockies Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Charlie Blackmon

Secondary Options – Carlos Gonzalez

Home Run Pick – Lorenzo Cain

DFS MLB – Royals at Twins

Royals Probable Starter – Burch Smith, RHP 

6.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 23.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .302 average, .378 wOBA, 20.0 K rate, 35.6 fly ball rate and 40.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .225 average, .332 wOBA, 26.0 K rate, 44.7 fly ball rate and 49.4 hard hit rate

On paper, this is one of the worst spots I could think of for Smith. The Twins are loaded with lefty hitters and they should be able to take advantage of his weakness. Eddie Rosario isn’t the greatest play via xwOBA because it’s down at .309 against the righty fastball and Smith throws it over 60 percent of the time. On the flip side, Logan Morrison is up at .400 and he has the power with a .211 ISO. I have no problem going back to Jorge Polanco because he’s cheap yet again and he still is the team leader in wOBA, although he doesn’t have a ton of power to go with it. The Twins and myself don’t have the greatest track record because if I stack them, they flop. This spot looks fairly juicy for any lefty in the lineup.

Twins Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco, Logan Morrison

Secondary Options – Joe Mauer, Jake Cave, Max Kepler, Miguel Sano

Twins Probable Starter – Jose Berrios, RHP 

3.56 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 25.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .202 average, .278 wOBA, 25.9 K rate, 43.7 fly ball rate and 34.9 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .234 average, .289 wOBA, 24.4 K rate, 33.9 fly ball rate and 31.7 hard hit rate

Berrios can be the roller coaster that you hate to ride but he’s the most expensive option on FanDuel. That’s what facing the Royals will do for you and I’ll be honest – I won’t have any Royals hitters in the lineup tonight. I can’t be sure if I’ll pay up for Berrios himself but it’s always nice to eliminate a game right off the bat. We’ll see if Berrios is the pitcher of choice at the end.

Royals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – None

Home Run Pick – Logan Morrison

DFS MLB – Angels at Indians

Angels Probable Starter – Felix Pena, RHP 

5.23 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 23.7 Strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .307 average, .372 wOBA, 17.4 K rate, 30.0 fly ball rate and 38.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .239 average, .298 wOBA, 29.1 K rate, 25.0 fly ball rate and 50.0 hard hit rate

I don’t know how much of it I can afford but the Indians sure look like one of the better stacks on the board tonight. Pena is getting mashed by lefty hitters and he’ll have to face a top three of Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez. That’s not ideal for a pitcher who can’t get lefties out and Ramirez is probably one of the best high-priced options with his 1.112 OPS, .372 ISO and a huge .454 wOBA. Lindor, Brantley and Yonder Alonso all have a .395 xwOBA at the minimum against the sinker and slider, which is mostly what Pena throws. Any Indians hitters are on the board, especially the lefties. Cleveland is always going to be expensive and it seems like tonight could be a night to pay up for them if we can find the right pitching.

Indians Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – All Lefties

Secondary Options – Three or Four man stack

Indians Probable Starter – Corey Kluber, RHP 

2.79 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 24.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .210 average, .264 wOBA, 26.6 K rate, 32.8 fly ball rate and 34.4 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .226 average, .267 wOBA, 23.2 K rate, 35.9 fly ball rate and 37.0 hard hit rate

If Mike Trout is still out of the lineup, I might go back on my word all season and play Corey Kluber. He’s still not been anything all that close to what we remember from last year and Kluber has seen his ERA come way up and the strikeouts go way done. I might play him again regardless of that info since he’s tougher on lefties so you’d like to think that he can limit Kole Calhoun and Shohei Ohtani. I don’t think Ohtani is going yard once again but a Trout-less team would really hurt the Angels. Even though I’m saying that, they scored over five runs without him yesterday. The fact I’m considering Kluber tells you that pitching on this slate isn’t exactly my favorite outside of one main pitcher. I would think about playing Trout fresh of the injury since most people wouldn’t but this side of the game is mostly a steer clear for offense.

Angels Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Mike Trout(GPP if he’s active)

Home Run Pick – Jose Ramirez

DFS MLB – Orioles at Rangers

Orioles Probable Starter – Dylan Bundy, RHP 

4.53 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 25.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .295 average, .370 wOBA, 19.8 K rate, 48.0 fly ball rate and 36.6 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .196 average, .298 wOBA, 30.8 K rate, 46.6 fly ball rate and 33.3 hard hit rate

Rougned Odor is $3,900 and I’m still giving him heavy consideration tonight. If you had told me that even three weeks ago, I would have laughed you out of the building. He’s just on another planet right now and he has his batting average up to .270. He’s all the way up to second among regulars on the team in wOBA against righties and that’s astounding considering how quiet he’s been through the season. He also carries a .376 xwOBA against the three main itches from Bundy so it appears like we can keep riding Odor tonight. Shin-soo Choo and Joey Gallo are still underpriced. I might hate playing Gallo and there’s every chance Bundy strikes him out in their encounters but $3,000 for Gallo probably makes him chalk. It’s hot in Texas and so is this offense so make sure you have a piece of it somewhere along the line.

Rangers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Rougned Odor, Joey Gallo, Shin-soo Choo

Secondary Options – Elvis Andrus, Jurickson Profar, Willie Calhoun

Rangers Probable Starter – Mike Minor, LHP 

4.73 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 20.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .222 average, .277 wOBA, 23.2 K rate, 33.3 fly ball rate and 35.5 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .254 average, .342 wOBA, 19.3 K rate, 46.9 fly ball rate and 41.2 hard hit rate

I think one of the best cheap plays tonight might be on the Orioles side in Danny Valencia. There really isn’t a box he doesn’t check because he has a .382 wOBA and a .212 ISO against lefties so far. If we take a look at the pitch data, Valencia is a boss with a .460 xwOBA against the three main pitches for Minor to righty hitters. He’s also just $2,300 which really helps open up the lineup. Tim Beckham is also a decent option but I think the number two choice from Baltimore tonight is Jonathan Villar. With the Brewers, he had a .240 ISO and a .380 wOBA and he even stole five bases off lefty pitching. He should be an everyday player for the Orioles down the stretch and is super cheap at $2,400. Using a couple Baltimore hitters in an elite hitting environment could be one of the keys to the slate, especially if it gets us up to an extra Cleveland bat.

Orioles Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Danny Valencia, Jonathan Villar

Secondary Options – Joey Rickard, Mark Trumbo, Tim Beckham

Home Run Pick – Danny Valencia and Shin-soo Choo

DFS MLB – Giants at Diamondbacks

Giants Probable Starter – Andrew Suarez, LHP 

4.11 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 21.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .202 average, .223 wOBA, 22.6 K rate, 18.9 fly ball rate and 25.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .290 average, .350 wOBA, 20.5 K rate, 30.0 fly ball rate and 42.5 hard hit rate

If you’ve played DFS MLB for any length of time, you know that Paul Goldschmidt is one of the best lefty killers in baseball and that’s especially true when it’s a mediocre lefty against righty hitting. That’s what we have on our hands tonight and Goldy’s 1.009 OPS, .298 ISO and .421 wOBA should play well this evening. It doesn’t hurt that Goldy also has a huge .549 xwOBA against the two main pitches from Suarez. The next two hitters that I’d feel most comfortable with is A.J. Pollock and Ketel Marte as both hitters have at least a .392 wOBA. Pollock does bring more power upside with an ISO .079 points higher than Marte but is $400 more expensive. Both are cheaper than Goldschmidt. Eduardo Escobar is in Arizona as well but he only had a .115 ISO and .311 wOBA against southpaws in Minnesota so he wouldn’t be a priority for me.

Diamondbacks Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock

Secondary Options – Ketel Marte, Steven Souza, Nick Ahmed

Diamondbacks Probable Starter – Clay Buchholz, RHP 

2.65 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 20.9 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .180 average, .240 wOBA, 20.2 K rate, 34.7 fly ball rate and 29.9 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .258 average, .315 wOBA, 21.7 K rate, 40.3 fly ball rate and 44.4 hard hit rate

Buchholz throws a pretty spread out pitch mix so I don’t think that’s going to be much help for us tonight. I think $8,500 is too expensive but Buchholz has actually pitched pretty well this season with Arizona. I have no idea how that’s come to be but the Giants have such a bad offense, he could have a mother solid game tonight. Austin Slater has the highest wOBA among active Giants hitters tonight at .362 but his .029 ISO holds me back from playing him. Valencia of the Orioles is cheaper and carries more upside by a long shot. I’m not overly excited to use Buchholz at his price point but I can’t see any reason I have Giants hitters tonight on this big of a slate.

Giants Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Andrew McCutchen, Austin Slater, Gorkys Hernandez

Home Run Pick – Steven Souza

DFS MLB – Tigers at A’s

Tigers Probable Starter – Jordan Zimmermann, RHP 

4.44 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 22.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .252 average, .328 wOBA, 22.2 K rate, 41.3 fly ball rate and 34.9 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .262 average, .308 wOBA, 22.9 K rate, 47.2 fly ball rate and 34.3 hard hit rate

The past two starts haven’t been very kind to Zimmermann and a pitcher of his age and skill set doesn’t get much benefit of the doubt from me. When he shows cracks, I take it seriously. I don’t think we have to go very far to find the best options from Oakland. Khris Davis and Matt Olson both have an xwOBA over .405 against the four seam and slider and the both carry an ISO of at least .250. The wOBA is over .350 and the price point favors Olson, who is $900 cheaper. Jed Lowrie and Matt Chapman would round out a full stack nicely if you go that route since both of those hitters are over .215 in ISO and .360 in wOBA. There is some serious upside to the A’s offense tonight, even after their quiet night last night.

A’s Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Khris Davis, Matt Olson

Secondary options – Jed Lowrie, Matt Chapman

A’s Probable Starter – Edwin Jackson, RHP 

3.32 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 19.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .198 average, .287 wOBA, 19.8 K rate, 41.8 fly ball rate and 31.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .212 average, .271 wOBA, 18.6 K rate, 34.0 fly ball rate and 35.9 hard hit rate

We’ve touched on a bunch of good offenses tonight and if you’re looking for a cheap pitcher to fit in all the bats, Edwin Jackson appears to be the way to go. When the Tigers are on the road against righty pitching, they rank dead last in average, OBP, slugging, OPS and wOBA. They do jump all the way up to 29th in ISO and wRC+. I can’t see a reason to play the Tigers offense since the best active wOBA against righties is .318 from Nicholas Castellanos. The best xwOBA against the four seams and sliders is Niko Goodrum at .368. I will definitely have a lineup with Jackson as my pitcher tonight.

Tigers hitters to target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Nicholas Castellanos, Nike Goodrum

Home Run Pick – Matt Olson

DFS MLB – Astros at Dodgers

Astros Probable Starter – Lance McCullers, RHP 

4.06 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 26.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .179 average, .261 wOBA, 31.4 K rate, 28.0 fly ball rate and 31.9 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .254 average, .327 wOBA, 21.3 K rate, 25.4 fly ball rate and 33.9 hard hit rate

We’ve seen the highs and lows of the Dodgers offense the past two slates as they’ve scored 21 runs and then struck out 14 times and only scored once. Granted, it was Justin Verlander who struck them out 14 times and McCullers isn’t on that level yet. He’s got the strikeout upside to be a play in tournaments but you can’t trust him in cash. Manny Machado, Brian Dozier and Justin Turner are all righties and they hit McCullers harder than the lefties. The crazy thing is Machado and Turner have a .313 wOBA or lower. It’s only been 10 at-bats for Dozier but he’s crushed the righties he’s seen so far with a .744 wOBA. This is a spot where you have to pick a lane. You either go McCullers or you pick some Dodgers and stack them. There’s nothing about this side of the game that is cash safe.

Dodgers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Brain Dozier, Manny Machado, Yasmani Grandal(if active)

Secondary Options – Joc Pederson, Max Muncy, Justin Turner

Dodgers Probable Starter – Kenta Maeda, RHP 

3.48 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 28.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .254 average, .318 wOBA, 23.9 K rate, 34.3 fly ball rate and 38.1 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .207 average, .271 wOBA, 35.5 K rate, 35.3 fly ball rate and 38.7 hard hit rate

Maeda has some upside against the Astros lineup considering they aren’t at full strength but there’s some hitters that are solid options. Tony Kemp hasn’t been mentioned much in this article all season but he’s a really solid option tonight. He’s a lefty who walks more than he strikes out and has a .382 wOBA and a .400 xwOBA against the main two pitches for Maeda. The ISO is fairly low at .146 but for $2,400 you don’t need a ton of power and he might steal a base on top of everything else. Josh Reddick is going to hit high in the order but there’s not much that sticks out for him tonight. Alex Bregman is always an options regardless of the pitcher split because he’s the best hitter on the team, although his numbers are better against lefties. $4,100 is too expensive for anything other than GPP for Bregman tonight.

Astros Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Tony Kemp

Secondary Options – Josh Reddick, Alex Bregman

Home Run Pick – Brian Dozier

DFS MLB – Blue Jays at Mariners

Blue Jays Probable Starter – Marco Estrada, RHP 

4.90 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 17.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .248 average, .325 wOBA, 18.2 K rate, 50.0 fly ball rate and 25.4 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .278 average, .363 wOBA, 17.2 K rate, 57.9 fly ball rate and 32.6 hard hit rate

I might go right back to the Nelson Cruz well tonight. He’s got a .255 ISO against righty pitching and Estrada as reverse splits and has been for a while. He’s mainly a four seam/changeup pitcher and Cruz has a monster .580 xwOBA against the changeup this season. He doesn’t rate quite as well against the fast ball at .353 but he can get ahold of one changeup to put in the seats. Mitch Haniger and Jean Segura don’t rate well against the change but they hammer fastballs. You can also throw in Ryon Healy and his .214 ISO against righties this year. Estrada just doesn’t appear to have it anymore and this three-man stack would be the late night hammer of choice.

Mariners Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Nelson Cruz one-off

Secondary Options – Three man stack, Ryon Healy, Mike Zunino

Mariners Probable Starter – James Paxton, LHP 

3.49 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 32.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .304 average, .359 wOBA, 35.0 K rate, 24.6 fly ball rate and 28.1 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .190 average, .253 wOBA, 31.6 K rate, 45.6 fly ball rate and 35.9 hard hit rate

The last time Paxton saw the Blue Jays, he threw a no-hitter. That result may not happen this time around but he’s still one of the top pitching options on the board. He proved he was fully recovered from his back injury in his last start when he shut down the Astros so I don’t have any concerns there. I’m not rostering Jays hitters since they have quite a few switch hitters that will hit righty and Paxton will almost surely be my cash game hitter.

Blue Jays Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – None

Home Run Pick – Mitch Haniger

DFS MLB – FanDuel Sample Lineup

P – James Paxton 

More from FanSided

• Shohei Ohtani Rumors: The best trade package from every NL East team
• Cardinals Rumors: Surprise extension, Dylan Carlson-Yankees link, Rays trade idea
• USWNT vs. Vietnam: Key takeaways before they take on the Dutch
• NFL rumors: 49ers trending toward contract drama with defensive star
• Steelers avoid any camp drama with latest roster move

C/1B – Elias Diaz

2B – Jonathan Villar

3B – Jose Ramirez 

SS – Jean Segura 

OF – Danny Valencia, Tony Kemp, Lorenzo Cain 

Utility – Juan Soto 

It’s really tough to get a piece of all the offenses I want tonight. I do like this sample, but it doesn’t have Texas or more than one Nationals bat, so I may wind up doing what I did last night and throwing a bunch of different lineups of so you can decide what you like. The good thing about this on is I do have $100 left to move Diaz to Cervelli if Diaz is out. Paxton feels like the safest pitching play on the board and then we snag some value Baltimore bats. That helps us fit Ramirez in a smash spot and then we finish off with Kemp and Cain, who both are a little cheaper than they should be. .

The Core – James Paxton, Danny Valencia, Pittsburgh Catcher

Pitching Options 

High End – Corey Kluber(if no Trout), Jose Berrios, James Paxton

Mid-Range – Kenta Maeda, Clay Buchholz, Zach Eflin

Punts – Freddy Peralta, Edwin Jackson

Stacks to Consider – Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, Texas/Baltimore game stack, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Oakland A’s

As always, may fortune be on your side and make sure to follow me on Twitter @bucn4life as MLB allows late swap. If there’s a late scratch and/or lineup cards aren’t put in for the late games, this article will always be updated on Twitter ASAP.