DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdown – Wednesday, August 15

Welcome into the Wednesday edition of the DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdown! We have a nice sized 10 game slate tonight so let’s get moving!

I got onto German Marquez in Houston early yesterday and he paid off handsomely, which was great until the Dodgers offense let us down. The Verlander lineup couldn’t overcome some really poor offense and I maybe should have made Ronald Acuna more of a priority. I figured he had hit so many homers, he wouldn’t keep doing it. Here we sit, as he crushed another two bombs. The young man is on another level right now. Let’s dive into tonight’s DFS MLB action!

DFS MLB – Red Sox at Phillies

Red Sox Probable Starter – Nathan Eovaldi, RHP 

3.74 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 21.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .254 average, .321 wOBA, 18.7 K rate, 38.2 fly ball rate and 35.6 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .211 average, .254 wOBA, 23.2 K rate, 39.7 fly ball rate and 32.8 hard hit rate

This matchup isn’t the greatest for Eovaldi, who likely has to face five lefties in the top six. He’s also coming off a game where he got waxed by the Orioles so the confidence level can’t be super high with him right now. None of those lefties are spectacular according to the pitch data, with Nick Williams rating the best with his .419 xwOBA and .212 ISO versus the four seam and cutter mix he should see over 70 percent of the time. He also has the highest ISO and wOBA among lefties overall for the season. Having voiced the concerns about the matchup, it’s fair to note that the Phillies strikeout at the third highest rate versus righty pitching in baseball. Eovaldi could strikeout enough to make up for any runs he allows. I’m not too excited for the Phillies in cash and would likely only use this side of the game for GPP’s.

Phillies Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Nick Williams, Rhys Hoskins as a contrarian

Secondary Options – Cesar Hernandez, Odubel Herrera, Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera

Phillies Probable Starter – Vince Velasquez, RHP 

3.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 26.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .241 average, .334 wOBA, 24.4 K rate, 42.9 fly ball rate and 35.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .207 average, .269 wOBA, 29.0 K rate, 40.1 fly ball rate and 31.1 hard hit rate

These splits are really going to be put to the test tonight for Velasquez since two of the best hitters in baseball are right-handed. His numbers at home are skewed badly by a start against the Brewers here he got blitzed for 10 runs but past that, he’s been a very solid pitcher all season. As we saw last night, quality pitching can shut down a lineup so Velasquez could be a great GPP option if you want to risk it. You just never know what you’ll get from him because the consistent strikeouts aren’t always there. Boston could be a decent stacking option as usual and five hitters have an ISO of at least .250 It’s pretty much the usual suspects of Mookie Betts, Mitch Moreland, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez, who leads the pack with a massive .538 mark. This is one of the games where it’s really going to be up to you to pick a lane on. The range of outcomes is really wide.

Red Sox Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – J.D. Martinez

Secondary Options – Mookie Betts, Mitch Moreland, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts

Home Run Pick – Rhys Hoskins

DFS MLB – Mets at Orioles

Mets Probable Starter – Zack Wheeler, RHP 

3.82 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 23.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .249 average, .310 wOBA, 24.9 K rate, 36.4 fly ball rate and 33.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .223 average, .263 wOBA, 22.9 K rate, 33.5 fly ball rate and 21.1 hard hit rate

If you would have told me at the start of the season that I’d be considering playing Wheeler at $10,000, I probably would have laughed in your face. He’s been on fire lately and draws a positive strikeout matchup since the Orioles have the sixth highest strikeout rate in baseball versus righty pitching. There is one glaring factor that gives me a little pause here before just heading right to Wheeler. He throws the four seam 51 percent of the time against righty hitters and three hitters for the Orioles have an ISO of at least .370 and an xwOBA of at least .488 against that pitch. Wheeler also does give up a .123 ISO with it, which isn’t high but it is his “worst” pitch for power. I would still lean Wheeler against this lineup, but the danger is there and that three man stack would be awfully intriguing.

Orioles Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Three man stack

Orioles Probable Starter – Dylan Bundy, RHP 

4.70 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 24.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .296 average, .376 wOBA, 19.1 K rate, 47.2 fly ball rate and 36.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .209 average, .312 wOBA, 30.0 K rate, 44.2 fly ball rate and 34.6 hard hit rate

Bundy really just gets pummeled by the home run ball in Camden Yards. His HR/9 to both side of the plate is at least 2.15 and I’m not sure how picky we really need to be in this spot with the hitters we’re using. Joey Bautista is actually one of the first hitters that really jumps at me to potentially go yard. Bundy throws the four seam a ton and is giving up a .300 ISO against it so far. Bautista meshes with that as he has a .324 ISO and a .462 xwOBA versus that pitch. If you want to go with a lefty hitter, both Brandon Nimmo is the path to take. He has a .902 OPS through the season and also has a .250 ISO and .380 xwOBA versus the righty fastball. Righty Wilmer Flores also has an ISO over .300 on fastballs and then backs it up with a .209 ISO against righties all season. Bundy is a possible gas can every time he steps on the mound due to the home run ball.

Mets Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Jose Bautista, Brandon Nimmo

Secondary Options – Michael Conforto, Wilmer Flores

Home Run Pick – Jose Bautista

DFS MLB – Rays at Yankees

Rays Probable Starter – Jake Faria, RHP 

4.97 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 18.9 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .210 average, .326 wOBA, 21.4 K rate, 42.4 fly ball rate and 35.6 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .252 average, .314 wOBA, 16.9 K rate, 46.5 fly ball rate and 38.6 hard hit rate

We don’t yet know just how much we can expect Faria pitch and that probably helps determine just how interested I am in him tonight. If we think he’s going to see at least four innings, I’d be more willing to commit to hitters against him. I would think that’s the plan for today so we want righty hitters that can handle the righty fastball. Faria leans on that pitch a lot and he’s been getting torched on the road in his splits this year. I wouldn’t pitch him here but hitters like Miguel Andujar with his .433 xwOBA against the pitch and Giancarlo Stanton‘s .286 ISO versus the righty fastball looks pretty appealing. Gleyber Torres also has a .204 ISO against the fastball and he’s the fifth lowest among regular players. The Yankee lineup is beat up but this is a good spot for them.

Yankees Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Miguel Andujar, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres

Secondary Options – Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks

Yankees Probable Starter – Luis Cessa, RHP

4.50 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 17.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .200 average, .266 wOBA, 29.0 K rate, 34.8 fly ball rate and 29.2 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .268 average, .334 wOBA, 9.7 K rate, 34.7 fly ball rate and 28.0 hard hit rate

Cessa is in the rotation for now since the Yankees lost veteran CC Sabathia to a knee issue but he’s only pitched more than 3.2 innings once all season. We’ll see if we get a pitch count before the game starts. I don’t really want to pitch Cessa but I’m not sure if I’m using any Rays bats either. Cessa has been good against lefties. That’s the side of the plate I tend to favor when I use the Rays outside of C.J. Cron. It’s kind of funny looking at the splits for Cessa. It’s just a 2.1 inning sample against lefties at home but his FIP is -0.27 and the xFIP is 1.17. I’ve never seen a negative number in my research, regardless of sample size. I might wind up using Willy Adames as well, who has six double-digit efforts in the last seven games and homered last night.

Rays Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – C.J. Cron, Willy Adames

Home Run Pick – Giancarlo Stanton

DFS MLB – Indians at Reds

Indians Probable Starter – Shane Bieber, RHP 

4.24 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 24.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .299 average, .377 wOBA, 26.5 K rate, 43.2 fly ball rate and 46.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .276 average, .286 wOBA, 21.6 K rate, 26.0 fly ball rate and 36.5 hard hit rate

We always worry about Bieber when he draws tough lefties and the park isn’t going to do him any favors but I don’t think he’s that bad of an option this evening for tournaments. The thing with the Reds is their two main lefty hitters that we fear are just ice-cold right now. In the past 30 days, Scooter Gennett and Joey Votto have a combined two homers in 176 plate appearances. Votto is at a tiny .065 ISO and Gennett is a little better at .105 since he owns both home runs. His HR/9 to righties is only 0.59 so he’s got a real chance at success tonight. It’s always possible that this is the matchup that gets these two hitters going but I’m not banking on it. I would reserve the Reds hitters for GPP’s and Bieber could be a high upside play on his own.

Reds Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Joey Votto, Scooter Gennett

Reds Probable Starter – Robert Stephenson, RHP 

5.16 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 20.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .256 average, .359 wOBA, 19.9 K rate, 46.3 fly ball rate and 40.7 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .255 average, .349 wOBA, 22.1 K rate, 37.4 fly ball rate and 36.1 hard hit rate

We went with the career splits for Stephenson here because he’s only pitched four innings in 2018. At this moment, I almost don’t even care what the splits are – Jose Ramirez is an elite option. He’s really challenging for the A.L. MVP and he seems to put up monster games almost every single night. The fact Stephenson has been a hair worse to lefty hitters makes me believe Ramirez could be in for another big night with his .375 ISO and .445 wOBA versus righty pitching. Francisco Lindor looks good as usual and the Indians are in another prime spot to explode. It would be a surprise to see a pitcher with an ERA over 5.00 in 120+ career innings stop this offense tonight.

Indians Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley

Secondary Options – Yonder Alonso, Jason Kipnis

Home Run Pick – Jose Ramirez

DFS MLB – Marlins at Braves

Marlins Probable Starter – Jose Urena, RHP 

4.74 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 19.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .272 average, .336 wOBA, 17.3 K rate, 31.9 fly ball rate and 45.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .245 average, .295 wOBA, 21.3 K rate, 27.7 fly ball rate and 37.6 hard hit rate

This could be a terrifyingly bad spot for Urena tonight given his splits against lefty hitters. You can fade Ronald Acuna at your own risk right now. I did last night just because the law of averages dictates he has to stop hitting home runs every night. Then he went out and hit two more last night, bringing his total to eight in the last eight games. He loves hitting leadoff and matchups and averages are out the window with him right now. Even if Urena controls Acuna, he’s giving up a 1.57 HR/9 on the road to lefty hitters and faces a bunch of them in the Braves lineup. Freddie Freeman stands out and has some BvP to back it up – .400 average, .560 wOBA, .607 xwOBA and 2 bombs in 20 at-bats through they careers. He’s gotten hot lately with homers in his last three games. Freeman and Acuna need to keep eating the same pregame meal, like Matt Carpenter and his salsa. Ozzie Albies, Nick Markakis and even Ender Inciarte could all be options from the left side of the plate tonight.

Braves Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies

Secondary Options – Nick Markakis, Ender Inciarte

Braves Probable Starter – Kevin Gausman, RHP 

4.27 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 19.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .261 average, .334 wOBA, 19.6 K rate, 34.8 fly ball rate and 27.5 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .288 average, .341 wOBA, 19.3 K rate, 30.5 fly ball rate and 35.7 hard hit rate

Gausman might be a very interesting play tonight. Miami beat up on Anibal Sanchez last night but if you look at the lineup, the only hitter that really hurt him was J.T. Realmuto. If Gausman can control him, the rest of the lineup isn’t too scary. Gausman’s stats aren’t exactly the most important thing to me. He pitched in the A.L. East, which is a serious upgrade over the Marlins. What is very interesting is his last start was excellent, when he struck out eight Brewers over eight innings of one run ball. CBS Sports’ Chris Towers pointed out recently that Gausman had changed his arm slot, which could have led to much better results. When I hear or see about changes like that, it really gives credence to why the results improved. I can’t blame you for playing Realmuto and his .234 ISO versus the pitch mix for Gausman, but it wouldn’t be something that I would do myself.

Marlins Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – J.T. Realmuto

Home Run Pick – Freddie “Free Money” Freeman

DFS MLB – Rockies at Astros

Rockies Probable Starter – Tyler Anderson, LHP 

3.94 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 22.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .279 average, .358 wOBA, 23.0 K rate, 38.8 fly ball rate and 32.5 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .212 average, .290 wOBA, 22.5 K rate, 38.8 fly ball rate and 32.1 hard hit rate

Anderson is pretty far reverse splits but he’s also not pitched 30 full innings against lefties so far this year, so take that with a grain of salt. He’s been awesome on the road to right handed hitters and the rubber is going to meet the road tonight. Evan Gattis is a homer or bust type of player with a .240 ISO and the main attraction from the right side of the plate tonight is Alex Bregman. He carries a .951 OPS, .272 ISO and a .402 wOBA and he also looks good via pitch data, accumulating a .420 xwOBA and .294 ISO versus the fastball/cutter combo. I don’t want to use Anderson like I did with German Marquez last night, but we saw that a quality pitcher can give this lineup fits. Without Jose Altuve and George Springer, Houston is significantly worse against a quality lefty. Josh Reddick or Kyle Tucker would be interesting if they make the lineup.

Astros Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Alex Bregman

Secondary Options – Evan Gattis, Kyle Tucker, Josh Reddick

Astros Probable Starter – Gerrit Cole, RHP 

2.75 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 34.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .168 average, .250 wOBA, 39.8 K rate, 46.1 fly ball rate and 30.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .202 average, .264 wOBA, 28.9 K rate, 39.2 fly ball rate and 35.0 hard hit rate

Cole hasn’t been as sharp lately but I’m willing to roll the dice on him tonight. Last night, Justin Verlander struck out 11 Rockies hitters and Cole has that style of upside tonight against a team that strikes out the amount the Rockies do on the road. This is the type of matchup that can get him back on track and the only hitter I might try is Nolan Arenado. In 14 career at-bats against Cole, he has two home runs and a .591 xwOBA. I feel comfortable paying for Cole tonight with his strikeout upside.

Rockies Hiters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Nolan Arenado

Home Run Pick – Alex Bregman

DFS MLB – Blue Jays at Royals

Blue Jays Probable Starter – Marco Estrada, RHP 

4.84 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 18.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .236 average, .319 wOBA, 18.4 K rate, 53.4 fly ball rate and 26.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .265 average, .350 wOBA, 17.7 K rate, 57.2 fly ball rate and 33.0 hard hit rate

You know you have a bad offense when I struggle to find righties that I want to use against the quickly depreciating Estrada. All he does is give up fly balls to righties and I’m not sure what the best way to attack that weakness is tonight. I almost never play Whit Merrifield against righty pitching since he has a .088 ISO versus that handedness. He comes with good stolen base upside but $3,300 is a little steep for just a stolen base potential. Maybe you roll out Salvador Perez with his .219 ISO against the fastball/change-up combo Estrada throws. He is only $2,900 and should be low owned since he’s a catcher and he does have two career bombs off of Estrada. Alcides Escobar has some weird BvP in 16 at-bats, racking up a .500 average and a .419 xwOBA. Nobody is all that great of an option but maybe as a “last man in the lineup” type of deal, it could work.

Royals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Whit Merrifield, Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar

Royals Probable Starter – Burch Smith, RHP

6.97 average, 1.60 WHIP and 21.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .313 average, .401 wOBA, 19.2 K rate, 38.2 fly ball rate and 40.7 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .250 average, .359 wOBA, 23.8 K rate, 43.2 fly ball rate and 49.4 hard hit rate

I very well might stack Kendrys Morales and Justin Smoak in the C/1B and Utility spots tonight in at least one lineup because they draw quite the matchup with Smith. He’s giving up a 2.60 HR/9 to lefties and feeding them fastballs at a 63 percent clip. Smoak and Morales just so happen to rake against that pitch, with ISO’s of .354 and .339 to go along with a .438 and .496 xwOBA, respectively. I definitely want a piece of that. If you want to go with a full Blue Jays stack, make sure you include righty Randall Grihuk, who basically matches all of those numbers for the other two hitters. Smith isn’t fooling anyone and even Curtis Granderson makes plenty of sense if he’s in the leadoff spot.

Blue Jays Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales

Secondary Options – Curtis Granderson, Randall Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez

Home Run Pick – Kendrys Morales

DFS MLB – Nationals at Cardinals

Nationals Probable Starter – Jeremy Hellickson, RHP 

3.54 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 18.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .216 average, .296 wOBA, 18.5 K rate, 30.3 fly ball rate and 27.2 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .250 average, .294 wOBA, 18.0 K rate, 33.9 fly ball rate and 27.4 hard hit rate

On the face of things, it would appear that Jeremy Hellickson is just good enough to drive us away from the Cardinal hitters even though he’s not a reliable fantasy option. That’s going to be mostly true but if you’re reading this, you already know that Matt Carpenter is a dangerous fade right now. I don’t think he’s going to be crazy chalky, but he’s so locked in it’s not even funny. In the last 30 days, he has a .333 average, .508 wOBA, .505 ISO and 15 home runs in 122 plate appearances. That’s roughly an 80 home run pace over the course of 650 plate appearances, which just illustrates how stupid hot he truly is right now. I don’t really want to mess with the rest of the Cardinals in this spot since Hellickson is annoyingly solid.

Cardinals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Matt Carpenter

Secondary Options – Paul DeJong

Cardinals Probable Starter – Austin Gomber, LHP 

3.45 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 19.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .271 average, .332 wOBA, 20.8 K rate, 32.4 fly ball rate and 32.4 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .194 average, .300 wOBA, 18.8 K rate, 40.0 fly ball rate and 40.4 hard hit rate

Can I interest anyone in a four man Nationals stack tonight? Gomber is heavy on the fastball and curve combo and three hitters from the Nationals smash that mix, being Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto. Let’s start with the pitch data for Zimmerman, which is off the charts incredible. The xwOBA and the ISO are both over .700(!), at .703 and .769. Those numbers are massive, even though it’s a small sample. He’s missed some time this year but Zimmerman also leads the Nats in OPS, ISO and wOBA this season with gaudy numbers. He’s typically not this expensive but will be hard to fade. Soto will be under owned compared to what he should be since it’s a lefty on lefty matchup but Soto is actually better against lefties for whatever reason. His xwOBA and ISO are both over .530 and the season long numbers are also humongous. Those two would be my first two hitters to own but Harper and Rendon also have excellent numbers across the board and Gomber could get taken behind the woodshed tonight.

Nationals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Ryan Zimmerman, Juan Soto

Secondary Options – Anthony Rendon, Bryce Harper

Home Run Pick – Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman

DFS MLB – Angels at Padres

Angels Probable Starter – Felix Pena, RHP 

4.95 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 20.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .282 average, .354 wOBA, 14.7 K rate, 33.8 fly ball rate and 38.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .227 average, .305 wOBA, 26.8 K rate, 30.6 fly ball rate and 50.0 hard hit rate

Pena has significant home/road splits, with his ERA spiked over 6.50 at home while it’s just 1.84 on the road. It’s a pretty small sample so we shouldn’t pin a ton importance to it but the Padres don’t have a ton of lefties that make you worry about the long ball. If Travis Jankowski leads off, we could be in business with him at just $2,500. He’s rocking a .340 OBP and he can always steal some bases. I’m not going to pay $3,200 for Eric Hosmer and his .154 ISO but maybe we can go with Corey Spangenberg as a cheaper punt option. Freddy Galvis has been hot lately but can you really fork over $3,200? It seems like a case of trying to buy at the highest price, something we try to avoid.

Padres Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Travis Jankowski(if leading off), Eric Hosmer, Freddy Galvis, Corey Spangenberg

Padres Probable Starter – Robbie Erlin, LHP 

3.36 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 21.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .268 average, .322 wOBA, 22.1 K rate, 24.6 fly ball rate and 46.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .220 average, .253 wOBA, 21.0 K rate, 32.8 fly ball rate and 24.5 hard hit rate

Erlin has yet to exceed 5.0 innings pitched so I think he’s out tonight. The thing is there’s not a lot of meat to sink our teeth into as far as using hitters against him. He’s been better at home and I think one of the only Angels hitters that I would really want is Justin Upton. He’s white-hot right now with another homer last night and even though his numbers look average at best, he’s a streaky guy that can mash for another two weeks before he disappears again. If Kole Calhoun or Shohei Ohtani make the lineup, they could be against the grain options. You also could punt with Jose Briceno, who is raking against lefties this year in a small sample size. It’s still hard to sacrifice players like Ryan Zimmerman or Justin Smoak for those spots. Jefry Marte is somewhat the same in that leaving of the other players for a hitter that could be pinch hit for doesn’t make much sense to me.

Angels Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Justin Upton

Secondary Options – Jose Briceno, Jefry Marte

Home Run Pick – Jose Briceno

DFS MLB – Giants at Dodgers

Giants Probable Starter – Derek Holland, LHP 

Vs LHH – .181 average, .215 wOBA, 14.9 K rate, 25.9 fly ball rate and 20.5 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .257 average, .344 wOBA, 26.3 K rate, 42.1 fly ball rate and 46.0 hard hit rate

That about sums up my feelings on the Dodgers right now. Intellectually, I know I should want to use as many Dodgers righties as I can to take advantage of the 2.01 HR/9 that Holland gives up on the road. It’s going to be hard to go back to the well emotionally after I burned my German Marquez lineup on a Dodgers stack that manage two puny runs, only one more than they had players ejected. Bizarre fight aside, I want to se the lineup here. It should be almost all righties and he uses the fastball a lot to righty hitters. That puts us in a near identical spot as last night, with Matt Kemp being excellent against lefty fastballs and having a .278 ISO against lefties on the season. Justin Turner and Manny Machado showed up last night with double-digit efforts so it’s a little easier to go back to them tonight.

Dodgers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Justin Turner, Matt Kemp, Manny Machado

Secondary Options – TBD by lineup

Dodgers Probable Starter – Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP 

2.12 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 31.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .095 average, .261 wOBA, 22.2 K rate, 13.3 fly ball rate and 13.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .169 average, .234 wOBA, 34.1 K rate, 36.5 fly ball rate and 41.5 hard hit rate

This is honestly not a spot I want much to do with, on either side. Ryu hasn’t pitched since the start of May, so he’s going to be on a fairly low pitch count. It’s the Dodgers, after all. On the flip side, I don’t want to use Giants hitters against a pitcher that was very good before the groin injury knocked him out of commission and then potentially a bullpen for around five innings. The Giants offense isn’t good enough to try to chase your own tail here.

Giants Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Andrew McCutchen, Brandon Belt

Home Run Pick – Justin Turner

DFS MLB – Sample FanDuel Lineup

P – Gerrit Cole

C/1B – Ryan Zimmerman

2B – Gleyber Torres

3B – Justin Turner 

SS – Alcides Escobar 

OF – Jose Bautista, Travis Jankowksi, Juan Soto 

Utility – Kendrys Morales 

There’s some different pitchers that I might use but I’m really leaning towards Cole in cash games tonight. Strikeouts are king in DFS and I’m following that against the Rockies. I’m also sticking with my Nationals against a very unproven Gomber, who sounds like a villain from a Super Mario Brothers video game. I’ll take a Yankee that can hit the fastball versus Faria and grit my teeth to roster a Dodger because I know I should. Morales graded out very well and is cheap, as is Jankowski. Bautista has every chance at a bomb tonight.

The Core – Juan Soto, Ryan Zimmerman, Kendra Morales

Pitching to Consider

High End – Gerrit Cole, Zack Wheeler

Mid-Range – Nathan Eovaldi, Shane Bieber(both GPP only)

Punt – Kevin Gausman, a little expensive for punts but I think that’s as low as I would go tonight.

Stacks to Consider – New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers

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.