DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Friday 8/9/19
Every day is unique for daily fantasy baseball, which is both a blessing and a challenge. Although we can’t simply plug and play our favorite studs day in and day out, each slate presents us with a chance for a new gem to vault us up the leaderboards.
Through the use of numberFire’s tools, we can better identify the players primed to succeed each day, making the process of filling out a lineup just that much easier. In addition to our custom optimal lineups, you can check out our batting and pitching heat maps, which show the pieces in the best spot to succeed on that slate. Put on the finishing touches with our games and lineups page to see who's hitting where and what the weather looks like, and you'll have yourself a snazzy looking team to put up some big point totals.
Which names stand out for today on the DraftKings main slate? Let’s check it out, starting with the pitchers.
Pitchers to Target
High-Priced Pitcher
Walker Buehler ($11,500): Walker Buehler probably has the highest upside of any pitcher on the slate when you consider he has put 38-plus DraftKings points in four of his last ten starts — with just two coming under 19 DraftKings points. He's been a beast and well worth paying up for. Now, this matchup may not present him with the most upside as the Arizona Diamondbacks have just a 21.5 percent strikeout rate against right-handed pitching which ranks 24th. However, Buehler has an elite 29.0 percent strikeout rate and 3.38 SIERA which puts him in the top tier tonight.
Yu Darvish ($9,200): The walks were a huge issue at the start of the season, but he has been much better as of late, walking just two batters over his last six starts. He walked 11 in his previous 6 games, so this shows a massive improvement. This is encouraging because he has an elite strikeout rate at 28.1 percent and has a solid matchup against the Cincinnati Reds. They are a team that is striking out at a 23.9 percent clip against righties — ninth-most in the Majors. In addition, Cincinnati has just a .312 wOBA which ranks 21st.
Value Pitcher
Gio Gonzalez ($7,300): Gio Gonzalez has never been much of a strikeout pitcher and this season is in line with what he has done for his career. With just a 21.9 percent strikeout rate, it is tough to expect a massive ceiling from him, but he has been known to go off in a solid matchup. Tonight could be that night as he takes on a Texas Rangers team that strikes out at the fourth-highest rate against left-handed pitching in the Majors at 26.3 percent. Their .318 wOBA against lefties is 18th, but nothing to really be too scared of or concerned with.
Hitters to Target
High-Priced Hitters
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($5,600): I didn't want to write up Fernando Tatis twice in one week, but he's facing another terrible lefty and he absolutely crushes them which is hard to ignore. Against southpaws, Tatis puts up an absurd .489 wOBA and .286 ISO. He'll take on the visiting Colorado Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland — a pitcher that has struggled this season. He's sporting an abysmal 42.6 percent hard-hit rate and 36.3 percent fly-ball rate which has resulted in a 22.2 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate.
Alex Bregman ($5,400): Dylan Bundy is a solid pitcher, but he really struggles keeping the ball in the park. He's giving up a modest 32.1 percent hard-hit rate, but the 41.5 percent fly-ball rate is crazy high and has resulted in a 1.99 HR/9 even with the low-ish hard-hit rate. He'll take on the very power-friendly Houston Astros and Alex Bregman is in a great spot. He's putting up a fantastic .386 wOBA and .242 ISO against right-handed pitching and playing in Camden Yards will only accentuate his power.
Jorge Soler ($4,600): Jorge Soler brings an insane amount of power to the plate — especially against right-handed pitching. While the .372 is great, the .304 ISO is incredible and taking on a terrible pitcher in Edwin Jackson is even better. Jackson's home run troubles in Toronto were evident, but now he plays for the Detroit Tigers, even though I don't expect much to change. Jackson has given up a 41.8 percent hard-hit rate and 39.4 percent fly-ball rate resulting in a slate-worst 27.9 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate.
Value Hitters
Paul DeJong ($4,000): Chris Archer is another pitcher that has struggled with his control and keeping the ball in the park. He has a horrendous 11.2 percent walk-rate and the power he's giving up is so brutal. He has a 40.2 percent hard-hit rate, 22.6 percent line-drive rate and a 41.8 percent fly-ball rate. In addition, his 2.09 HR/9 is among the worst on the slate. He'll take on the St. Louis Cardinals tonight, a team that isn't great. However, Paul DeJong does have some decent power against right-handed pitching with a .334 wOBA and .215 ISO. Sure, it's not as elite as some others, but the matchup could really pay off.
A.J. Pollock ($3,700): While the .188 ISO isn't very good and shows very little raw power, A.J. Pollock has an incredible .450 wOBA which is certainly encouraging. The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Arizona Diamondbacks and, surprise surprise, another pitcher that struggles keeping the ball in the park. Robbie Ray has a brutal walk-rate on the season at 10.2 percent, but that has improved as of late. It is the 42.7 percent hard-hit rate and 24.3 percent line-drive rate we could see Pollock take the most advantage of tonight.
Manny Pina ($3,200): Make sure you check the starting lineups as Manny Pina may not play, but he absolutely smashes left-handed pitching so it would make sense to get him in the lineup. Pina has a .449 wOBA and a .340 ISO which is incredible and although that is just 54 plate appearances, it's very impressive. He will be taking on Rangers pitcher Kolby Allard — a left-handed pitcher making just his second career start. He has a 4.38 xFIP in Triple-A this season with just a 21.1 percent strikeout rate. We'll see what he can bring, but I trust Pina here.
Ryan Sheppard is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ryan Sheppard also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username donkshow_. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
