DraftKings MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 7/31/15
Before you get going with fantasy football, why not try some daily fantasy baseball?
DraftKings has contests going on each night where you can win real cash prizes. And with a nice slate tonight in baseball, it's the perfect chance to join and play. After all, new users at DraftKings get a free entry into a league with up to $100,000 in prizes.
Not sure who to select? Don't worry. We've got you covered with tonight's optimal lineup.
Be sure to check out our optimal lineups prior to games starting to ensure each player is in his team's lineup.
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Wacha | SP | 1000 | 9000.00 | 2.14 |
| Jason Hammel | SP | 1000 | 8100.00 | 1.85 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | 11.87 | 5600.00 | 2.12 |
| Nelson Cruz | OF | 11.03 | 5100.00 | 2.16 |
| Brian Dozier | 2B | 10.87 | 4900.00 | 2.22 |
| Manny Machado | 3B | 10.3 | 4400.00 | 2.34 |
| Cameron Maybin | OF | 10.28 | 3500.00 | 2.94 |
| Chris Young | OF | 1000 | 3200.00 | 2.45 |
| Yadier Molina | C | 7.96 | 3100.00 | 2.57 |
| Asdrubal Cabrera | SS | 8.15 | 3100.00 | 2.63 |
The algorithm really loves Michael Wacha tonight. So much, in fact, that it opted to use him as the top starting pitcher over Clayton Kershaw due to price.
(If you'd like to use Kershaw though, check out our custom optimal lineups tool.)
Wacha faces the Rockies away from Coors. That may be a little scary considering Colorado has the best wOBA against right-handed pitching in Major League Baseball, but a negative park shift and a lineup without Troy Tulowitzki helps. The game has a pretty normal 7.5 over/under as well, and the Cardinals are heavy, heavy favorites. Kershaw is our top pitcher on the night, but Wacha's ranked second and is at a much better price point.
Jason Hammel's the other hurler in the lineup, and he'll be on the road against the Brewers tonight. Milwaukee's a little below-average against right-handed pitching, striking out at a 20.4% rate while hitting to a .308 wOBA. Hammel has a strong 3.17 FIP, and is striking out nearly nine batters per nine innings this season. Given this, his good price point and the opponent, he should be a fairly good option for tonight's slate.
As usual, I won't talk about the good, high-cost players in the lineup. Instead, let's dig into a couple of the cheaper guys.
The first is Chris Young, who's just $3,200 and should bat close to the middle in the Yankees' lineup. He'll have the platoon advantage against Carlos Rodon, who's been horrible against right-handers, allowing a .367 wOBA on the year in the split. The Yankees are projected by Vegas to score over 4.5 runs, and having Young will give you some nice, cheap exposure to the lineup.
Another player to touch on is Yadier Molina, who's facing the awful Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick may be a right-hander, and that doesn't play into Molina's favor, but he has a FIP above 6.0 on the year, and is still giving up a .367 wOBA to right-handed batters. Granted, he does pitch at Coors a lot of times, but his xFIP is poor too at 4.99. The Cardinal bats should be heavily owned tonight as a result, and Molina is a cheap way to get some of that action.
