MLB

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Friday 5/25/18

With a plethora of expensive pitchers and the Rockies returning to Coors Field, Paul Goldschmidt is an elite money-saving play. Who else should you consider on DraftKings tonight?

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 Pitchers

Max Scherzer ($14,000 on DraftKings): Once again we have Max Scherzer as the most expensive pitcher on the slate and once again we must point out just how insane he has been this season. He has been the most consistent pitcher, going at least six innings in all but one start and averaging 32.7 DraftKings points per game. He has a 40.9 percent strikeout rate, (which tops the slate), 0.85 WHIP (second) and a 2.40 xFIP (also a slate-best). The one area of concern would be his 50.8 fly-ball rate, considering his 33.6 percent hard-hit rate isn't exactly elite, but with the amount of strikeouts he can get you an earned run here and there is alright.

Luis Severino ($11,200): After dominating both the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox in back-to-back games, it become increasingly obvious that not only is Luis Severino among the most elite pitchers in the game, but he is matchup proof. He's coming into tonight's game against the Los Angeles Angels sporting a 30 percent strikeout rate, 0.97 WHIP and 2.81 xFIP. He has also limited batters to a 153-foot average batted-ball distance and a decent 31.3 percent hard-hit rate. Severino and the New York Yankees are -235 moneyline favorites with an opponent implied run total of just 3.62.

Low-Priced Pitcher

Ross Stripling ($7,200): Ross Stripling has been somewhat of a mediocre strikeout pitcher so far in his career, but at the same time his strikeout rate has increased with each season. In 2017, he had a 24.3 percent strikeout rate, and that's increased to 27.8 percent this year. He has limited hard contact to a 25.3 percent rate and his 84.7 mile-per-hour average exit velocity is the best on the slate. He's taking on a San Diego Padres team that strikes out at the third-highest rate in the Majors, at 26.1 percent, and their 3.04 implied run total is the second-worst tonight.

Hitters to Target

High-Priced Hitters

Charlie Blackmon ($5,600): It feels like ages ago since there was a main slate with some Coors Field action, but here we are with the Colorado Rockies hosting the Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Sal Romano. Charlie Blackmon stands out the most among Rockies hitters tonight as he absolutely destroyed righties last season. He put up a .420 weighted on-base average (wOBA) and a .292 isolated power (ISO) -- numbers that were even better at home, at a .503 wOBA and .406 ISO in 236 home plate appearances against righties. He has a premium matchup tonight against Romano who, in short, has a 1.55 WHIP and 5.09 xFIP in addition to a poor hard-hit rate (34.2 percent) and home run-to-fly-ball (14.2 percent) rate.

Ozzie Albies ($5,300): Although his career has not been a long one, Ozzie Albies has crushed southpaws in his first 116 career plate appearances against them. He has put up an elite .451 wOBA and .302 ISO in this split, and is taking on Eduardo Rodriguez, a pitcher that struggles with fly-balls. In the early part of 2018, E-Rod has given up a horrendous 44.2 percent fly-ball rate in addition to an 89.7 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and a 190-foot average batted-ball distance. In Fenway Park, righties could manhandle him tonight, and with Albies' history against lefties, he has elite upside.

Eugenio Suarez ($4,700): Even though it is a 14-game slate, targeting Coors Field is still a premium play. The Rockies will have Jon Gray on the mound and boy has he struggled this season. He has given up a 37 percent hard-hit rate, 25.8 percent line-drive rate and his 1.40 WHIP is among the worst in the majors. Eugenio Suarez had some solid numbers against right-handed pitching last season, putting up a respectable .348 wOBA and .192 ISO.

Value Hitters

Paul Goldschmidt ($3,900): We all know how much Paul Goldschmidt has been struggling this year, but this price is insanely low. Tonight's matchup is actually a sneaky-good one for Goldy, too. It is right-handed pitchers that have gotten to him this year, but he has still crushed lefties to the tune of a .461 wOBA and a .388 ISO this season. He's going to take on the left-handed Sean Manaea who, on the surface, looks great. However, there are a number of reasons to believe that regression is coming. He doesn't strike much of anyone out with just a 19.8 percent strikeout rate. In addition, he has a horrible 40.4 percent hard-hit rate, 25 percent line-drive rate and a 16.2 percent home run-to-fly-ball rate. His 89.4 mile-per-hour average exit velocity is also a concern.

Yasmani Grandal ($3,700): The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be taking on Clayton Richard of the San Diego Padres tonight, which is a pretty good matchup to slay the least. The one thing that Richard can do is induce weak fly-balls as his 20.6 fly-ball rate and 134-foot average batted-ball distance are both among the top two on the slate. The rest of the numbers, however, are ugly. He has a 1.39 WHIP, a 40.8 percent hard-hit rate, a 25 percent line-drive rate and a 16.2 percent home run to fly ball rate which shows that when hitters do get the ball in the air on him, it goes over the fence quite frequently. Grandal has had much more success against righties this season and has put up a .376 wOBA and a .262 ISO.

Curtis Granderson ($3,600): Granderson has platooned for most of the season in left field, but he gets his playing time against right-handed pitchers, one of whom he will be facing tonight. The Toronto Blue Jays take on the Philadelphia Phillies and Zach Eflin at Citizens Bank park. Eflin struggled in limited innings last season, with a 1.41 WHIP and a 5.21 xFIP, and he doesn't strike anybody out as his 12.5 percent strikeout rate would indicate. Granderson doesn't need to worry much as he has been solid against righties in 2018, sporting a .375 wOBA and .189 ISO against them.



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.