MLB

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Thursday 9/13/18

Ryan Sheppard Sep 13th, 2018
Matt Chapman and the Athletics are in a good spot against a struggling Dylan Bundy. Which other players should you target?

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

Eduardo Rodriguez ($9,100 on DraftKings): We have a short slate tonight so options are limited. Eduardo Rodriguez leads the slate with a 26.1 percent strikeout rate and 26.8 percent hard-hit rate. Additionally, his 1.24 WHIP and 3.82 xFIP are second-best of the night. He's facing a Toronto Blue Jays team that is striking out at a 22.1 percent clip against left-handed pitchers, which ranks as the 18th-highest clip, and the Boston Red Sox are -270 favorites, the largest on the evening.

Low-Priced Pitcher

Brett Anderson ($6,600): This one is tough as nobody like to roster Brett Anderson, but the options are limited. He and the Oakland Athletics are the third-largest favorite (-184), and he's taking on a Baltimore Orioles lineup struggles to generate offense. The Orioles sit 28th with a .288 weighted on-base average (wOBA), and their 79 wRC+ ranks 29th. Anderson has some decent numbers with a slate-best 19.2 percent line-drive rate and a second-best 25.2 percent fly-ball rate.

Hitters to Target

High-Priced Hitters

J.D. Martinez ($5,600): Among all hitters with at least 50 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, J.D. Martinez has the fourth-best wOBA, at .434. Additionally, he brings a boatload of power to go along with it as he's carrying a .327 ISO. The Red Sox will take on the Blue Jays tonight in Fenway, and Martinez will be facing right-handed Sam Gaviglio. Gaviglio has been decent this season, but he's giving up a 38.9% hard-hit rate in the second half.

Matt Chapman ($4,700): The Athletics are in an elite spot tonight against Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy. Bundy has been pretty bad this season, with a 47.0 percent hard-hit rate, 89.0 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and 201-foot average batted-ball distance. Over his last 10 games, Bundy has an 8.53 ERA, which includes 18 home runs and 16 walks. Matt Chapman, with a .389 wOBA and .275 ISO, has plenty of pop to come through in this spot.

Value Hitters

Nelson Cruz ($4,100): Nelson Cruz seems to always be underpriced. He may not be having the best season, but he still smashes right-handed pitching. He has a .365 wOBA and .253 ISO in the split, which makes the $4,100 price tag seem like a bargain. He'll be facing Odrisamer Despaigne, who has struggled. He has a 1.79 WHIP, 4.45 xFIP, 39.5 percent hard-hit rate and 35.2 percent line-drive rate. Giving up that kind of contact to a player like Cruz should get Despaigne into trouble.

Matt Kemp ($3,900): This isn't necessarily the best matchup as the Los Angeles Dodgers are taking on left-hander Austin Gomber, but there are parts of Gomber's game that can be exploited. He is giving up a 36.7 percent hard-hit rate, 26.3 percent line-drive rate and 37.1 percent fly-ball rate across 61.1 innings this season. Matt Kemp has been pretty good against left-handed pitching in 2018, putting up a .338 wOBA and .224 ISO, and he should be surrounded by a lineup full of guys who thrive against lefties.


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.