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
Trevor Cahill ($9,200 on DraftKings): It is a short, four-game slate this evening, and there are ugly options at pitching. Trevor Cahill has actually been pretty solid this season, putting up a 24.9 percent strikeout rate and slate-bests in WHIP (1.04) and xFIP (3.28). His 41.1 percent hard-hit rate is concerning, but nobody on this slate has perfect numbers. He has a pretty neutral matchup against the Minnesota Twins, who have a 21.5 percent strikeout rate against right-handed pitching. Cahill has the most upside of any thrower tonight.
Low-Priced Pitchers
Tyler Glasnow ($8,400): Tyler Glasnow was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the package the Pittsburgh Pirates gave up for Chris Archer. Tonight, Glasnow leads the slate with a 30.9 percent strikeout rate and 27.6 percent hard-hit rate with the second-best xFIP at 3.34. He also has a great matchup against the Kansas City Royals. Although the Royals strike out just 20.2 percent of the time -- sixth-best in the Majors -- their 85 wRC+ is the fifth-worst and their .298 team weighted on-base average (wOBA) is the fourth-worst.
Hitters to Target
High-Priced Hitters
Khristopher Davis ($5,700): Over his last 10 games, Khris Davis has a .306 AVG, 1.131 OPS with 4 home runs and 10 RBI for an incredible 11.1 DraftKings points per game. He has smashed right-handed pitching this season, with a .387 wOBA and an incredibly powerful .327 isolated power (ISO). Kohl Stewart has just seven innings under his belt in the Major Leagues, so we won't get into the ugly numbers he's provided, but given that the Oakland Athletics come in with a juicy 5.26 implied run total, he could be in for some trouble against Khrush and company.
Freddie Freeman ($5,000): Freddie Freeman provides some great numbers against right-handed pitching. While his .183 ISO leaves a bit to be desired in the power department, his .383 wOBA certainly allows him to rack up the points with solid contact. He's taking on the Miami Marlins' Elieser Hernandez, who has pitched 56.2 innings though with just five starts in 2018. His numbers in general haven't been good, with a 1.43 WHIP and an abysmal 5.68 xFIP. He has given up a 52.6 percent fly-ball rate with a 21.1 percent line-drive rate and 35.9 percent hard-hit rate. While Freeman may not have elite power, he has solid power and could really take advantage of Hernandez' struggles.
Value Hitters
Daniel Murphy ($4,100): He doesn't bring much power, but a .360 wOBA against right-handed pitching is solid for Daniel Murphy, the newest member of the Chicago Cubs. He has been seeing the ball really well over his last 10 games, producing a .325 AVG with a surprising two (of his six total) home runs. Murphy led off against a left-hander last night, so there is no reason to think that might change on Thursday against a righty. He's going to be facing Anthony DeSclafani, who has been terrible with his 42.3 percent hard-hit rate and 37.4 percent fly-ball rate, numbers that have led to a slate-worst 18.8 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate.
Miguel Sano ($4,000): I mentioned Cahill above as a strong pitching option tonight, but the slate is so short that taking one hitter against him isn't the worst idea, especially in large field tournaments. You'll want to go with a power option; somebody that can get you that home run. Miguel Sano is that guy. While the power hasn't been great against right-handed pitching, with a .318 wOBA and .218 ISO to show, this season and a .346 wOBA and .223 ISO in 2017, he still has plenty of raw power, having hit three home runs in his last nine games.
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.