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
Mike Foltynewicz ($11,100 on DraftKings): It's not the best pitching slate when Mike Foltynewicz is the highest-priced pitcher in the pool. He does have elite numbers, with a slate-best 28.2 percent strikeout rate and 3.61 xFIP. Folty has an excellent matchup against the Miami Marlins, too, and while their 22.5 percent strikeout rate against right-handed pitching isn't one normally worth targeting, they are a team that struggles to produce offense. Their numbers against righties are abysmal in the form of a .294 team weighted on-base average (wOBA) that ranks 28th and an 84 wRC+ that ranks 27th of all teams.
Rich Hill ($9,800): At 25.3 percent, Hill's strikeout rate always has him in play on a less-than-stellar slate of pitchers. While the number isn't great in general, it's the third-best on the slate. He also has a solid 1.27 WHIP and 4.10 xFIP. As for his matchup, it's elite, as he takes on the San Diego Padres, a team that has struggled mightily this season. They have a 24.0 percent strikeout rate, which is the third-highest against left-handed pitching. Their offensive numbers are okay, as they have a .303 team wOBA and a 92 wRC+, but that's not enough to keep us from targeting the strikeout upside in Hill.
Low-Priced Pitchers
Gio Gonzalez ($6,400): He has struggled over the last little stretch, but Gonzalez does have a pretty good matchup tonight against a New York Mets team that hasn't been great against left-handed pitching this season. Gio has a low 19.9 percent strikeout rate, but his 31.2 percent hard-hit rate against is among the best on the slate. The Washington Nationals are -144 favorites, which is definitely solid for Gio being price this low. Finally, in his favor, the Mets have an insanely high 25.5 strikeout rate, which is the second-most against left-handed pitching, thereby giving Gonzalez upside we seldom see from him on a weekly basis.
Hitters to Target
High-Priced Hitters
David Peralta ($5,800): David Peralta has been an absolute beast of late. Over his last 10 games, he is averaging an incredible 12.9 DraftKings points (DKpts) per game -- a result of 6 home runs and 12 RBI over that stretch. Friday, He's taking on the Seattle Mariners' Erasmo Ramirez, who has been simply terrible. He's got a brutal 14.1 percent strikeout rate along with an abysmal 5.18 xFIP. He has only pitched 19.2 innings this season, but he has a 45.5 percent hard-hit rate and 39.4 percent fly-ball rate, which have resulted in a slate-worst 26.9 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate.
Ronald Acuna ($5,500): Ronald Acuna has smashed 4 home runs with 6 RBI over his last 10 games. He has put up an elite 11.9 DKpts per game over that stretch and looks to continue that against the Marlins again tonight. He has a premium matchup against Dan Straily, who has a brutal 1.41 WHIP and 5.02 xFIP to show for his efforts this season. Additionally, a 44.8 percent hard-hit rate, 26.3 percent line-drive rate, 40.1 percent fly-ball rate and 16.0 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate do not bode well for him tonight.
Charlie Blackmon ($5,400): The Colorado Rockies are still playing in Coors Field, and locking up Charlie Blackmon against a right-handed pitcher is a smart choice. Granted, the numbers haven't been as great this season, with a .352 wOBA and a .219 isolated power (ISO), but the bump one gets by playing in Coors is real. His matchup against Miles Mikolas is actually not that great considering Mikolas has the second-best WHIP on the slate, at 1.04, and the third-best xFIP at 3.74. But the Coors factor is the main reason for this play tonight, and Blackmon is the guy most suited to take advantage.
Value Hitters
Nelson Cruz ($4,200): Nelson Cruz brings more power against left-handed pitching, but his numbers against righties are still great. He has a .371 wOBA and .256 ISO against right-handed pitching, and although a matchup against Zack Godley isn't great, the price is too good for Cruz. Godley does have an ugly 1.45 WHIP accompanied by a 37.1 percent hard-hit rate and 22.1 percent line-drive rate, so there is definitely some upside here for Cruz.
Matt Olson ($4,100): Matt Olson brings a good amount of power against right-handed pitching, which will be needed against the Minnesota Twins' Jake Odorizzi. Olson has a solid .347 wOBA and .244 ISO, and looks to smash Odorizzi, who has some ugly numbers in 2018. He has a 1.39 WHIP and 4.65 xFIP, which aren't great, and his 24.0 percent line-drive rate and horrific 47.4 percent fly-ball rate can get him into a lot of trouble against a surging Oakland Athletics team who, like Olson, have a lot of power. The big lefty should have the opportunity to drive in some runs in this plus matchup.
Niko Goodrum ($3,900): It is really tough to recommend a Detroit Tigers player, considering how bad they are as a team, but here we are. Niko Goodrum does have some solid numbers against right-handed pitching, as indicated by a modest .319 wOBA and .230 ISO. However, his opponent, the Chicago White Sox' Reynaldo Lopez, has been horrible in his pitching effort this season. He has a slate-worst 5.60 xFIP and horrendous Statcast numbers in an 88.3 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and 194 foot average batted-ball distance. Additionally, his 47.2 percent fly-ball rate is the second-worst mark on the slate, giving Goodrum a change to get on the board with a dinger tonight.
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.