DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Friday 6/21/19
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
Chris Sale ($12,000 on DraftKings): Chris Sale is not only the most expensive pitcher on the slate, he is definitely the best. He has put up a slate-best 35.7 percent strikeout rate as well as a 2.86 SIERA. After a couple slow games out of the gate this season, Sale has been completely dominant. He's also got a premium matchup tonight against the offensively inept Toronto Blue Jays. Their 23.6 percent strikeout rate against left-handed pitching is middle-of-the-pack at 15th, but their .299 wOBA ranks 25th.
Matt Boyd ($9,700): Arguably the biggest surprise "ace" this season, Matt Boyd has taken his game to a level that didn't seem possible before the year. The "early season fluke" has certainly become less of a fluke as each game passes. Boyd has put up a 30.7 percent strikeout rate and has a 3.26 SIERA — both of which are topped only by Sale on this slate. His matchup is against a struggling Cleveland Indians team with a 21.3 percent strikeout rate which sits 19th and a .304 wOBA which sits 22nd.
Value Pitcher
Aaron Nola ($8,000): This section is usually used for cheaper pitchers, but I feel the value of Aaron Nola warrants his placement in this spot. He is just $8,000 on DraftKings with a home matchup against the worst offence in baseball against right-handed pitchers. The Miami Marlins have an abysmal .281 wOBA against righties and are striking out at a 24.9 percent clip — the sixth most. Aaron Nola has certainly had his struggles this season, but a 25.1 percent strikeout rate and an unlucky .338 BABIP give Nola plenty of upside in this matchup.
Hitters to Target
High-Priced Hitters
Christian Yelich ($5,900): One of the early candidates for the NL MVP is Christian Yelich. He has been absolutely dominant and leads the league in home runs with 28. His numbers against right-handed pitching this season are insane, with a .496 wOBA and .417 ISO. There is no doubt why he's among the best in the Majors this season. He's going to face Sonny Gray — a righty who has given up a 40.2 percent hard-hit rate and struggles with his control as indicated by a 9.1 percent walk rate.
Mookie Betts ($5,000): Mookie Betts has been solid this season with a .392 wOBA and a .237 ISO against right-handed pitching. Those numbers were better in 2018 with a dominant .436 wOBA and .271 ISO, but we cannot really complain about his 2019 numbers much anyway. He's got a great matchup tonight against Blue Jays Trent Thornton — a pitcher that has given up a 36.8 percent hard-hit rate and a nightmarish 29.0 percent line-drive rate which is easily the worst mark on the slate.
Shin-Soo Choo ($5,000): Shin-Soo Choo is on pace for another 20-plus home run season and he has done most of his damage against right-handed pitching — as one would have expected as he's a left-handed hitter. The game log of Reynaldo Lopez is quite hilarious. He has either put up fewer than 10 DraftKings points or more than 20 DraftKings points. There is literally nothing in between, with 5 of his 15 starts being above 20. He has given up a horrific 39.0 percent hard-hit rate and 49.4 fly-ball rate which has resulted in a 15.4 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate.
Value Hitters
Didi Gregorius ($3,800): He waited a long time before debuting this season, so it's tough to use his 2019 numbers as a gauge. However, Didi Gregorius was great against right-handed pitchers in 2018. He put up a very solid .358 wOBA and an elite .256 ISO -- showing that there is plenty of power in his game. He'll get to play in Yankee Stadium tonight which is a great hitters park, especially for lefties. His adversary will be Houston Astros' Brad Peacock and while his 1.07 HR/9 isn't that bad, he's giving up a 38.9 percent hard-hit rate and 41.3 percent fly-ball rate.
David Fletcher ($3,800): There isn't that much power in David Fletcher's game as he just brings a .127 ISO against right-handed pitching. However, his .357 wOBA is pretty solid and he has a great matchup against St. Louis Cardinals struggling right-hander Michael Wacha. This season, Wacha has given up a brutal 40.1 percent hard-hit rate and 23.2 percent line-drive rate. In addition, his 2.10 HR/9 is tied for the worst on the slate, while his 5.22 SIERA is the second-worst.
Chance Sisco ($3,300): You rarely see a non-stud catcher written up, but tonight Chance Sisco is a cheap catcher that has been crushing right-handed pitching in limited plate appearances this season. While the sample size is just 33, Sisco has smashed righties with a .383 wOBA and .333 ISO. Even if we assume regression, the price tag for a one-off catcher is great and he has been hitting fourth quite often. He's going to face Mike Leake who has given up a 40.7 percent hard-hit rate and 37.3 percent fly-ball rate which has led to a 19.0 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate.
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.
