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 ($10,000 on DraftKings): This is a pretty ugly pitching slate, but Eduardo Rodriguez stands out as the top pitching option when you factor in the numbers and the matchup. He's got a solid 24.3 percent strikeout rate and 4.38 SIERA. His matchup against the Kansas City Royals is a great one as they have struggled against left-handed pitchers. They have a 24.4 percent strikeout rate, which is the ninth-most in the Majors, and their .287 wOBA ranks just 27th.
Value Pitcher
Drew Pomeranz ($7,400): Another left-handed pitcher in a solid spot tonight is Drew Pomeranz, now of the Milwaukee Brewers. He'll take on a Pittsburgh Pirates team that has a modest 23.2 percent strikeout rate against southpaws that ranks just 16th. In addition, they really have struggled as their .284 wOBA is dead last in all of baseball. Pomeranz certainly has a solid 26.7 percent strikeout rate, but a 9.9 percent walk rate shows that he has struggled a bit with his command. He is sporting a 4.30 SIERA this season, which is the second-best on this short, five-game slate.
Hitters to Target
High-Priced Hitters
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($5,100): San Diego Padres rookie has been dazzling on the basepaths and at the plate. Fernando Tatis has absolutely smashed left-handed pitching and will take on struggling Seattle Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. His first season in North America has been one to forget for Kikuchi, and tonight doesn't look much better for him. Tatis is sporting a remarkable .461 wOBA and .241 ISO against lefties and is taking on a pitcher who gives up a 36.0 percent hard-hit rate and 35.5 percent fly-ball rate that's resulted in a brutal 20.1 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate.
Gleyber Torres ($4,800): While not nearly as dominant as Tatis, Gleyber Torres has had plenty of success against southpaws this season. A .353 wOBA and .238 ISO are pretty solid, and that is before we get into some of the numbers of the Baltimore Orioles' John Means. He has a 3.12 ERA that does not mesh up with his 4.93 SIERA, and a .254 BABIP also indicates that he could be getting lucky. He has an abysmal 48.4 percent fly-ball rate but is giving up just a 29.7 percent hard-hit rate, which has kept the ball in the park for the most part.
Value Hitters
Yasmani Grandal ($3,900): He's a solid hitter in his own right, and when factoring in that he's a catcher, he is an intriguing play. The price tag is usually higher than you'd want for a catcher — especially as a one-off — but as part of a stack, Yasmani Grandal makes for a perfectly fine play. He'll take on Pittsburgh's Trevor Williams — a pitcher who has struggled to keep the ball in the park. He's giving up a modest 33.7 percent hard-hit rate, but his 38.3 percent fly-ball rate and 13.2 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate are pretty bad. The switch-hitting Grandal has put up a .350 wOBA and .220 ISO against righties this year.
Carson Kelly ($3,900): What? Two catchers? Well, here we are, as the cheaper plays just aren't that great tonight. Carson Kelly has smashed left-handed pitching this season and is putting up a spectacular .492 wOBA and .383 ISO. This bodes well for him as he's taking on Jason Vargas, who was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies near the deadline. Vargas is giving up a horrendous 38.4 percent hard-hit rate and 41.4 percent fly-ball rate, which has resulted in a 12.5 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.