DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Thursday 8/29/19
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
Lance Lynn ($10,000 on DraftKings): We have a smaller, six-game slate this evening with a couple of aces on the mound. The most logical play is Lance Lynn as he has the best matchup against the Seattle Mariners. They have struggled against right-handed pitching as indicated by their 25.4 percent strikeout rate which is the fifth-highest in the Majors. In addition, they're sporting a .317 wOBA which ranks 16th — not terrible but certainly not threatening. Lynn, on the other hand, has been fantastic as he has a 27.4 percent strikeout rate, 3.87 SIERA and more than respectable 6.7 percent walk rate.
Value Pitcher
Alex Wood ($7,900): Pitchers under $8,000 aren't great tonight, but Alex Wood takes on the lowly Miami Marlins which, by default, makes him a viable option. His numbers leave a lot to be desired with just a 17.1 percent strikeout rate and horrendous 26.0 percent line-drive rate, but an elite 5.4 percent walk rate and reliance on ground balls could allow him to go deep in this game. The Marlins don't strike out as much against lefties at just a 22.5 percent rate but their .290 wOBA sits down at 29th which further adds to Wood's upside tonight.
Hitters to Target
High-Priced Hitters
Josh Bell ($5,400): Now the Pittsburgh Pirates are in Coors Field and Josh Bell has a fantastic opportunity to crush it there. He has completely smashed right-handed pitching this season and doing so in the best hitting environment will only add to his impressive numbers. He has put up an incredible .408 wOBA and .341 ISO and has taken his power to a complete new level this season. The Colorado Rockies are tossing out Chi Chi Gonzalez onto the mound and he has struggled in limited appearances. He's giving up a 45.8 percent hard-hit rate and an abysmal 24.1 percent line-drive rate while rocking a 6.37 SIERA. Just brutal.
Aristides Aquino ($5,000): The numbers that Aristides Aquino has put up against right-handed pitching this season are videogame-like. He has absolutely smashed with a .428 wOBA and ridiculous .452 ISO with a matchup against Miami Marlins' Robert Dugger — a pitcher that struggled mightily in Triple-A. He has an ugly 6.09 xFIP and just a 19.9 percent strikeout rate which won't scare anybody. The ballpark is no good for hitters, but at this point, no stadium can keep Aquino in check.
Value Hitters
Eric Hosmer ($3,800): Eric Hosmer does not bring that much power to the plate as his .191 ISO against right-handed pitchers would show, but he does have a relatively solid .345 wOBA. Tonight, a matchup against San Francisco Giants' Dereck Rodriguez is a good one for Hosmer despite his lack of power. Rodriguez is giving up a brutal 42.9 percent hard-hit rate and a 23.6 percent line-drive rate. In addition, his 5.52 SIERA is abysmal and ranks as the third-worst on the slate.
Todd Frazier ($3,400): I definitely don't think I've rostered or written up Todd Frazier this season, but perhaps I have missed the boat when the New York Mets faced left-handed pitching. Frazier has been pretty solid against soutpaws as he has managed to put up a .366 wOBA and .247 ISO. His matchup tonight is far from easy against Chicago Cubs' Jon Lester, but there are still holes in Lester's game that Frazier could take advantage of. Lester is giving up a 38.5 percent hard-hit rate and 23.1 percent line-drive rate and while the .338 BABIP is unlucky, he hasn't been a great pitcher this season.
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.
