If you've never played daily fantasy baseball before, it's time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you're able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every day.
And while there are many platforms to play daily fantasy baseball on, one of our favorites is from our partners over at DraftKings.com, a place where over $300,000,000 will be won this baseball season. Never played over there before? It's time for that to change. Sign up now and use our optimal lineups here at numberFire.com to crush the competition. You won't regret it.
As for today's lineups -- those can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the things completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until the games start, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.
Top Pitchers
High-Cost Pitcher
DraftKings tonight, and there are only seven games to pick from, so value bats may not be plentiful. That makes Kazmir a viable option, but his numbers and the matchup back it up.
Seattle owns a wRC+ of 98 against lefties this year (which ranks 14th in the league), and their wOBA (.307) ranks 16th. Their strikeout rate of 19.2% is actually good against lefties, ranking 24th-lowest in the Majors. But Kazmir can make the most of the matchup, considering his 23.60% hard hit rate, which ranks ninth among 98 qualified pitchers this year and is lowest among qualified starters tonight. He also owns a swinging strike rate of 10.90%, 22nd among qualified pitchers and third on the slate tonight (behind Scherzer at 14.20% and DraftKings). His strikeout rate has hovered above 22% in every level of the minors since his debut in 2013, so he's got a chance for some upside at a price that will allow you to roster either Scherzer or some of the big bats in hitter-friendly parks tonight.
Alternative Options: DraftKings. Vogt owns a .357 wOBA against lefties and has been hitting second recently. DraftKings just once in his last six games, though, so not many people might be eying him up. He projects as one of our top value plays at just $2,900 in a matchup against Yovani Gallardo, whose swinging strike rate of 6.80% ranks just 86th among the 98 qualified pitchers this year and is the lowest among qualified pitchers throwing tonight. His strikeout rate of 17.80% ranks just 66th. Parmelee could get the ball in play, and at that price and with his power marks, he makes for a solid play.
Alternative Options: Ben Paulsen, Tyler Moore