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
Chris Sale – Sale has been nothing short of spectacular this season. He ranks second among all starting pitchers in FIP (2.33), xFIP (2.45), SIERA (2.38), strikeout percentage (32%) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.57) -- ranking behind only the superhuman Clayton Kershaw in all of those categories. Tonight, the White Sox Cy Young hopeful faces off with a Rays squad who ranks 22nd in the league in wOBA (.302) and strikes out at the fifth highest rate in all of baseball at 22.1%. Although he will have to out-duel fellow ace Chris Archer to earn the win, Sale is in prime position to put together another huge outing tonight. The White Sox Ace is our number one overall projected pitcher on the board on a night where great pitching is not hard to come by.
Alternative Option: Max Scherzer, Jake Arrieta
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Alex Wood – Wood will be making his Los Angeles debut tonight and he could not ask for a better matchup for his inaugural game as a Dodger. The newest Dodgers' starter gets the pleasure of pitching against a Phillies team who ranks 26th in the league in wOBA (.297), 27th in wRC+ (87) and strike out at a 19.4% clip. Although Wood strikes out just 6.79 batters per nine innings, his matchup with Philadelphia and his new found home with a team who may actually provide him with some run support makes him a viable option tonight. While I'm not sure I'll be rolling him out in cash games with so many elite pitching options on the board tonight, Wood could be a very interesting tournament play if you're looking for some cap relief to make room for a few big bats.
Alternative Option: Marco Estrada
High-Cost Hitters
Alex Rodriguez – The Yankees have been absolutely destroying left-handed pitching as of late and A-Rod has played a major part in that destruction. At a spry 40 years of age, Rodriguez has managed to turn back the clocks this season, especially against southpaws. The Yankee veteran has rocked lefties to the tune of a .444 wOBA, .354 ISO and 1.065 OPS. Not too shabby for an old man. Tonight, the Yankees draw a matchup with Red Sox southpaw Henry Owens, who hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2007. With this in mind, the Yankees are my favorite stack on the board tonight and Rodriguez is one of the top hitters on all platforms, despite his expensive price tag.
Nelson Cruz – I guess older veterans is the theme of today's high-cost hitter section. Cruz was the headline player from yesterday's primer and he delivered with three hits, a walk and his 30th homer of the season. The Mariners remain in Colorado tonight, which once again makes Cruz one of the best hitters available, especially with the Rockies rolling out rookie Jon Gray to make his major league debut. Despite not being blessed with a favorable platoon split, the Mariners' slugger has still managed a .391 wOBA, .247 ISO and .909 OPS against right-handed pitching and should have little problem overwhelming the Rockies' youngster tonight. Cruz' price tag has ballooned all the way up to $6,100 on DraftKings and $5,400 on FanDuel, but he is worth every penny if you can find a way to squeeze him into your lineup.
Alternative Option: Yoenis Cespedes, Mark Teixeira
Cost-Effective Hitters
Chris Young – As I mentioned earlier, the Yankees have been crushing lefties and A-Rod is not the only one doing the damage. Yankees' journeyman outfielder Young has not been an every day player due to the fact that he has earned just a .246 wOBA and .558 OPS against right-handed pitching this year, which has kept his price tag consistently low over the course of the season. However, he is a completely different beast when facing lefties. Young has obliterated left-handed pitching to the tune of a .470 wOBA, .333 ISO and 1.122 OPS. Considering his outstanding matchup with the aforementioned Owens in a game that is expected to be one of the highest scoring on the slate with an over/under of nine, Young is an absolute steal at just $3,200 on FanDuel and $3,000 on DraftKings.
Andre Ethier – Similar yet opposite to Young, Ethier has been pretty awful against left-handed pitchers, but has crushed righties. Ethier has amassed a .379 wOBA and .217 ISO against right-handed pitching this season and gets a spectacular matchup against Phillies' righty Jerome Williams tonight. Williams has earned an abysmal 4.60 FIP and 5.47 xFIP against left-handed bats this season, which bodes extremely well for the Dodgers' outfielder. Vegas predicts the Dodgers as one of the highest scoring teams on the board tonight as they are -200 favorites in a game with an over under of eight, and Ethier should be a big part of that offensive output.
Alternative Option: Ketel Marte, Will Venable