RADIO
Welcome to Sunday baseball on DraftKings. We have a very fun Sunday slate on our hands, with 11 games on the board. DraftKings has given us a ton of tournaments to choose from, including a $10 "Extra Inning" that prizes $30k to first with a $175k prize pool. For the richer blood, the Sunday Eephus gifts $100k to first place with an $68 entry.
It's a fun slate, with six aces to choose from in just 11 games. There's as many gas cans, with five offenses already projected for more than five runs. It'll be a fun slate to play tournaments with so many options and five or six pitchers worth considering. Let's jump into the slate and find a top play at each position!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/11/19. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. Be sure to also check out all the Vegas Odds for today's slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @VarneyDFS.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Justin Verlander - HOU @ BAL - $12,400
Verlander is in a league of his own tonight if you’re looking for safety. Jacob deGrom and Luis Castillo both have immense upside, but they’re in tough match-ups and could in theory get blown up. Verlander faces off with the 27th ranked Orioles team that strikes out 26% of the time, so he’ll be fine. Verlander has held both righties and lefties to a sub .260 wOBA while striking out 11 batters per nine innings. He’s going to cost you, but Verlander is uber safe and can’t be heavily owned with so many quality bats to own.
Jakob Junis - KC @ DET - $7,900
Jakob Junis is far from a perfect pitcher. He often gets blown up when his fastball can’t find the strike zone, so you’re always inheriting some risk. With that being said, Junis has gone six plus innings in seven of his last eight games. He’s striking out eight batters per nine innings, but that goes up to a 10 against righties, and that’s who he’ll be facing a lot of tonight. The Tigers rank 29th in baseball ahead of just the Marlins vs righties. They strikeout 25% of the time and hold the leagues lowest ISO. There isn’t much pop to worry about here and another six or seven quality innings from Junis is very likely. Take advantage of his low price and others gravitating towards the big names.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
C - Gary Sanchez - NYY @ TOR (Thornton) - $4,800
Sanchez connected on a bomb last night after a pretty rough power drought of recent. He'll get another opportunity tonight to double down against a terrible righty in Trent Thornton. He's allowed a .344 wOBA to opposing righties and is walking 4.21 batters per nine innings. Sanchez is just as good against both righties and lefties, sporting a .471 wOBA with 20 of his 25 home runs against righties. Catcher is always one of the thinner positions and nobody has the upside of Sanchez.
1B - Freddie Freeman - ATL @ MIA (Noesi) - $5,500
The Braves face off with one of the worst pitchers on the entire slate, if not the worst. Hector Noesi has gotten lucky this year at AAA and he’s now been called up to the majors. He struggles mightily vs lefties and this Braves lineup should put a beating on him early and often. Freeman has sported a .430+ wOBA against righties, and while he is extremely expensive on DK, he’s worth it and it should keep his ownership down. Freeman can do it all at the plate and this Braves team is going to give him a ton of opportunity. He’s swinging one of the hottest bats in baseballs and will look to keep it going in one of his friendlier match-ups yet.
2B - Keston Hiura - MIL vs. TEX (Minor) - $4,800
Mike Minor has had a pretty solid season if you just look at his surface stats. His peripherals tell us a different story, holding onto a 4.64. xFIP and .280 BABIP. The Brewers have a few left-handed specialists and Hiura is one. We don’t have much of a sample size, but a .390+ wOBA so far tells us enough. Minor has pitched over his head all season long and Vegas thinks the Brew crew put out a solid performance. Hiura is a great option in all formats.
3B - Eugenio Suarez - CIN vs. CHC (Lester) - $4,800
It seems like everyone in baseball is swinging a good bat, but not many as strong as Eugenio Suarez. Suarez has three home runs in his last four games and has added two other XBH. He’s a pure platoon hitter, raking lefties with a .427 wOBA against. Tonight, he’ll draw Jon Lester. Lester isn’t a bad pitcher, but he’s allowed 18 home runs and a .335 wOBA in under 100 innings of work. Lester is nowhere near the pitcher he used to be and can be picked on in a hitter-friendly park like Great American.
SS - Xander Bogaerts - BOS vs. LAA (Sandoval) - $5,200
Xander Bogaerts just keeps on hitting. He’s up to 25 home runs now with a .304 BA and .362 OBP. Against lefties, Bogaerts has held a .365 wOBA and hits the ball hard 44% of the time. If the Red Sox make a late season push, Bogaerts deserves MVP votes. Tonight, Patrick Sandoval comes to town. He’s been terrible throughout the minors and doesn’t profile as good pitcher overall. With his worst pitch being a changeup, the Red Sox righties should have a Field day. We’re not done with the Red Sox.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
J.D. Martinez - BOS vs. LAA (Sandoval) - $5,200
Martinez is s big reason why the Red Sox have been able to make this push. He has an insane 16 hits in his last nine games, including four home runs and four doubles. He’ll now get his best match-up yet with Patrick Sandoval. When looking at his minor league stats, nothing pops out to suggest success against major league hitting. Martinez has smoked lefties for a .400+ wOBA and now faces a AAA caliber one at home in Fenway Park. Martinez is my favorite way to spend up in the outfield.
Lorenzo Cain - MIL vs. TEX (Minor) - $3,900
The Brewers are expected to score five plus runs, so I’m all for attacking Mike Minor with a lead-off hitter for this cheap. Cain has always been better against lefties, posting a .349 wOBA dating back to last season with more than half of his power coming against southpaws. We touched on Mike Minor, who’s simply pitching over his head. The Brewers could put up some runs tonight and they have a few affordable righties worth considering.
