RADIO
Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself for the fullest and normal-est Thursday slate you’ve ever read about. Yes, it’s true; Thursday, August 19th has zero afternoon games and 11 night games. That’s right! It’s Friday, only a little smaller. It doesn’t get much better than that.
As for me, I’ve completely taken out cash games in my strategy for the time being. I’ve mentioned before (on podcasts and in writing) that DFS players should adapt their strategies throughout the duration of the season. As of right now, I seem to be cashing (and profiting) in more one-dollar tournaments than I am winning head-to-head matches. So, naturally, I’m just going to stick to GPPs.
Just to be clear, that doesn’t mean I’m changing my article at all. I build my GPP lineups very similarly to the way most people build their cash game lineups: I find the best value and pick those players. So, you can continue using this article the same way you did before, or not. That one’s on you.
Our slate on Thursday is laced with a lot of exploitable pitching matchups, and topped with one or two aces in tough spots (enter Max Scherzer at Coors Field). Let’s get to work.
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Offenses to Target for FanDuel DFS (Pitchers to Pick On)
The pitchers that make me drool the most are fairly obvious targets, the first being the man pitching up in the Rocky Mountains. No, I’m not talking about Scherzer. Although today would be the day to go contrarian against Mad Max, seeing how his buddy Stephen Strasburg picked them apart Wednesday night. Yohan Flande is bad. We were all thinking it. He pitched in Washington against these same Nationals 11 days ago, and he only accumulated two strikeouts in 4.1 IP. So, yes, the Nationals bats are very much in play, especially righties like Yunel Escobar, Wilson Ramos, and Jayson Werth (depending on price and lineup position).
Pitcher number two to pick on (and for the record I’m trying to contain myself to three, but there are plenty more that I wouldn’t mind picking on) is Wade Miley of the Boston Red Sox. He draws the Royals on Thursday, and we all know how the Royals can mash lefties. Miley has a FIP that puts him right around a 3.98 ERA all tangibles aside, and his 31.9 FB% is what tends to get him in trouble. Red hot LoCain, newly acquired Ben Zobrist, switch-hitter Kendrys Morales, and the rest of the seemingly endless Royals hitters could put up 10 runs on Miley before he can say “uncle.”
The third pitcher that I decided to squeeze into this article is Josh Tomlin of the Cleveland Indians. Some of you may remember him from previous years. He has come up and helped with spot starts in the past. Well he’s going to be doing that again on Thursday, and he gets a red hot offense in the Bronx Bombers. From Ellsbury to Teixera, and from A-Rod on down to McCann, most Yankees bats are in play here. Tomlin is not a bad right-handed pitcher, but he’s not a scary one either. Lefties in this order may have a very good day in their homer-friendly ballpark.
DFS Starting Pitchers to Target for FanDuel
Jake Arrieta (SP, CHC) - $10,600
When one of the hottest pitchers in the league meets up with one of the worst offenses in the league, there’s a cash game pitcher to be had. Arrieta gets just that on Thursday, as he is hosting the Atlanta Braves. It’s important to note that Freddie Freeman is back in the Braves’ lineup, but it’s only his second day back off the DL. He scares me a little, but the odds of him doing big damage so soon after an oblique injury seem pretty low.
Arrieta has a very low 2.67 FIP with an above nine strikeout/nine innings rate. He also rarely makes mistakes, as his 23.3 Hard% proves he’s keeping batters on their toes. The Braves have a below-average 89 wRC+ against righties. The wind is an important aspect to keep in mind here, as Wrigley can turn any good pitcher into a shaky one with a heavy breeze. However, all systems seem to be go for the Cubs pitcher who is verifying last year’s breakout in a big way.
Chris Archer (SP, TB) - $11,900
If you’re going to stray from Arrieta (which I may do with at least one lineup in my tournament entries), you gotta go with Chris Archer. Yes, Max Scherzer is almost sure to bounce back with a huge outing, defying the laws of Coors Field, but Archer has a much higher floor against the Astros offense. The floor still isn’t as high as we’d like, simply because Houston can bust out at any time, but the strikeout potential for Archer is huge.
The Astros have the second-highest strikeout rate against righties this season (23.8%), and Archer has an elite 10.91 K/9. That’s a prime matchup for a FanDuel pitcher. Getting the win might be tough for Archer, but hopefully the Rays offense can get to a righty (Colin McHugh on Thursday) for once and give him some run support.
DFS Infielders to Target for FanDuel
If you’re going to follow my pitching advice, then you’ll need to really pay down at some batting spots. With that in mind, I’m going to try to find the cheapest values possible for each position, and then you can decide where to upgrade come time to submit your own.
James McCann (C, DET) - $2,200
I went with McCann against a lefty (Jon Lester) at minimum price on Wednesday (unfortunately he went 1 for 6), and I’ll do the same on Thursday. He is a great tournament play with his .436 wOBA vs. righties and his unbeatable price tag.
Darin Ruf (1B, PHI) - $2,200
After a multi-hit game yesterday against a lefty in Mark Buehrle, Ruf seems like a great pick to save some salary against another lefty in Brad Hand. Ruf should get another favorable lineup spot in a Phillies offense that is improving week by week.
Andres Blanco (2B, PHI) - $2,600
Two Phillies in one article? Blasphemy! Well, Brand Hand is bad, and when you’re trying to save money, Philadelphia is a good place to look. Blanco has solidified a useful role in this batting order, and he has homered three times in his past four games.
Todd Frazier (3B, CIN) - $2,800
I’m going to keep advising Frazier as long as his price is dropping. The star has a .157 wRC+ against south paws this year, and his price is amazing against Patrick Corbin on Thursday. Build your lineup around this guy.
Eugenio Suarez (SS, CIN) - $2,600
There are a surprising amount of quality shortstops available for very low prices. The key when punting shortstop is to find the guys who have big-game upside and have a good spot in the order. Nick Ahmed and Erick Aybar also could make sense. But Suarez has the ability to go yard every at-bat, and he returns to Cincy facing a lefty in Corbin, which is the handedness he favors (.392 wOBA vs. L).
DFS Outfielders to Target for FanDuel
Gregor Blanco (OF, SFG) - $2,600
Blanco is the new Polanco for now. He has become the Giants’ table-setter at the top of the order, and his price is too low to pass up in that spot. Blanco has the ability to hit homers, but he’ll likely give you a gap shot or two, a couple of runs, and maybe a stolen base. I’ll take it at this price.
Yasmany Tomas (OF, ARI) - $2,500
When Tomas starts, he usually sits right in the middle of a deadly Arizona lineup. The DBacks get lefty John Lamb on Thursday (Tomas has a 108 wRC+), and Tomas will be itching to put one out at Great American SMALLpark.
Ichiro Suzuki (OF, MIA) - $2,500
Now you’re really hoping. If for some reason you need a third punt play at the outfield position, Ichiro isn’t too bad of an option. He had the day off Wednesday, but reeled off four hits the game before that, while scoring two runs and stealing a base. There should be plenty of runs scored in this one (Jerome Williams vs. Brad Hand), and I would be shocked if Ichiro isn’t somehow involved in that run production.
Good luck with your FanDuel and DFS lineups RotoBallers!
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