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If you haven’t updated your FanDuel app yet, do it! They’ve finally caught up with the times and added DL, starting or not starting, and lineup position next to players’ names in the lineup building page. This makes our jobs as DFS players much easier.
Friday’s slate is much better for pitching than Thursday’s slate. For those of you who rostered Greinke in the early portion of Thursday’s contests and still placed in a tournament (thanks Khris Davis and Victor Martinez), congrats! Hopefully there’s more dependability come Friday night, as you’re almost certainly going to pay up for a one of the many great pitchers. Only one game of the 15 is outside of the “main” contest time frame, and that’s the Cubs of course. Other than their matchup with the Giants, I’ll pick out some good values amongst all of teams in play Friday, August 7th (which also happens to be my birthday, woohoo!). Let’s get to it!
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Offenses to Target for FanDuel DFS
Kansas City Royals (vs. John Danks, LHP)
There aren’t a whole lot of exploitable pitching matchups Friday, so you’ll have to capitalize on the few mediocre pitchers. Danks is one of them. He has a 4.80 ERA and is facing one of the best overall offenses in the MLB. The Royals aren’t usually used to target lefties, but Lorenzo Cain (4.27 wOBA vs. L), Kendrys Morales (.327), and Ben Zobrist (.397) could be a solid stack atop the KC order. They shouldn’t break your bank either, which is important considering the expensive pitching options. You’ll probably have to find multiple bargain players regardless of which pitcher you go with, but these three players could provide a solid foundation for your offense.
Arizona Diamondbacks (vs. Raisel Iglesias, RHP)
The D-Backs offense has been fantastic against righties this year, and on Friday they get a young one who’s been hit hard lately. They have a bit of a four-man rotation in the outfield, so make sure to check starting lineups before you make your choice, but Wellington Castillo, David Peralta, Paul Goldschmidt, and A.J. Pollock all have wOBAs above .350 against righties in 2015. Knowing there will be a lot of bargain shopping going on, value plays like Jake Lamb and Ender Inciarte can be plugged in to save a little bank.
Honorable Mentions: Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals
DFS Starting Pitchers to Target for FanDuel
This is the most incredible compilation of pitching I’ve ever seen. I’m going to do some quick hits on every pitcher who I see as “worth it” on Friday, and rank them from top to bottom regardless of price. Then you can take your pick. Trying to decide who will put up the highest score of the night? Ha, good luck.
- Jacob deGrom (SP, NYM) - $11,100
Big park boost and a mediocre offense gives this ace my guess for highest score of the night.
- Jose Fernandez (SP, MIA) - $11,00
Fernandez is a true ace. I can’t find anyone on this depleted Braves team who will be able to hit this kid. Slightly lower win potential than deGrom.
- Clayton Kershaw (SP, LOS) - $13,400
Not much to be said here. Kershaw is the real deal. Pirates offense and Gerrit Cole on the other end puts him here for me.
- Dallas Keuchel (SP, HOU) - $10,700
Oakland offense is nothing to write home about, and Keuchel is capable of a huge game here. Sonny Gray could make a win tough.
- Cole Hamels (SP, TEX) - $10,500
Mariners have trouble with lefties. Park bump for Hamels too. Could have a big game, but Hisashi Iwakuma is no slouch on the other end.
- Sonny Gray (SP, OAK) - $10,300
Houston is strikeout prone, and Gray should continue his breakout season. Keuchel will likely keep him from getting the win.
- Gerrit Cole (SP, PIT) - $10,500
It pains me to put Cole this low, but going against Kershaw and a deadly Dodgers lineup will do that. Still a high strikeout potential and should go six innings.
Wanna Be Unique?
R.A. Dickey (SP, TOR) - $8,000
If you are insistent on not spending up at pitcher, I think Dickey has the biggest chance to surprise a lot of people at a very, very low ownership. He has shut the Yanks out twice this year, and although New York’s offense has been on fire lately, a good knuckleball can create a whole different game.
DFS Infielders to Target for FanDuel
Matt Wieters (C, BAL) - $2,500
Wieters seems to be cheap more often than not, and he always has potential for a big game. He has hit lefties better so far this year (104 wRC+ against lefties), and he gets Andrew Heaney on Friday.
Adam Lind (1B, MIL) - $3,300
Lance Lynn is no slouch, but Lind has been seeing the ball well lately. He had three hits Thursday, making 11 hits for the first baseman in August already. A righty at Miller Park at this price is a steal.
Kolten Wong (2B, STL) - $2,800
It was tough to decide between Wong and Anthony Rendon, so I went with the cheaper option. Wong hits righties well (126 wRC+ against righties), gets a young, inexperienced pitcher in Tyler Cravy, gets a park boost with Miller Park, and has a low price tag. The stars are aligning for a good game Friday.
Daniel Murphy (3B, NYM) - $3,000
In a roto league, Murphy is often an empty average kind of guy. However, his doubles and runs can really rack up points in FanDuel. He won’t homer in Tampa, but I’ll take a 2-4 game with a double and a walk at this price.
Alcides Escobar (SS, KC) - $2,200
As inconsistent as he is, I still can’t believe Escobar is at minimum price on most nights. He has plenty of good hitters behind him, base-stealing potential, and gets a lefty in Danks. Here’s a great place to save some money on Friday.
DFS Outfielders to Target for FanDuel
Adam Jones (OF, BAL) - $3,000
This certainly isn’t the Adam Jones we saw last year, but he still shows us glimpses of why we considered him a top-10 outfielder at the beginning of the year. He gets Heaney on Friday (141 wRC+ against lefties), and his price tag is certainly doable.
Ender Inciarte (OF, ARI) - $2,700
This is some great value for a leadoff hitter atop a great offense. Inciarte hits righties well (.337 wOBA vs. righties), and he has seven hits in his last four games.
Khris Davis (OF, MIL) - $2,400
When you pay up for pitcher, a homer from a low-priced guy can be huge. Davis can provide just that. He hits lefties better than righties, but he homered off of a righty in one of his two dongs yesterday, and he now has six hits in his last three games. He could very well go 0-4, but the home run potential is what can shoot you up the leaderboards.
Good luck with your FanDuel and DFS lineups RotoBallers!
DFS Q&A with Max Petrie @ 6PM on 8/7
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