Ohhhhh baby! Here we go with another scintillating Sunday of daily fantasy suggestions. Can you feel the excitement? Can you? Anyone? Okay, well here’s the thing….I’m going off the grid a bit and filling the intro with a couple of bats instead of the usual arm. Riveting, right? See sometimes, even if it’s an unconventional, a good play is a good play and that’s precisely where Dee Gordon and Robinson Cano enter the fray. When it comes to batter versus pitcher stats, you’re either in one camp or the other. Love them or hate them……There is no middle ground. I consider BvP every day before I build my lineups. It’s part of the game. If you’ve ever played baseball, no matter the level, there are certain pitchers that you just know you’re going rake against. Call it confidence or just random luck – your choice, but BvP is a thing and I love it. As far as Gordon is concerned…..the numbers look delicious. He’s 12-for-36 (.333) with a home run, 4 RBI, .500 SLG% and 4 stolen bases vs Ryan Vogelsong. Later on today we have Matt Garza taking the hill for the Brewers as they visit Cano and the Mariners. Over 32 career at-bats, Cano has recorded 12 hits for a .375 average, launched two home runs and produced a healthy 1.068 OPS against the Milwaukee right-hander. He’s also reached base at a .412 clip, so it’s safe to say Robbie has Garza’s number. If we’re being honest here, Garza’s had trouble with lefties this season. He’s yielding a .302 BAA, .378 wOBA and allowing a 42% Hard Contact rate to left-handers. Just to make the non-believers happy, let’s take a look at some advanced stats Cano has put up against righties this year: .272 ISO, 156 wRC+, .371 OBP and a 20.4% HR/FB ratio. I’m overheating just thinking about Cano’s at-bats today. Quick, somebody bring me an ice-cold O’Doul’s before I melt. Anyway, here’s a look at my favorite plays for Sunday’s action:
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday August 22nd to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. Wanna know what the best part is about signing up with us? The free subscription for the rest of the season to our DFSBot, that’s what! For details on the how to, please visit our Razzball Subscriptions page.
Danny Duffy, SP $12,900: This might be a fairly obvious play, but perhaps no pitcher has been as hot as Duffy over the past two months. He’s spun 12 quality starts since June 1 and he’s 4-0 in August with a 1.15 ERA and 33 K’s against just 5 walks over 31 innings. Minnesota strikes out 23.3% of the time when facing left-handers and Kauffman Stadium is notorious for suppressing right-handed power.
Corey Kluber, SP $11,800: This isn’t my favorite play, but the DFSBot has Kluber ranked as the top pitcher today so that’s good enough for me. He’s won four consecutive starts and boasts an ERA of 1.65 over his last seven. The Blue Jays have been leaking oil since the break, managing a .300 OBP and a league high 26.3% strikeout rate.
Jose Quintana, SP $9,900: Quintana might be the unluckiest starter in all of baseball. The White Sox have provided him with just 3.08 runs per game, that’s second to only Julio Teheran of Atlanta. Quintana has managed a 2.85 ERA this season and today he faces a below average Oakland team sporting a .304 wOBA and 91 wRC+.
Chad Green, SP $6,400: Here’s your dart if you’re looking for a pivot in GPPs. The Angels rarely strikeout, but the lineup they’ve been rolling out lately is one of the worst in the majors. Also, the Yankees should provide ample offense against Jhoulys Chacin. At this price point it’s worth a shot.
Julio Urias, SP $5,600: As long as we’re talking high risk/reward candidates – Julio Urias needs to be in the conversation. He’s posted a 3.07 ERA over his last four starts and the Reds are slugging just .406 with a 85 wRC+ vs LHP.
Noah Syndergaard, SP $10,900: Okay….Are you happy now? The reason Thor is so low in my rankings today is because, well……I kinda hate this start tonight. Anyway, here we go and the good news is he’s struck out at least six batters in each of his last six starts while allowing just 13 ER over that same stretch.
Yasmani Grandal, C $4,100: He’s homered 13 times since July 1 and 17 of his 20 HR this season have come against RHP.
Miguel Cabrera, 1B $3,600: His price tag is ridiculous today so let’s take advantage of this oversight and make some cash. Henry Owens will make the spot start for Boston today and he’s been less than stellar in his brief MLB duty this year. Owens’ owns a 5.11 ERA, 8.31 FIP and 49.8% FB rate.
Jose Abreu, 1B $3,800: There are so many great options at 1B today, but I’m focusing on another bargain priced option. He’s hit safely in all but one game in August, going 25-for-68 (.368), with 4 HR and 10 RBI and 10 runs in 17 games.
David Ortiz, 1B $4,700: Papi is in the midst of a seven game hitting streak and he’s batting .344 with 2 HR vs Justin Verlander over 32 career at-bats.
Matt Carpenter, 2B/3B $4,700: He’s been rough on RHP this season, belting 12 HR and racking up a stout 1.009 OPS.
Kyle Seager, 3B $4,900: We touched on Matt Garza’s generous ways in the intro, but just in case you need more proof, here’s what Seager has done vs RHP this year: 14 HR, 54 RBI and a .321 average while .568
Jonathan Villar, SS $4,700: Villar should fare well vs Ariel Miranda as he’s touched up lefties to the tune of a .318 BA, .385 wOBA and 137 wRC+
Bryce Harper, OF $5,100: Rookie righty against Harper? Yikes. Harper has blasted 15 of his 21 HR this year against RHP and he’s produced a 1.036 OPS vs right-handers since the start of 2015.
Tyler Naquin, OF $3,800: Marcus Stroman takes the hill for Toronto, which means Naquin should be considered for your lineup. He crushes right-handers, producing a .420 wOBA, .300 ISO and better yet…All 14 of his home runs have come against RHP.
Lorenzo Cain, OF $3,100: He’s been on a tear recently, going 14-for-27 with a 1.212 OPS over his last seven games.
Ryan Braun, OF $4,800: We’ll pick on Ariel Miranda once again and go with Braun who’s batting .379 with 6 HR and a 1.083 OPS vs lefties this year.
Adam Eaton, OF $4,200: A’s righty Zach Neal will make his 4th start of the year and that’s a good thing if you’re looking to use Eaton today. Neal is yielding a .376 wOBA to left-handers this season, while Eaton has hit safely in 5 of his last 6 games.
*Just wanted to add one more note here. Players from the CHC/COL contest are noticeably absent from my write-up and that’s by design. That game carries the highest O/U of the day so all bats in that tilt are in play. Fairly obvious, but wanted to point that out.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There are three games that we need to direct our attention to for some slight weather concerns. WAS@ATL, STL@ PHI & HOU@BAL all carry some risk of wet weather this afternoon. Those games should get in at some point, just be careful if you plan to use pitchers from any of these contests. Everything else is a green light.
Doing Lines In Vegas
The Nationals (-176), Cubs (-161) and Royals (-160) are the biggest favorites on today’s slate, while the Mariners (-158) and Indians (-156) make up the next tier. If you’re looking for exposure to the highest run totals today the game O/U shape up like this: CHC/COL 11.5, HOU/BAL 9.5, LAD/CIN 9, ARI/SD 9, MIA/PIT 9, MIL/SEA 9, NYY/LAA 9, STL/PHI 8.5, WAS/ATL 8.5, TEX/TOR 8.5, OAK/CHW 8.5, TOR/CLE 7.5, MIN/KC 7.5, NYM/SF 7.5, BOS/DET 7.5
