Hi, it’s Thursday, July 28th, 2022, and we are back with another DFS article. Today’s main slate on FanDuel is eight games and starts at 7:05 pm Eastern. This slate features several good pitchers on the mound like Shohei Ohtani and Zack Wheeler. It also features some of the worst pitchers in the league with Jose Urena, Yusei Kikuchi, Spencer Howard, and Tyler Alexander. A lefty comes to San Francisco where the Giants are one of the best teams against LHP in baseball led by one of my favorite plays today: Darin Ruf ($2,600). Darin Ruf has a .399 wOBA and .258 ISO against LHP. Justin Steele has done a good job of limiting power against him with just 0.62 HR/9 allowed. Steele still has a 10.7% walk rate and has trouble putting guys on base. Those splits by Darin Ruf are too good to fade, however, as Steele is an average pitcher.
For more picks to help you build your lineups for this DFS slate, keep reading below….
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Shohei Ohtani, SP: $11,100 – Ohtani is the top pitcher on the slate. He has the best SIERA on the slate at 2.43, and the best strikeout rate on the slate at 35.9% as well. He probably is not necessary to spend up on for cash games but makes for a good tournament play, going against the Texas Rangers.
Zack Wheeler ($10,700), Triston McKenzie ($10,100), Logan Gilbert ($9,900), and Jameson Taillon ($9,300) are all viable in the high-end range.
Kutter Crawford, SP: $7,100 – If looking for a punt play for GPPs, Kutter Crawford is my favorite pick here. He has a 3.64 SIERA and a 27% strikeout rate. That’s the fifth-best SIERA and second-best strikeout rate on the slate and he is one of the cheapest pitchers. The issue is the Red Sox as a whole are playing some pretty uninspired baseball at the moment, along with having several key injuries. The win may be hard to come by and there is some risk here, but Crawford has upside you need to take down a GPP.
Rhys Hoskins, C/1B: $2,700 – The Phillies face Zach Thompson, a pitcher with a 4.90 SIERA and a 5.7% K-BB%, followed by a bad bullpen.
Javier Baez, 2B: $2,600 – Even with as bad of a year that Baez is having, he has a .396 wOBA and .244 ISO this season. Yusei Kikuchi has a 4.49 SIERA, a 13.9% walk rate, and allows 1.94 HR/9. Baez could be sneaky here but would consider him in both cash games and a one-off in tournaments.
Max Muncy, 3B: $2,400 – He will be batting in the bottom third of the order so will not be in many Dodgers stacks. Jose Urena is the worst pitcher on the slate even with his 3.13 ERA. Urena has a 5.29 SIERA and a 1.5% K-BB%. The Rockies also have a bad bullpen and this game is in Coors Field. Getting cheap Coors exposure against the worst pitcher on the slate at lower ownership than the top of the order? I’m in.
Xander Bogaerts, SS: $2,900 – Triston McKenzie is good, and not a pitcher I typically want to target. Still with a 3.92 SIERA and a 16.9% K-BB%, along with allowing 1.35 HR/9 means he isn’t unhittable either. Bogaerts is too good of a player to be under $3K. He has a .361 wOBA and a 132 wRC+ against RHP at home this year.
Julio Rodriguez, OF: $4,100 – I have been finding value plays under $3K all article, I was bound to splurge on at least one guy. Julio Rodriguez has a .355 wOBA and a .231 ISO at home against RHP. Jose Urquidy has a 4.37 SIERA, a 13% K-BB%, and allows 1.52 HR/9. Urquidy is low-key not very good. Rodriguez has been on fire with home runs in back-to-back games, and I want to play him again tonight.
Austin Slater, OF: $2,400 – Slater has a .385 wOBA, a .170 ISO, and a 153 wRC+ against LHP this season. There is always a risk of getting pinch hit for later in the game, however, Slater has a 120 wRC+ against RHP and could stay in the game.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
No serious threats of rain at the moment!
Doing Lines In Vegas
I can find Tigers-Blue Jays OVER 9 runs at +100 right now. With Tyler Alexander and Yusei Kikuchi on the mound, I could see the Blue Jays scoring nine runs alone.
