There’s been plenty of talk this year around guys like Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander (and rightfully so) but it feels like Jacob deGrom hasn’t gotten the same kind of hype despite his absurd numbers. deGrom has a 34.3% K-rate with just a 7.0% walk-rate and isn’t giving up any homers, giving him a 1.82 FIP and a 1.89 Deserved Run Average. He’s coming off of a dominant start against the DBacks where he struck out 13 batters, and now gets another easy matchup in the Marlins. Miami has the second-worst lineup in the league against righties with just a .279 wOBA. deGrom is worth spending your first pick on today.
New to Draft? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Kenta Maeda, SP: King Kenta is back on the radar after his huge start against the Marlins, striking out eight batters over eight scoreless innings. He gets a similarly poor lineup in the Rockies, whose .281 wOBA ranks them 27th in baseball. Maeda has wonderful peripherals this year, rocking a 28.6% K-rate and a 2.80 FIP.
Manny Machado, IF: One of these days, Draft will give Machado some respect and rank him as the highest projected infielder. That day is not today. Machado is having a stupid-good year and is facing Dylan Covey, who is stupid-bad.
Kris Bryant, IF: Bryant is another guy that you would think would be projected higher. He’s actually having the best offensive season of his career according to his .425 wOBA, and he’s striking out at a career-low 15.7%.
Jose Altuve, IF: Wow, so apparently Altuve sucks? But so does Jeff Samardzija! Altuve hasn’t given many homers or steals this year, but he should still give plenty of runs and RBI as the Stros three-hitter against Shark. Aaaaaaand it’s still Altuve, after all.
Bryce Harper, OF: Harper has homered in two straight games now and is the Hitter-Tron’s top outfielder on Wednesday. How long until Hitter-Tron gets its own Black Mirror episode?
Gregory Polanco, OF: Polanco gets to feast on Homer Bailey in Cincinnati today, one of the best matchups a hitter can ask for. Polanco’s already got eight homers and is walking more than ever as the Pirates two-hitter.
Ronald Acuna, OF: Acuna is my favorite late-round outfielder to target. He’s in a hitter’s ballpark batting second for the Braves against Jake Arrieta, who looks like he’s got a ton of regression headed his way. Acuna has a power/speed combo that can score him tons of points on any given night.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Nothing to worry about here!
Doing Lines in Vegas
I’ll take Arizona at +107 with Godley on the hill. Sure, their lineup has been awful, but they should score some runs off Brent Suter.
