Today’s starting pitching options leaves a lot to be desired in your DraftKings entry knowing that you have to two starters. However, one of my favorite young pitchers is starting, Michael Wacha. The obvious choice for your first pitcher is Tyson Ross, as he is pitching at home in Petco Park. When it comes to my second pitcher, I see Wacha is 7-0 with a 1.87 ERA and 1.04 WHIP on the season. His overall numbers look great except for his K/9 rate. It is an unimpressive 5.46, and even makes me wince when I see pitchers like Shane Greene at 5.80. The Dodgers will be his best opponent today, so when considering one of my young favorites in DFS, I’ll need to dig a little deeper and look at the less obvious statistics. In his last two starts he’s faced the Royals and Mets, both on the road. The Royals are a good hitting team, and the Mets were a good hitting team that has cooled off a bit. In those two games, Wacha allowed 9 hits in 54 plate appearances. He only allowed 2 earned runs in 14 innings pitched, and batters hit .180 against him. Wacha had a meager 9 strikeouts and allowed 4 walks in that span. This is a small sample size of course, but I like to look how pitchers have recently done when facing an upcoming juggernaut. But the main reason I am sold on Wacha as a good choice on DraftKings today is his career home/away splits. He is considerably a better pitcher at home in St. Louis. In 22 games started, he is 9-1 with a 2.31 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP in 120 innings pitched. He has a 3.43 K/BB rate, and a 7.70 K/9 rate. I dug through a few more uncommon stats, and found that Wacha has never faced the Dodgers before. I gotta Wacha fine line at that point and rely on the above mentioned. So although there are starting pitchers that are priced similarly as Wacha, I’ll go with the guy who has only lost once in 22 career home starts, and is facing a team he’s never pitched against. Take a look at some of my other DraftKings’ picks today.
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Aaron Harang, SP: $7,000 – I wouldn’t normally consider Harang, but he’s had a good season. Today he takes on the Rockies at home in Philly. Plain and simple, the Rockies just aren’t good, and even more so on the road. With no Dickerson, and DJ LeMahieu being their hottest hitter, I could consider Harang.
Dallas Keuchel, SP: $8,700 – His most recent profile picture on MLB.com has me thinking that the longer and creepier his beard gets, the better pitcher he becomes. Today he faces the White Sox at home. It’s an appealing matchup, but at this price I’d rather consider other options.
Jose Quintana, SP: $7,800 – Honestly I think the price is a little high. But Quintana could be my second pitcher today. The Astros strikeout a lot, and Quintana is a LHP that can put up solid strikeout numbers, as he’s average 8.00 K/9 on the season so far. If you’re looking for the whole enchilada, look elsewhere. There’s a strong possibility that the While Sox will maintain giving Quintana 2.22 runs as he ranks 109th in the league in the Run Support category. Those 4 DFS points for a win could mean a lot in a ‘Guarantee’ DraftKings’ entry.
Rasiel Iglesias, SP: $4,900 – Wow what a bargain! No thanks, I’m passing. Iglesias has had two starts in his first major league season. One good start and one bad. Today he faces the Nationals at home.
Yordano Ventura, SP: $7,500 – Intriguing option at this price. The Cubs batters like to strikeout and bat their starting pitcher eighth in the lineup. Problem is, which Ventura will show up today? We know he’s got a big arm with big strikeout potential, but for some reason I can’t get the image of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo swinging for the fences out of my head.
Blake Swihart, C: $3,600 – The Red Sox rookie catcher has been heating up lately. Today the Red Sox are in Arlington, facing rookie pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez who is make his first career start. Cool name but I honestly don’t know much about the youngster other than seeing his Triple-A stats this season that aren’t so hot. Go Swihart!
Prince Fielder, 1B: $5,100 – Okay I finally believe that Prince Fielder is back. If only I can rewind three weeks ago to when season-long fantasy owners were trying to push him out. Good thing I get to play DraftKings everyday to drown my season-long decisions away.
Brandon Belt, 1B: $4,700 – Again, like Fielder, I can’t deny anymore, but am I really going to pay this much for Brandon Belt? Maybe so, as he is facing Braves’ pitcher William Perez who is making his third career start. The game is being played in San Francisco, and those garlic fries could serve as a distraction for young rookie pitchers. But, probably not.
Mike Napoli, 1B: $5,200 – He’s been hitting very well over the past two weeks, and will hopefully join Swihart in the Red Sox lineup against Chi Chi. Yeah I just wanted to say Chi Chi again.
Jose Abreu, 1B: $5,000 – Yep Abreu is cheaper than Napoli. But is that because Abreu is facing Dallas Keuchel or because he hasn’t hit to expectations in his second major league season? Whatever the matter is, it’s still a good price for a player than can give you big points with one swing of the bat.
Jason Kipnis, 2B: $4,600 – He’s been the hottest second baseman over the past few weeks, and today could be the first time I start him in DraftKings. He has 14 hits in his last 8 games, and tonight he faces Roenis Elias at Safeco Field.
Dee Gordon, 2B: $4,500 – 19 stolen bases and a .854 OPS on the season. Yes please may I have some more?! The Marlins play the Mets in New York and face Jonathan Niese. All you need is a couple base hits and a couple steals. Most likely that’ll lead to a couple runs and run up your DraftKings’ score.
Josh Harrison, 3B/OF: $3,900 – This is a great price for a third baseman. One issue to consider – he’s facing starting pitcher Tyson Ross. However, Harrison has been one of the better DFS third basemen over the past few weeks while batting leadoff for the Pirates. Things that make you go hmm…
Alex Rodriguez, 3B: $4,100 – Well once again the numbers don’t lie. With all personal opinions set aside, this is a good play for a hot hitter against Jesse Hahn in Oakland. The Yankees’ offense has hit really well this season, and it’ll be interesting to see how a young pitcher like Hahn does against them.
Yasmany Tomas, 3B/OF: $4,300 – For a player that has only 1 homer on the season, he has as solid .816 OPS. Makes me think he takes walks and doesn’t hit for just singles. Looking at his physic I’m still waiting for him to hit home runs Mark Trumbo style.
Brandon Crawford, SS: $4,000 – Brandon Crawford has been a pleasant surprise in DFS and season-long fantasy baseball. He has an outstanding .874 OPS with 6 homers. At this point you’re anticipating me to reference garlic fries again. But I won’t say anything more about the garlic fries for the rest of this article, because some people don’t like garlic, and the thought of how garlic tastes just won’t sit well with them, and the next time they eat french fries they won’t want to think about garlic.
Nick Ahmed, SS: $2,900 – Ahmed is getting regular playing time and has done well enough to consider him in DFS. He won’t get you more than 10 points or so with that .581 OPS, but at this price he’s a good player to pick last in your lineup.
Bryce Harper, OF: $5,400 – How can you not start him against rookie pitcher Iglesias? I don’t think I can. If you don’t want to play him, then pick your first outfielder last, but that could be hard because then you’d have to pick your second outfielder second, and your last outfielder first. Soooo…. just pick Harper!
Nelson Cruz, OF: $5,600 – If you see a shooting star in Seattle tonight, make a wish, or, get your baseball glove. The power numbers Cruz is putting up are just so good. He faces Shaun Marcum and the Indians at home.
Michael Brantley, OF: $4,600 – Considering Harper is $800 more and Cruz is $1,000 more, Brantley will make for a very good first OF. He’s a player that can put numbers up in every category. He continues to hit well and I like the matchup against Roenis Elias.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Slight chance of rain and thunder in Cincinnati between then Nationals/Reds. They should be able to get through all nine innings, but this is something to consider if starting Gio Gonzalez. Same can be said for the game in Arlington, Texas between the Red Sox/Rangers. It looks like it’ll clear up in the early evening but be sure to check the late forecast. I hope Chi Chi can get his first career start =P. The forecast in Chicago calls for rain all day between the Royals/Cubs. It might let up a little in the late evening. Maybe you won’t have to decide on which Yordano Ventura will show up. There is a good chance of rain and thunder in St. Louis before the scheduled game time. The game is scheduled for 6:15 CDT so there is a possibility the weather won’t play a factor anyways as the forecast is supposed to be cleared up by then.
Doing Lines in Vegas
Sticking with the underdogs: I like the Royals at +125 (if they play), the Tigers at +134 in Anaheim, and the Blue Jays at +115 on the road in Minnesota. Remember, what happens in DraftKings, stays on DraftKings. Unless you win $10,000 then be sure to share with the Razzball family on Twitter @Razzball and on Facebook.
