Happy FanDuel Friday everyone. We’ve got a real-life, full slate of games today, which seems like it never happens any more. Unfortunately, it looks like Mother Nature might take it upon herself to reduce the slate for us. You know, so it’s more like what MLB has scheduled for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. More on the weather below, but first, some picks.
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Pitchers
Max Scherzer, WAS, SP: $11,600 — Scherzer didn’t disappoint in his start against the Diamondbacks last Friday as he delivered his second consecutive start with at least 61 FanDuel points. He’s failed to reach 50 FanDuel points only twice in nine starts this year, giving him a nice floor. The Dodgers are 21st in the league in wOBA this season (.307). The Nationals are favorites at -220 and the over/under is only seven.
Jacob deGrom, NYM, SP: $10,000 — Things haven’t gone deGrom’s way in his last two starts as he left with an injury after four scoreless against Atlanta and was pulled after walking three batters and throwing 45 pitches in a scoreless first inning against Philadelphia. Before that deGrom had had at least 53 FanDuel points in three straight starts and the matchup is good as the Diamondbacks are 28th in the league in wOBA this season (.297). Arizona is also without regulars A.J. Pollock and Jake Lamb while franchise player Paul Goldschmidt is yet to heat up this season. The Mets are decent favorites at -157 and the over/under is only 7.
Charlie Morton, HOU, SP: $9,700 — Morton’s had at least 49 FanDuel points in six of eight starts this year, but he’s been especially good lately as he had 70 FanDuel points against the Rangers in his last time out and 60 FanDuel points against the Yankees the start before that. The Indians are seventh in the league in wOBA this season (.327), but are without regulars Bradley Zimmer and Lonnie Chisenhall while designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion has missed time with back spasms this week. The Astros are decent favorites at -170 and the over/under is eight.
Mike Clevinger, CLE, SP: $8,800 — Clevinger’s had at least 42 FanDuel points in three of his last five starts. He went at least seven innings in each of the three starts, which gives him a shot at getting wins and quality starts. The Astros are 10th in the league in wOBA this season (.320).
Cheap
Kyle Freeland, COL, SP: $7,800 — Freeland’s strikeouts are up this year as he’s raised his strikeout percentage from 15% t0 22% this season. He’s been on a roll lately with at least 47 FanDuel points in three of his last four starts. The Rockies are on the road in San Francisco so Freeland has the benefit of being away from Coors Field. The Giants are 17th in the league in wOBA this season (.313).
Hitters
Mookie Betts, OF, $5,200 — Betts has multiple hits in seven of his last 10 games and 36.4 FanDuel points on Thursday night as he had three hits, a walk, scored two runs and stole three bases.
J.D. Martinez, OF, $4,900 — Martinez is hot right now as he’s homered in four of his last five games and has posted at least 21.7 FanDuel points in four of his last five games. He’s crushing it this season as he’s hitting .344 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI.
Mike Trout, OF, $4,600 — Trout is hitless in eight straight games so he’s due to breakout. His price is down and his ownership could be low here against left-hander Blake Snell as Trout is generally better against right-handed pitchers.
Andrew Benintendi, OF, $4,400 — Benintendi has a hit or an RBI in 10 straight games. If you can’t already tell, I like the Red Sox in this one as Boston is at home facing Alex Cobb, who has a 7.06 ERA and 1.90 WHIP in 29.1 innings this season. The Red Sox are decent favorites at -167 and the over/under is 10.
Michael Brantley, OF, $4,300 — Brantley is hot as he’s had at least 25.4 FanDuel points in four of his last six games. The matchup isn’t good against Charlie Morton in Houston obviously, but that should keep his ownership percentage low.
Midrange
Kyle Schwarber, OF, $3,800 — Schwarber is cold at the moment as he has one hit in his last five games, but he’s got a good matchup here against Homer Bailey in Cincinnati. Bailey has a 5.59 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 48.1 innings this season. The Cubs are decent favorites at -176 and the over/under is nine and a half.
Nomar Mazara, OF, $3,500 — Mazara has at least 12.2 FanDuel points in four of his last seven games. He’s got a good matchup here against Carson Fulmer, who has a 6.23 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in 30.1 innings this season.
Jed Lowrie, 2B, $3,500 — Lowrie had a double, two walks, two runs scored and one RBI on his way to 21.9 FanDuel points in Thursday’s game. He should be in the mix again Friday as Oakland has a good matchup against Marco Estrada, who had a 5.32 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 44 innings this season.
Kevin Pillar, OF, $3,000 — Pillar’s had at least 9.5 FanDuel points in seven of his last 10 games and gets to face Brett Anderson, who has an 8.16 ERA and 2.07 WHIP in 14.1 innings this season. While Pillar has done most of his damage against right-handed pitching this season, he hit .336/.381/.559 in 155 plate appearances against left-handed pitching last year.
Cheap
Ian Happ, OF, $2,700 — Happ has struggled his season as he’s hitting .233 and he might not even be in the lineup, but if he ends up in there he has enough power to take advantage of the matchup with Homer Bailey.
Billy Hamilton, OF, $2,500 — Hamilton only has eight stolen bases on the season so far, but he’s got a matchup with Jon Lester, who struggles holding runners and throwing to first base. If Hamilton can get on base a few times he could rack up stolen bases in this one.
Rougned Odor, 2B, $2,600 — Odor still hasn’t hit a home run on the season, but he’s another reasonably priced lefty with a good matchup in a good park to hit in against Carson Fulmer.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Alright, here we go! Rain is possible in the following games: SD@PIT, LAD@WAS, CHC@CIN, MIA@ATL, TEX@CHW & PHI@STL. Holy smokes, that’s a lot of rain potential, be careful out there fellow FanDuelers!
Doing Lines In Vegas
I’ll take over 10 in the Athletics-Blue Jays game.
