Raise your hand if you did not trust Danny Salazar ($8,200) in his first start off the DL facing the Blue Jays. I’ll admit, I benched him everywhere to feel him out and wasn’t touching him with a stick in DFS. All he did was give up 1 hit and ZERO walks while striking out 8 in 7 IP. Where the heck was that all year Danny? All can be forgiven if you keep that up for two months though. Tonight, the Czar gets to face the lowly White Sox who are in the midst of fire-bombing their major league roster that quite frankly, wasn’t very good to begin with. The Chi Sox rank in the bottom three in all of baseball in team OPS vs. RHP and that was before shipping off Todd Frazier. The Pale Hose are middle of the pack in strikeouts, but Danny has big time upside in that department, probably the biggest of any pitcher on the slate today. Ks pay the bills and that’s why Danny will the pitcher I have the most exposure to tonight. Let’s see who else I’ll be exposing myself to on this fine July night below:
New to FanDuel? 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!
Alex Wood, SP: $10,000 – Wood is the safest of all pitching plays tonight. With any luck his last blow-up might scare some folks off of him, but don’t be one of those folks. San Fran is dead last in team OPS and bottom five in team OPS vs. LHP. Dodger stadium is a pitchers dream and Wood should have no troubles getting back on track. The Dodgers should give him plenty of run support against Matt Moore, so the chance for those crucial win points is high.
Chad Kuhl, SP: $6,100 – This spot was originally written for Dinelson Lamet, but late Friday night the Padres switched their rotation around to give the newly acquired Travis Wood a go. I wouldn’t go anywhere near Travis Wood, so now Kuhl is an option, a risky option, but an option nonetheless. Kuhl doesn’t have much in the way of K-upside, but he is dirt cheap. Devil hates a coward and Kuhl is facing the Padres in Petco, so that’s something.
Jaime Garcia, SP: $7,400 – For those who want a bit of safety while also saving some money, I present to you, the most boring pitcher on tonight’s slate. Jaime won’t win you that GPP, but he won’t lose you that 50/50 either. If your thought is all those Astros bats vs. Jordan Zimmermann will outscore whatever lineup you can concoct with Alex Wood leading the charge, Jaime is here for you. Oakland is a great target for LHP as they rank dead last in team OPS vs. southpaws while striking out the 4th most in all of baseball. Even if Jaime doesn’t have a great game, as Grey mentioned in the podcast the other day, even his bad starts are tolerable. 5 IP, 4 ER and 5 Ks isn’t going to lose you that double-up.
Willson Contreras, C: $3,500 – I’m not sure any cather has been hotter of late. With 5 HRs in the past two weeks, Willson is en fuego. Tonight he moves to hitter-happy Miller Park and has the platoon advantage against lefty Brent Suter. If you’re not one to pay up for catcher though, I get it.
Tyler Flowers, C: $2,600 – For the thrifty FanDuelers, we have Tyler Flowers against Jeremy Hellickson in the bandbox of Citizens Bank Park. As you’ll see as we progress, I’m quite the fan of picking on Hellboy this evening.
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B: $3,800 – I didn’t even touch on the fact that Salazar should be working with a massive lead given his opponent. Derek Holland is currently rocking a 6.02 FIP. SIX POINT OH TWO! I expect a pair of parrots trotting around the bases this evening.
Matt Adams, 1B: $2,800 – I love Matty Adams’ price tag tonight. It’s like a $5 buffet, but instead of $5, it’s $2,800 and instead of questionable meat, it’s fly balls leaving the park. Jeremy Hellickson is a prime target for me tonight thanks to his 10th highest flyball % and his hitter friendly home ballpark. Adams can mollywhop and enjoys the platoon advantage in this one.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B: $3,500 – Lil’ Dusty has been swinging a big stick lately and the Vargas comet has finally fallen back to earth. The Laser Show is a nice 4 for 15 with a HR and SB against Vargas for his career. I’d expect more of the same.
Wilmer Flores, 2B: $2,700 – I love a good, cheap…middle infielder…what did you think I was going to say sicko? Flores gets to face off against Ariel Miranda tonight. Has it been mentioned that he has two predominantly female first names? Just wondering. Anyway, besides two first names, Miranda is also rocking the league’s highest fly ball rate. You can’t hit a HR on a groundball and for the price I like Wilmer’s chances of putting one out.
Freddie Freeman, 3B: $3,800 – My goodness thirdbase is loaded these days. To think, I started out the year thinking it was barren. Freeman gets the same treatment as Matt Adams tonight with Hellickson on the mound, he’ll just cost you a grand more and be much more likely to not go 0-4.
Adrian Beltre, 3B: $3,700 – I love the Rangers to hammer Tillman tonight. His 7+ ERA has to have his confidence all but lost. Beltre has a nice 8 for 18 (.444) working for him vs. Tillman and that include a HR. Lock and load.
Freddy Galvis, SS: $2,900 – Shortstop is brutal at the moment. The great ones are hurt, the good ones are slumping and the bad ones are terrible. Freddy Galvis at least has a decent history vs. Teheran that includes 8 hits in 21 ABs and two stolen bases. That’s something.
Lewis Brinson, OF: $2,300 – Chasing HRs? You bet! You should too, let’s see if we can all catch lightning in a bottle with this super-cheap prospect.
Chris Young, OF: $2,300 – I’m really surprised Sawx fans haven’t been more vocal about firing Farrell. This guy is brain dead, the likes of C***t Hurdle and Dusty Baker. First of all, the best hitter on your team (Mookie) has hit leadoff 75% of the time. Jose Bautista and Carlos Santana say what’s up. Andrew Benintendi is now a platoon player thanks to Farrell, so that’s awesome. Benny Baseball has disappointed a bit perhaps, but way to totally crap on his confidence not even letting him start against Adelberto freaking Mejia! Why do managers do this to good young ballplayers? You don’t platoon your number two hitter! So, naturally, when Benny hits the bench, Chris Young slides right into the two hole. Krispie Young! Don’t try to understand it, just roll with a dirt cheap player hitting second in a good lineup.
Josh Reddick, OF: $3,200 – I’d look to fit in any cheap Astros I could tonight as they face off against Jordan Zimmermann. Zimm has been a gas can and the ‘Stros are a flamethrower. Reddick has the platoon advantage and should be in the heart of the order at a great price.
Shin-Soo Choo, OF: $3,500 – It seems like every time I sit down to write Choo is facing a weak righty at a great price. As mentioned in the Beltre blurb, Tillman is terrible and Choo should be leading off against him. All he does is hit righties, so get on it.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
I-95 could see some rain tonight with potential issues in Philly, which would cramp my Hellickson style and Washington. Somehow New York will avoid the wet stuff it looks like.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Alex Wood and the Dodgers are the biggest favorite (-242) on the night, followed closely by Danny Salazar and the Indians (-214). As has become the norm, there isn’t a game on the slate with an over/under lower than 8 runs. Wood vs. Moore features an 8 run total as does Wacha and the Cards vs. Ray and the D-Backs. Texas gets the Coors treatment tonight with an 11 run over/under thanks to Tillman and Cashner. Yikes, stack your Rangers and O’s.
