After his electric White Sox debut, Reynaldo Lopez ($7,200) will be back on the mound against the Rangers on Thursday. Lopez was shredding triple-A before his call-up, striking out 63 batters in his last 46 2/3 innings, and continued his success in the majors with six strikeouts in six innings against the Royals. In his second start of the year, Lopez gets to face a Rangers team that strikes out 23.7% of the time against righties, which is the 5th-highest mark in the league. That’s a ton of strikeout potential for dirt cheap, although it’s a possibility that the 23-year-old completely implodes. For that reason, you might want to avoid him in cash games, but Lopez is gold in GPPs.
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Jameson Taillon, SP: $7,900 – Bouncing back from two disastrous starts, Taillon has thrown 12 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts in his last two starts. He’s still very cheap, likely because of his horrible performances from a few weeks ago, but that’s not the type of pitcher Taillon truly is.
Alex Avila, C: $2,300 – Avila can land you plenty of runs and RBI in a loaded Cubs lineup as they take on Scott Feldman, owner of a 4.50 FIP. There’s not a ton of palatable catching options, so I’m fine with punting and hoping for the best with Avila.
Wil Myers, 1B: $3,400 – Myers has been crushing the ball in the last two weeks, putting up an .818 OPS with four homers and four steals. His power/speed combo is among the best in baseball, which is weird for a first baseman, but he can get a lot done against Edwin Jackson, who is going to blow up at any moment. It’s tough to recommend a Padres stack because they’re so weak, but Myers as a standalone is well worth the price.
Yoan Moncada, 2B: $2,900 – Moncada hasn’t been hitting much since his call-up, but the youngster is worth a shot in GPPs as he takes on Tyson Ross in Texas, a great hitter’s ballpark. There are a few absolutely awful pitchers on Thursdays slate that you can target, and Ross might be the worst of them all.
Evan Longoria, 3B: $2,700 – Longo is in a deep slump, so his price may have bottomed out at this point. Take advantage of that while he’s in Toronto for a cheap upside flier.
Trevor Story, SS: $3,300 – I’m staying on the sinking Story ship, and I would have said that even before he hit two homers last night. You just can’t mess with Coors, where even awful hitters will have their days.
Matt Adams, OF: $3,500 – See above for Coors. With Adams, just make sure he’s actually in the lineup, since the Braves have been benching him lately. He’s still got killer numbers against righties on the year, with a .312/.339/.560 line, good for a 122 wRC+.
A.J. Pollock, OF: $3,100 – Pollock is another buy low option to grab. He’s got so much value in the second spot for Arizona, and we all know the type of numbers he’s capable of putting up when he’s not slumping.
Starling Marte, OF: $3,000 – I feel like people forget sometimes that steals count for points in DFS too, not just dingers. Marte has swiped eight bags in the last month and is at a low price in the outfield.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There’s only one real threat of rain tonight, and that’s in Pittsburgh, where there’s a 37% chance of a thunderstorm that only increases later into the night. It looks like they should be able to get the game in, but it’s a somewhat small window before it jumps to 70%.
Doing Lines In Vegas
I get that their lineup is bad, but Philly at +107 with Aaron Nola on the mound is tough to pass up. And of course, if you’re as confident in Reynaldo Lopez as I am, the White Sox at +135 are attractive.
