We are scheduled for a 10-game slate, however, I think that will be 9 with rain forecasted all night in Philly. It’s a tough slate to gauge. Carlos Rodon and Chris Sale continue to work their way back off the IL, Rodon will be on a pitch count, Sale has hovered around 80 pitches in the last couple of starts. Aaron Nola is likely not an option because of the weather, leaving the rest of the starting pitcher pool fairly bare in terms of depth.
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!
Starting Pitcher
Max Scherzer, SP: $11,500 – Normally a 2.51 ERA and a 28.5% K-BB walk will garner some Cy Young publicity. However, Max hasn’t really been in the conversation. A testament to his pedigree as well as the excellence of Buehler, Burnes, and Woodruff this season. Atlanta’s offense has not been as stellar. The Braves have been battered by injuries, and since July 1st have been a league-average offense.
Kevin Gausman, SP: $9,500 – Milwaukee has turned their offense around since the beginning of the season and since July 1st own a wRC+ of 106, good enough for 7th best. However, pickings are pretty slim at starting pitcher tonight in my estimation. The obvious choice, Carlos Rodon was on a pitch count in his last start coming of the IL. This is likely to continue as the White Sox prepare for the playoffs. The good news is Gausman is in the top 10% of the league in wOBA against at .251 to go along with a 28.8% K-rate. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
Catcher/First Base
Sean Murphy / Matt Olson, C/1B: $2,300 / $3,900 – Wily Peralta is a career journeyman with a career ERA of 4.45. His FIP is more than 1.5 runs higher than his ERA, his BABIP is 60 points lower than his career mark (.242 vs .305). He is coming off the IL and it is unclear how long he’ll last but don’t fret as the Tigers have a bullpen ERA of 4.63 this season. Which is 6th worst.
Yasmani Grandal, C/1B: $2,800 – He has 7 hits in his 4 games back off the IL including 4 homers. He’ll get to pick on a woeful Pirates staff at home tonight
Second Base
Jed Lowrie, 2B: $2,500 – He’s been fairly quiet since his hot start to the season. However, he finds himself in the clean-up spot and $2.5K for a clean-up hitter against bad pitching is hard to pass on.
Marcus Semien, 2B: $3,800 – Another Wednesday, another Matt Harvey start. Harvey will make his 27th start of the season, which ties the league lead. The owners have mentioned they want some form of anti-tanking policy. They should call it the Matt Harvey rule at this point. Despite all the starts, he still doesn’t have enough innings to be qualified and owns a 6.18 ERA.
Third Base
Josh Donaldson, 3B: $3,200 – This man is of FIYAHHHHH. He’s slashing .333/.429/.833 since August 20th with 5 homers. Justin Steele will take the mound in this one has done a decent job in his first stint in the bigs. However, he’s been stung by the HR ball and holds a HR/9 over 2.
Josh Harrison, 3B: $2,700 – If you’re looking for a cheap stack the A’s have made it pretty easy. Harrison has been hitting in the 5 spot and has been a pleasant surprise this season. He is a better real-life player than fantasy but we shouldn’t ignore him all together.
Shortstop
Kevin Smith, SS: $2,000 – A power/speed combo guy with suspect contact skills. He is however, min salary and is hitting in on the best and deepest lineups in the game against bad pitching.
Corey Seager, SS: $3,600 – He gets a tough lefty in Max Fried tonight. Which should push plenty of people off him. I love low-owned elite hitters, regardless of matchup. Bet on talent here.
Outfield
Aaron Judge / Giancarlo Stanton / Joey Gallo, OF: $4,100 / $3,800 / $3,700 – They take on Packy Naughton. No, I’m not making that name up. Naughton struggled in the minors this year. He has had two relief appearances to this point and will be making his first MLB start.
Starling Marte, OF: $3,800 – Marte has been incredible since being traded to the A’s. He’s slashing .363/.387/.496 with 2 homers and 19 steals since August 1st. If you’re stacking A’s, don’t forget about Marte.
Eloy Jimenez, OF: $3,600 – Max Kranick has been roughed up in his first 20 MLB innings, he holds a 7.20 ERA. He’s been pushed through the minors fairly quickly but that appears to be by necessity rather than merit. His minor league numbers are just okay and he’s never drawn any prospect hype.
Franmil Reyes, OF: $3,200 – Mike Minor has been pretty meager this year. His swinging-strike rate is down and opponents are making more contact in the zone than in the last couple seasons.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Phillies at Nationals has a 80+% chance of rain all night.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Cardinals (J.A. Happ) at Reds (Sonny Gray) O/U 7 runs scored – take the over. Happ owns 5.76 ERA on the season and he’s earned every point on that average. His barrel rate allowed has more than doubled since last year and sits at 11.4%. His swinging-strike rate has dropped 2 points and his K and BB numbers are trending in the wrong direction. Sonny Gray is a solid pitcher has a career average season in terms of metrics (3.63 FIP vs 3.66 career). Great American Ballpark remains one the best hitters parks in the game. This line is too low.
