Wow! What a trade deadline day! After a steady low line with some repetitive beats, (no offense to Anthony Bass), the San Di-Soto Padres plugged in, cranked up the amp, and electrified the league with the biggest move of the day. I may have lost the ‘Dad of the Year’ award yesterday when I was feverishly refreshing the Twitter app at my kids’ swimming lessons, but along with my own kids (and dogs), MarmosDad is a man of the people too. I had to stay on top of the breaking news for today’s DFS picks!
It was surprising to some when Juan Soto (DK: $5400) was dealt west to the Friars with Josh Bell (DK: $4800) in a true blockbuster. The Nats scored a wheelbarrow of very good young players, but the real prize is the 23 year old phenom who is still younger than 12 players from the Futures Game! The stats to pull for this one are just overflowing, so I’ll keep it brief. Soto should be in San Diego in time for this matchup and bat in the top third of the lineup. His opponent, Chad Kuhl, has given up half of his homers in the last month and has seen a respectable spring wOBA of .217 balloon to .461 in July. I think Juan Soto hits the ground running in his new home tonight.
For the rest of this Wednesday, we’re looking at a 15 game schedule that starts earlier than this post will probably launch. There are two lunch games starting around noon, 7 afternoon games, and the main slate of 6 games that we’ll draw our lineup from.
But as always, a reminder that a lot of the notes that I take and share here are influenced by Rudy’s Streamonator and Hittertron, as well as the DFS tools available right here on Razzball. The DraftKings/FanDuel lineup optimizer is a great way to get more bang for your DFS buck! You can access all of this information by signing up for Rudy’s tools using the DFSBot link below.
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Blake Snell, SP: (DK) $7,900 – I didn’t plan on stacking Padres at PETCO today but since all eyes are on San Diego and their new faces tonight, I figured we’d better get some in our DFS lineups. Snell has given up a total of one run in his last two starts and averaged 6 K’s. He’s allowed more than one run in a start since the end of June once, and I’m sure he’s happier with this deadline than when the Rays dealt Tommy Pham. Slap your money on this SP pick today.
Shohei Ohtani SP: (DK) $10,000 – We saved some dollars elsewhere, so I figured we could go back to the other phenom for our second SP today. In his last 6 starts, Shohei has recorded double-digit strikeouts and has allowed more than 2 ER once. The K% on the year is 13.14, the xFIP is 2.29, and the opponent is the lowly Oakland A’s. Sounds like a chalk SP pick to me.
Jorge Alfaro, C: (DK) $3,800 – Alfaro was one of those catchers that didn’t stand out as a top option, so I figured we could save some cash here. He’s put up double-digit FPTS in three of his last four games and has racked up some RBI and XBH since the last week of July. I’d like to say we’re done picking on Chad Kuhl, but…
Josh Bell, 1B: (DK) $4,800 – …With apologies to Brandon Drury (and Josh Hader), here’s the other big pickup from the Padres deadline day. Bringing in Josh Bell and getting rid of Eric Hosmer (and his contract) is a big win for the Padres on its own without any of the other moves. 14 homers and a .301 average for a switch-hitting 1B plays, and when he nestles into that beefy SD lineup tonight, he might boost that .877 OPS even more. Chad Kuhl could get his Bell rung tonight.
Luis Rengifo, 2B/SS: (DK) $4,100 – I watched a couple of the Angels/Rangers games last week and the Angels booth could not stop singing the praises of Luis Rengifo. Once a run-of-the-mill middle infielder, Rengifo got increased PT with injuries to David Fletcher and Anthony Rendon. He might not muscle a bunch of homers out each night, but Rengifo has a .274 average in 241 AB and hit in 21 of 23 July games (.337). At this price, he’s worth a play.
David Fletcher, SS/2B: (DK) $2,500 – There are usually a couple of cheaper rookie plays that help with the DFS wallet, but today’s low price is an injury return that caught me off guard. David Fletcher at $2,500 is under-priced and could definitely sneak under the radar. He’s had hits in every game since his return and posted 16 FPTS Monday night. Last night? At the time of this write-up, he had already homered out of the leadoff spot.
Luis Urias, 3B: (DK) $4,000 – If you’re a Cubbies fan you could choose to go with Patrick Wisdom for the same price today. I went with Luis Urias because he’s up against the Pirates (Wisdom faces Miles Mikolas). Since July 22, Urias has gone hitless twice. He hit two homers over that stretch and should be starting against RHP Roansy Contreras tonight. Is Roansy worse against RHH? You bet Urias he is!
Christian Yelich, OF: (DK) $4,800 – Well, the last time I wrote up Yelich for a DFS article he filled up the box score with a cycle. He might not do the same thing today (or will he?!) but he finished July with a 10 game hitting streak, has 4 multi-hit games in his last 6 games, and has 3 homers in those games. Add in the potential to maybe steal a base or two and Yelich looks like a good ROI at $4,800.
Jo Adell, OF: (DK) $2,400 – I’m sure Cool Whip is a better source of information for anything Angels, but this play is more about clearing space in that OF for Adell to see time in every game. Brandon Marsh sadness aside, Adell should get plenty of opportunities to showcase what he can do with those 5 tools in his figurative toolbox. He hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his most recent promotion, but $2,400 for a guy that could record an XBH or two AND throw in a couple of steals is worth a play in this DFS lineup compared to others at a similar price.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains…
20% chance of rain in St. Louis today for the Card/Cubs, so double check that the Arch isn’t wet before starting any of those guys. Otherwise, the wind looks strong in Chicago (15.8) for the CWS/KC matchup.
Doing Lines In Vegas…
There are a lot of big dogs throwing today, but for underdog plays, I think that Alex Cobb and the Giants at +135 at home could upset Julio Urias and the Dodgers.
My last Baltimore pick with Knoche went up in smoke, but today I’m doubling down with Kyle Bradish at +140 in Texas. Martin Perez has to implode at some point…right? Right?
Best of luck in the DFS plays today! If you have any questions, shoot me a note on Twitter @MarmosDad!
