Happy Sunday! Today’s main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel features 10 games starting at 1:05. As of this writing, there’s a chance of rain in Washington for the Nats/Atlanta game, so keep an eye on that leading up to lock. It looks to me like it will hold off until after the game, but I’m no weatherman. Let’s take a look at the implied run totals for each game, and then we’ll dive into the slate!
I have a feeling today’s going to be a tough day on the pitching side. While we have seven teams below a 4.0 implied total, four of the starters are priced at $9,800 or above. For anyone saying, “Let’s just attack the Cubs/Marlins”, you must have avoided the pitchers in Thursday’s games where there were 21 runs scored. I have legit PTSD from that game. On the plus side, we have plenty of options for bats today. There are six teams with an implied total of 5.4 or above with the Red Sox and Rays topping 6.0 runs. Let’s take a look at some options for our pitchers and then we’ll check out our stacks.
Starting Pitchers
Let’s see if we can narrow down our options for our starting pitchers today:
Right off the bat, I can say that Sean Manaea ($10,400 DK, $9,600 FD) is my SP1 in cash games. A good matchup against a struggling offense in a good park. The safety is there and the strikeout upside is there. Aaron Nola ($10,000 DK, $9,500 FD) and Lucas Giolito ($10,700 DK, $9,800 FD) are GPP options for me because of their strikeout upside, but I’m not playing them in cash games.
Finding our SP2 is a little tougher. If I’m paying up, I like Eduardo Rodríguez ($9,800 DK, $8,000 FD) as my SP2. High strikeout upside and the Orioles have struggled a little of late. If I want to save a little cash, we could head to Eric Lauer ($8,900 DK, $7,500 FD). The upside takes a little bit of a hit, but Lauer has been a pretty consistent option recently. Since June 27, he’s thrown 31.1 innings while allowing just five runs to cross the plate.
Something to keep an eye on is who gets the start for the Marlins. As of this writing, no starter has been announced, but we may see some value open up once their starting is released.
Hitter Stacks
With it looking like we’ll be paying up at pitcher today, the key to success is finding value bats in high upside lineups. Luckily for us, we have six teams with implied totals over 5.4 runs. Let’s check out their matchups:
Right off the bat, we can see the Brewers and Rays are heading in the wrong direction. That’s not to say I want to fade them completely, but I’m not likely to stack these teams. From the Brewers, Avisaíl García ($4,500 DK, $3,000 FD) and Tyrone Taylor ($3,400 DK, $2,600 FD) look like really nice options. From the Rays, Randy Arozarena ($4,200 DK, $3,900 FD) is way too cheap and I love that we get the leadoff man from a team with an implied total north of 6.0.
If I’m stacking a team, it’s going to be the Red Sox, who are currently on a hot streak. I like that the righties include values in Hunter Renfroe ($3,800 DK, $3,500 FD), Bobby Dalbec ($3,100 DK, $2,600 FD), and Kevin Plawecki ($3,100 DK, $2,400 FD) if he makes the lineup. Hopefully, that value allows us to also fit in J.D. Martinez ($5,000 DK, $4,000 FD).
On paper, I like the Athletics a lot, but with Starling Marte ($6,100 DK, $4,400 FD) priced so high, I’m just not sure I’m going to be able to fit them in. You can always roll with Mark Canha ($4,300 DK, $3,500 FD) or Josh Harrison ($3,900 DK, $3,000 FD), but I don’t want to stack them unless I’m fitting in Marte and Matt Olson ($5,700 DK, $4,000 FD).
The team that looks like it has the most balanced stack is the Cardinals. Nolan Arenado ($5,000 DK, $3,500 FD) and Paul Goldschmidt ($4,700 DK, $3,400 FD) are sandwiched in between value bats, Tyler O’Neill ($3,500 DK, $3,000 FD) and Tommy Edman ($3,200 DK, $2,800 FD). I wish Dylan Carlson was back in the lineup, but a wrist sprain has him sidelined until at least Tuesday.
Value Hitters
Here are some of the best value hitters on today’s slate:
If you stuck around, here’s the lineup I plan on using in cash games today:
Good luck today!
Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)