Due to time constraints, only the 4PM slate will be broken down in full in this article.
Check in our Discord #dfs-and-bets channel in the afternoon for general thoughts on the 7PM slate.
Slate Details
DraftKings – Early slate (8 games) – starts 4:05 PM EDT; Main slate (5 games) – starts 7:15 PM EDT.
FanDuel – Main slate (8 games) – starts 4:05 PM EDT; Evening slate (5 games) – starts 7:15 PM EDT.
Weather Impact
Potential rain for COL@KC (4PM).
Hot and breezy (winds left to right across field) for MIL@CIN. Warm with winds blowing out to right-center for NYY@LAD (7PM).
Strong winds blowing in for TOR@NYM (4PM).
Pitching (4PM)
Sadly there’s no embarrassment of riches with aces like there was yesterday for the 4PM slate today, but there may be two guys you can trust based on their matchups.
Eury Pérez gets every pitcher’s favorite matchup this year with the A’s. Eury has been OK so far, but MIA doesn’t seem to really want to unleash him fully, limiting him to five IP or less in his four starts since his call-up. In those starts, he’s limited the vulnerability of his fastball, possibly at the expense of his K rate. Based on that, he’s not a prime candidate for SP1 on a site like FanDuel, but he can be more than serviceable as an SP2 on DraftKings. Hopefully, his pitch count stays under control and he can push into the sixth inning for this one.
As for the other option, the safer option might be José Berríos vs the Mets. Bassitt had a masterful performance vs them yesterday and the park+environment is the safest of the slate. We rarely consider him “safe” – as he still goes by The Great Undulator in many of our articles here – but all he has to do is keep the walks under control and not serve up meatballs to Pete Alonso.
If you’re looking for upside, you can roll with MacKenzie Gore vs the Phillies. Alec Bohm is on the IL who happens to be their best bat vs Ls, and Gore is really sharp vs Ls with a high GB rate and PLV rating – which should nullify PHI’s power Ls. Basically that leaves Nick Castellanos – who went yard vs Josiah Gray twice (not a lefty) – and likely part-timers Dalton Guthrie & Drew Ellis. The wind is likely to be blowing in, but it is still a favorable spot for bats – although Gore is mainly a GB pitcher. Essentially, Gore has the stuff to survive this matchup, and the Phillies have the recent misfortune to suggest he can turn this into a solid outing – but it’s not without risks.
If we’re talking sheer talent, Cristian Javier is still worth a mention, but even though he’s not getting blown up, his K rates are down. As a cash play, he’s fine, but there may not be a ton of upside for tournaments.
Batting (4PM)
GABP is still the marquee game for bats on the 4PM slate which is where we’ll start our builds. Colin Rea is a FB pitcher vs Ls – if only the Reds had a premier lefty bat that could crush baseballs and run like the wind! WWEDLCD?? Alas, we have to count on Jake Fraley, who at least is patient enough to draw walks and potentially steal bases if he doesn’t get on base with power. Spencer Steer – who hopefully just had yesterday off for rest – is another Reds bat to consider if you want to double up.
The Brewers aren’t necessarily a team people are excited to plug into their DFS lineups, but you’re here to walk the path less travelled and achieve glory, no? Graham Ashcraft isn’t a bad pitcher for the most part, but he can be exploited a bit on both sides of the plate – he’s weak vs LD-hitting Ls, and hard-hitting non-GB Rs. This would be a prime Willy Adames spot, but he probably won’t make it back for this series, so we’ll take a shot with Joey Wiemer and his two doubles+one HR in his last three games. Andruw Monasterio is also an upside play if he sees the lineup, as he’s not on many peoples’ radars yet. Lastly, you can also play Abraham Toro here after his promising debut with the Brewers a few days back.
The next favorable spot for bats on the 4PM slate is PHI@WAS. It looks like Matt Strahm is opening for possible bulk reliever Dylan Covey, who got chased in the first inning in his last start. This looks like a good spot for Lane Thomas as he crushes lefties and also has a hit profile that matches up well with Covey’s weaknesses to Rs. Luis García has also been hitting well lately. Also, look for Ildemaro Vargas who still doesn’t see the lineup as a starter very often, but he always seems to do well with his opportunities (and he has multi-position eligibility on both sites). For the Phillies – as mentioned in the pitcher section above – if you choose not to trust Gore, you could play Nick Castellanos as a one-off, or use Dalton Guthrie as a minimum-priced value bat.
As with yesterday, STL@PIT has some opportunities to go back and forth based on the pitchers involved. If you’re familiar with my past articles, you probably already have Rodolfo Castro in vs a lefty (Jordan Montgomery). Andrew McCutchen will likely see decent rostership too, given the smaller slate. For STL, you can keep rolling with Brendan Donovan while he keeps producing in the lead-off spot.
If the A’s are on the slate, there are always plenty of reasons to consider a mini-stack against them – even if it’s MIA. Jesús Sánchez is back from the IL lately and picking up where he left off (three hits yesterday). Luis Medina tends to give up barrel hits to both sides of the plate, which makes Jorge Soler a strong second option.
Finally, COL@KC has a chance to be an underrated game to stack with two lefties that are known to give up hits. Austin Gomber has been a target mentioned here multiple times before, and Bobby Witt Jr. & Maikel Garcia are good plays against him. Daniel Lynch only has one start thus far this season, but Randal Grichuk has been a solid play vs Ls this season, even away from Coors. Ezequiel Tovar is another underrated bat vs Lynch.
If you need a catcher for the 4PM slate, just play Tom Murphy (assuming he’s in the lineup) vs Andrew Heaney.
As a final thought for this slate, TOR will likely be overly popular as they’re facing Tylor Megill and on smaller slates, TOR always tends to get rostership. However, given the strong wind blowing in and Tylor being a mostly GB pitcher, it’s best to stick with one of their hard hitters like Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., or even Cavan Biggio and try to be underweight to the field if you want to gain leverage in GPPs.