The featured slate over at DraftKings consists of 14 of the 16 games on tap for the day. So, the main focus of this article will be on those games. Best of luck however you construct your lineup today!
Starting Pitchers
Holy aces. There is an infinite amount of quality starting pitching on today’s slate. Tyler Glasnow ($11,200) leads the bunch with this biggest pricetag. He should fare well facing this mediocre Cleveland lineup; however, his strikeout upside might be capped. The Guardians hardly ever strike out, so keep that in mind. Max Scherzer ($11,000) follows right behind him and, unlike Glasnow, has the highest strikeout potential of the night taking on the Twins. All they do is strike out.
The Phillies go into Milwaukee where Zack Wheeler ($10,600) should handle the home lineup without many issues. They have an 85 wRC+ (6th worst) against righties over the last 30 days. The only trouble with them is that they are similar to Cleveland in that they also rarely ever strike out these days. The Phillies have been hot, though, so he should find a win as long as the offense gets to Freddy Peralta ($10,300). He has been a strikeout machine lately, but the Phillies have hit him hard in the past and own a combined .392 xwOBA across 76 plate appearances against him. They also have the best wRC+ (142) when facing righties over the last 30 days, so I’d steer clear of him.
Perhaps my favorite starter on the board today is Justin Verlander ($9,800). He must have a personal vendetta against the Yankees, because every time he faces them it feels like he shuts them down. Their roster has a .260 wOBA and 24.7% K% in 174 plate appearances vs. him. New York’s lineup is running much younger these days without much to play for, and they have the 4th highest K% (27.5%) and 5th worst wRC+ (82) against righties over the month of August. The Mets rookie from Japan, Kodai Senga, is well positioned to find some strikeouts facing Seattle, but his win probability is low and the Mariners are mashing lately with a 135 wRC+ (3rd best) over the last 30 days against righties.
On the flip side of the same game, Logan Gilbert ($9,300) should post solid numbers facing the Mets, but I’m not certain he’s worth that price. Eduardo Rodriguez ($9,400) is in a solid matchup, but he has been too shaky to trust lately. Max Fried ($9,000) and Julio Urías ($7,800) are elite lefties, but the offenses that they face are too scary right now to justify starting either of them. Eury Pérez ($8,800) makes for an interesting play facing the Nationals, but he did just face them last start which likely benefits their lineup. He did finish with 25 fantasy points against them last start, however.
Joe Ryan ($8,600) also just faced his opponent five days back as well. Texas has slowed up at the dish against righties over the last two weeks (85 wRC+) but still possesses the potential to break out in a big way. So, I’d maybe steer clear of the man with two first names. There are plenty of value names further down the board and Michael Wacha ($8,300) is one of them. It’s mainly due to his matchup facing the Giants who have the worst wRC+ (68) and 8th highest K% (24.7%) against righies since the start of August.
It’s hard not to like Mitch Keller ($8,000) in a great matchup taking on the Red Birds. St. Louis has the 4th worst wRC+ (71) and 11th highest K% (24.3%) across the last two weeks against righties. Keller has been dominant in his last two outings and should keep the good times rolling pitching to this ice-cold offense. Patrick Sandoval ($7,200) and JP Sears ($6,500) also make for intriguing lower-level plays based on the offense that will take place in the game. Sandoval has held the Oakland roster to a pathetic .227 xwOBA in 75 plate appearances. Another lefty, James Paxton ($7,500) also has the potential for a big game squaring up against Kansas City, and at that price could be worth the gamble.
Bats
Picking what bats to target is always a struggle in my opinion. There’s so much variance around batters. They can hit one on the screws and it will lead to nothing, and that’s why I tend to stay away from wagering on batters props. Let’s find a few offenses worth stacking today.
The Astros are probably the best stack-worthy offense today taking on Carlos Rodón at Minute Maid Park. They have been demoralizing left-handed pitching over the course of August with a 176 wRC+ that is best in the bigs. Rodon isn’t the same pitcher he was the past couple of seasons and Houston rocked him for five runs in just 2.2 innings pitched back on August 6th. Some cheaper options in their lineup are Martín Maldonado ($2,300), Mauricio Dubón ($3,100), and Yainer Diaz ($4,200).
Jordan Lyles has been a piñata all season long, so the Red Sox make for a good lineup to also stack with. They have the 6th best wRC+ (114) against righties over the last 30 days and Adam Duvall ($4,900) has led the charge. If the Rockies are at home, the teams have to be mentioned in this section no matter what. Toronto has been cold, and the Rockies haven’t been amazing either, but it’s the highest total on the board today for a reason.
Lastly, the Orioles have been red-hot with a 128 wRC+ (6th best) against righties over the last two days. They should be able to get after Zach Davies. The more inexpensive bats to target in the lineup are Ryan O’Hearn ($3,500) and Austin Hays ($4,400), but Anthony Santander ($4,700) and Gunnar Henderson ($5,500) have been the main catalysts to their offensive production as of late.