The featured slate over at DraftKings consists of only 11 games on tap for the day. So, the main focus of this article will be on those games. Best of luck whatever way you construct your lineup today!
Starting Pitchers
The NL Cy Young favorite, Blake Snell ($10,800), couldn’t have a more difficult matchup. He takes on the Astros, who have been raking against lefties over the past 30 days with a MLB best 172 wRC+. Snell is a baller, but there are better matchups to be had, like Kodai Senga ($10,000) taking on the Twins. They have also been mashing against righties but have yet to face Senga and the Ghost Fork, and nobody strikes out more than them.
Jordan Montgomery ($9,400) is in an even better matchup taking on the A’s at the Coliseum. They have the 8th worst wRC+ (88) and 7th highest K% (24.3%) against Southpaws dating back to July 1st. Montgomery faced them a month ago and held them in check, but finished with just 14.7 points, though. Kyle Bradish ($9,200) has been great all season long, but taking on Boston at Fenway Park is no joke. They have the t-8th best wRC+ (109) over the last month against righties and tagged Bradish for 8 hits and 7 earned in just 2.1 innings back in late April. I’d look elsewhere, such as Kyle Harrison ($9,000).
The Rockies come into San Francisco and are horrendous against lefties. They have the worst wRC+ (64) and K% (26.7%) against left-handed pitching this season. Harrison definitely possesses some high strikeout upside and had a 36.1% K% in the minors this season. He struck out 11 Reds in his 2nd professional start and it wouldn’t be all that shocking to see him do something like that with the Rockies on the road.
Another left-hander in a great matchup in Yusei Kikuchi ($8,200) taking on the Royals in Toronto. He hasn’t been his sharpest lately, but you can blame his last start being at Coors Field. Over his last eight starts, he owns a 2.12 FIP and 27.4% K%. The Royals lineup isn’t anything to be concerned about and most of the batters in their lineup have either faced him once or never before. It’s hard not to like any starter facing the Angels at this point, and Logan Allen ($8,400) should fare well pitching in Anaheim tonight. They have the t-5th worst wRC+ (78) against lefties over the last 30 days and there’s a decent chance Shohei is still out of the lineup.
If you’re really trying to be a bargain hunter look at Ty Blach ($5,200) taking on the Giants at Oracle Park. There isn’t a better park to pitch in and SF has the 2nd highest K% (27.1%) against lefties over the last 30 days. Luis Severino ($5,500) was shellacked against Houston last start, but his two outings before that were very encouraging actually, albeit they were against Detroit and Washington. Here’s the thing though: Milwaukee has the 3rd worst wRC+ (82) over the last 30 days against righties.
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.
As stated earlier, the Astros love hitting lefties, and a couple of their bats have touched him up pretty well in the past. Jose Altuve ($6,200) is 8-21 with four homers and a double, Alex Bregman ($5,500) is 7-20 with a double and two homers, and Michael Brantley ($3,700) is 6-13 with a dinger against him.
This section would be incomplete if there was no Atlanta Braves mention. Mitch Keller has been great, but they still got to him just a month ago for 9 hits and 3 runs in his 5 innings. Their outfield trio of Eddie Rosario ($4,100), Marcell Ozuna ($4,800), and Michael Harris II ($4,500) are some of the cheaper bats in their lineup these days.
MacKenzie Gore taking on the Dodgers should be interesting. Gore can shine through here and there, but he also falls pretty hard when he does get hit. Kiké Hernández ($3,200), Chris Taylor ($3,300), and Amed Rosario ($4,000) are some of the cheaper bats in the lineup worth considering. That guy Mookie Betts ($6,700) is pretty good too.
Lastly, I’d be remiss to not mention fading Dallas Keuchel in this section. The Mets have a 120 wRC+ (7th best) across the last 30 days and Keuchel is a pinata ready to explode at any moment. Francisco Lindor ($4,800) has been seeing the ball well as of late with a .768 OPS in his last 102 at-bats. If he’s available, DJ Stewart ($3,000) is the best value bat in their lineup as he sports a 1.106 OPS in his last 65 ABs.