Pitcher List is proud to partner with DraftKings for the 2019 season. We’ll be featuring our top picks for every daily slate through the season and feature articles dedicated to the GPP.
With 13 games on DraftKings’s main slate, Friday night is set to be an action-packed end to the work-week for DFS players. Below are the top plays and top values of the day.
Top SP: Matthew Boyd, DET ($9,300) vs. KC
Boyd boys and girls rejoice, as Matthew Boyd looks like the best bang for your buck on Friday night. Boyd’s 31.8% strikeout rate trails only James Paxton on tonight’s slate, and while Paxton faces a Twins lineup that has owned left-handed pitching in 2019, Boyd faces a Royals team with a .286 wOBA against lefties this year. Clayton Kershaw has a nice matchup against the Padres in a game with a slate-low projected run total of seven, but Boyd should offer nearly the same production at an $800 discount. With a game in Colorado tonight featuring expensive and enticing hitting options, that $800 saved may prove to be useful while constructing your lineups.
Honorable Mention: Clayton Kershaw, LAD ($10,100) at SD.
Value SP: Sonny Gray, CIN ($8,200) vs. SF
With a 30.3% strikeout rate on the year, Sonny Gray has flashed some serious fantasy upside thus far in 2019. Bad luck has derailed a couple of Gray’s starts already; He was forced to leave a start early after being hit by a line drive, while another saw the Reds defense and poor batted-ball luck put a damper on a dominating performance. Against a Giants team with a .273 wOBA against right-handed pitching, Gray has a good chance to pick up his first win of the season. While the Giants’ 23% strikeout rate against righties is less than ideal, it may help Gray keep his pitch count down and turn in a lengthy start. There are cheaper value pitching options out there tonight, but Gray has the best chance to turn in an ace-worthy performance.
Honorable Mention: Joe Musgrove, PIT ($7,200) vs. OAK.
3B Nolan Arenado, COL ($5,500) vs. ARI (LHP Robbie Ray)
Nolan Arenado will almost certainly be a chalky play on Friday night, but his matchup is too good to ignore. Arenado has feasted on left-handed pitching, with a .488 wOBA against them last year and a .497 wOBA so far this year. In Colorado, in a game with a projected run total of 11, he makes for an obvious play. If you are willing to spend up on one high-priced hitter, Arenado should be your first option.
Honorable Mention: SS Trevor Story, COL ($5,600) vs. ARI (LHP Robbie Ray).
OF Adam Eaton, WAS ($4,400) at PHI (RHP Jerad Eickhoff)
Adam Eaton may lack the upside needed in a tournament, but with Jerad Eickhoff’s struggles against lefties, he may be in play. Eickhoff has allowed a career .362 wOBA versus left-handed hitters, and with an extremely small-sample .416 wOBA in 2019, it appears that he hasn’t fixed his issues just yet. Eaton will likely bat leadoff and should provide a safe floor for cash games. His teammate Juan Soto would be an excellent tournament option if healthy. Check to see if his back spasms have subsided, and if you can tolerate the risk of reinjury, he may be low-owned and ready to exploit a pitcher that struggles against lefties.
Honorable Mention: OF Juan Soto, WAS ($5,000) at PHI (RHP Jerad Eickhoff).
Value Bat: 3B Nick Senzel, CIN ($3,800) vs. SF (RHP Tyler Beede)
There’s a chance Nick Senzel isn’t starting Friday night, but it seems all but certain he will get the call-up and be with the Reds for tonight’s game. There is a massive hole to fill in center field, with Scott Schebler struggling mightily both at the plate and in the field. A lineup spot down in the order would be a buzzkill for Senzel’s fantasy purposes, but with the struggles of the offense as a whole, the Reds desperately need a spark. And while Tyler Beede has been impressive in the minors this year, Senzel gets a fellow rookie to make his debut against to make this a playable matchup. Even if Senzel doesn’t start Friday night, look to target him early on before his price rises; he’s as MLB-ready a prospect as there is.
Honorable Mention: Manny Machado, SD ($3,600) vs. LAD (LHP Clayton Kershaw).
Lineup Stack: Rays at Orioles (RHP Dan Straily)
I would lean toward a mini-stack or two in the Colorado matchup tonight, but I don’t think the value is quite there for a full-blown stack. A Rays stack offers multiple options, however, with the top-priced Tommy Pham only costing $5,000 and numerous options in the affordable $3,900-$4,500 range. Dan Straily has struggled this year, allowing seven home runs across 18.2 innings, and is likely only good for four or five innings in this matchup. Pham, Brandon Lowe, and Yandy Diaz are excellent options, and Ji-Man Choi, Nate Lowe, Kevin Kiermaier, and Avisail Garcia could all make sense at the end of a tournament stack. And if the Rays can break through to the bullpen, the Orioles’ league-worst unit awaits.
Honorable Mentions: Diamondbacks vs. Rockies (LHP Tyler Anderson).
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is eriks44) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games on which I offer advice. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings, and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any nonpublic information.