Well, the aces were postponed yesterday, so if you were already invested in a tournament, you were likely making last-minute changes and thinking to yourself, “How come I have so much money left over?” That one be the case tonight. We will likely lose Jake Arrieta’s start this time around because of the early double-header game, but David Price will roll over, and I’ll introduce a few more pitching options for Friday, September 11th. Never, ever forget. God bless America.
My thoughts for these types of articles for the rest of the year are as follows: If you are still reading this, you know what you’re doing when it comes to MLB DFS. For that reason, I’ll skip a lot of the so-called “mumbo jumbo” and just tell you who I like and a quick reason why. That’ll save me and you some time, while getting us to the same, awesome result: Winning cash. Let’s get to it.
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Offenses to Target for FanDuel DFS (Pitchers to Pick On)
Alec Asher is taking the mound for the Phillies in OUR game of the double-header, and he’s not good. I count 11 ER in his last two starts with just five strikeouts. He’s not missing bats, and he’s not keeping the ball on the ground. The Cubs will be warmed up after already taken four at-bats earlier in the day, and they should crush Asher from top to bottom of that order.
Matt Wisler is a questionable subject as well. He has given up nine ER in his past two starts with the same amount of Ks but even more walks. That’s not ideal against a Mets offense who can make pitchers pay with runners on base. It’s tough to know who’s going to go off for them each night, but Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, and Wilmer Flores seem like good picks at first glance if they’re in the lineup.
Apart from those two, it’s tough to distinguish any other standouts with the idea that they’re going to be very, very bad. But here’s a list of three more pitchers who don’t scare me one bit:
Mike Wright (SP, BAL) vs. KC
Michael Lorenzen (SP, CIN) vs. STL
Jered Weaver (SP, LAA) vs. HOU
DFS Starting Pitchers to Target for FanDuel
Dallas Keuchel (SP, HOU) - $11,400
It’s really Keuchel vs. Price for best cash game pitcher of the day in my mind. Chris Archer against the Red Sox, who can explode for 10 runs at any time, even in Tropicana Field, scares me. Keuchel wins simply because he’s just so consistent. He hasn’t thrown less than seven innings in a game since August 1st. Price has been great too, but this will also be the third time he plays the Yankees in the last month, and one of those times he let up 11 hits. Sure, this one could go either way, but I’ll stick with Keuchel and save a few bucks while I’m at it.
Steven Matz (SP, NYM) - $8,600
We were in the midst of another stellar Matz outing when a blister forced him to call it quits early. Hopefully that’s all healed up so that we can use him as a fine GPP play tonight against a putrid Braves offense. The scatter hits, but Matz should get some good run-support and is a lock for six strong innings if that blister is a non-issue. I also like Gio Gonzalez as a GPP pick against the Marlins along with Chad Bettis as a long shot against the Mariners. It’ll be fun to see Bettis pitch in a pitcher’s park for once, but with Nelson Cruz back and Hisashi Iwakuma opposing him, a win might be tough to come by.
DFS Infielders to Target for FanDuel
Evan Gattis (C, HOU) - $3,000
Gattis’ hot and cold spells have been some of the most extreme in the MLB this year. However, he went 2-5 on Wednesday with a jack, and if you can capitalize on the start of a hot streak at this price, you’ll be in a great spot in a tournament. Maybe Gattis will put a Weaver meatball in the bleachers.
Paul Goldschmidt (1B, ARI) - $4,000
I’ll take one of the best hitters in baseball against a lefty (the handedness that he annihilates with a .449 wOBA vs. L) for this price. Look for the perennial MVP candidate to have success against Alex Wood tonight.
Brian Dozier (2B, MIN) - $3,000
Dozier is an above-average hitter against both handedness of pitchers, and he gets a mediocre righty in Erik Johnson. The Twins’ catalyst is due for a big game, and his team needs him to get them into the Wild Card spot. Look for Dozier to heat up in these last three weeks of regular season play.
Todd Frazier (3B, CIN) - $2,400
This is why I said not to give up on Frazier at this price! He had a monstrous night last night, including a homer, three RBI, and three runs scored. It doesn’t matter who’s pitching (it’s John Lackey). When Frazier figures it out, this price is a sin.
Asdrubal Cabrera (SS, TAM) - $3,300
You can’t refuse to play this guy forever. No, it’s not flashy. No, it’s not a scorching hot streak. But Cabrera is batting in the middle of the Rays’ lineup and is on a six-game hitting streak including a three-hit game, a homer, and five RBI. Pretty or not, it’s production, and this is not a bad price to pay.
DFS Outfielders to Target for FanDuel
A.J. Pollock (OF, ARI) - $3,700
A similar argument that I made for Goldschmidt above should be made here (minus the whole perennial all-star thing). Pollock is too good to be at this price against a lefty. Play the man.
George Springer (OF, HOU) - $3,600
This is a DFS monster waiting to re-appear any day now. Springer is doing what he does best since being reactivated from the DL (score runs), but it’s not long before his line drives start finding grass, and that’s when he becomes a beast. Weaver seems to bring out the best in hitters, so Springer might be worth a shot tonight.
Wil Myers (OF, SD) - $3,400
Remember this guy? Well, he’s back, and he has seven hits in his last five games. Myers can be pretty beastly himself when he’s healthy, and he seems healthy. This is a fine price for a hot-hitter with a lot of power, speed, and upside.
Good luck with your FanDuel and DFS lineups RotoBallers!
DFS Q&A with Max Petrie @ 6PM on 9/11
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