We have a full slate of games tonight, and half of them are expected to be offensive affairs.
Here are tonight’s details for tonight’s featured DraftKings tournament:
Details (MLB)
-$20,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $2,000
– Only $3 to enter (FREE with first deposit)
– Top 1,540 finishing positions are paid.
– Starts today at 7:05 PM EST
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 10 players: 8 position players and 2 pitchers
– Roster Format: 2 pitchers, 1 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SS and 3 OF
Let’s get right to the top DFS plays of the day:
Pitchers
1. Corey Kluber: Kluber is coming off of a tough loss to the Royals (8 inn. 4 er), but is a strong bet to rebound against the struggling Mariners (29th in runs scored). CK has been much better at home so far this season (2.94 ERA) where he’s struck out 43 over 33+ innings. With Kluber on the bump, Vegas considers the Indians the heaviest favorite of the day.
2. Sonny Gray: If Cy Young voting were held today, it would be no surprise if Gray won the award. Gray has a ridiculous 1.86 ERA, and he’s held opponents to a .189 avg this season. Believe it or not, he’s been even better at home with just a 1.41 ERA. The Ranger’s offense is dangerous (4th in runs scored), but Gray has only surrendered one run over 14.2 innings against them this season.
3. Francisco Liriano: For some odd reason Liriano has been hammered at home this season (6.04 ERA), a place where he has traditionally been dominant. Liriano is just too good for that trend to continue, and he has a great chance to right the ship tonight against the Brewers (26th in runs). He’s been brilliant over his last 3 starts, posting 31 K’s over 19 innings while only surrendering 2 earned runs. Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez have hit Liriano hard in the past, so he’ll have to avoid facing them with runners on base.
4. Dallas Keuchel: He’s been so good that no one will take issue if he starts the All-Star game for the AL. Keuchel has flashed his ability to strike batters out when needed over his last two starts (18 K’s over 15 inn.), and he’s always a strong bet to take the ball deep into the game. The White Sox have been putrid offensively all year (28th in runs scored), and I don’t expect that to change tonight.
5. Max Scherzer: Mad Max is probably the priciest pitcher of the day, but he’s just my 5th rated starter because of the matchup. He’ll be on the road against a hot pitcher and a very strong offensive team (3rd in runs scored). The Nats are still favored to win, but I’d rather have the guys mentioned above.
6. Noah Syndergaard: The man they call Thor is no longer a secret in fantasy circles so I can’t call this a sleeper pick, but Syndergaard has the potential to be the top scoring pitcher of the day if he’s locked in. Syndergaard has struggled on the road, as many young pitchers do, but he’s been outstanding in his two home starts (0.68 ERA). The Giants are a great team, but the Mets should be able to score some runs against Chris Heston.
Catchers
1. Evan Gattis: 2/3 in his previous meeting vs. Rodon.
2. Yadier Molina: 1/2 with a double in Coors last night. 5/14 with a HR vs. De La Rosa.
Other top plays: Vogt, Hundley, Perez
First Basemen
1. Miguel Cabrera: 12/23 with a HR and 7 BB’s vs. Lester. Over/under set at 8.5 for this game.
2. Edwin Encarnacion: 8/22 with 2 HR’s vs Haren. Has been nursing a left shoulder injury, but hitting cleanup tonight.
3. Mark Reynolds: 2/4 yesterday in Coors. Makes for a great gamble tonight against a lefty.
Other top plays: Goldschmidt, Rizzo, Freeman, Votto, Hosmer
Second Basemen
1. Brian Dozier: Had a scorching month of May (.985 OPS), and he’s been even hotter in June (1.012 OPS). 2/9 with a HR vs. Young.
2. Jose Altuve: Starting to breakout of the funk that he’s been in. The known lefty masher is 2/3 vs. Rodon.
3. Jeff Baker: 6/14 with a HR vs. Buehrle. Those numbers should get him in the lineup tonight.
Other top plays: Gordon, Kipnis, Kendrick, Walker
Third Basemen
1. Maikel Franco: 13/29 with 4 HR’s over his last 7 games.
2. Brett Lawrie: 9/19 with a HR over the last 7 days. 3/8 vs. Martinez
Other top plays: Arenado, Donaldson, Frazier, Bryant, Castellanos
Shortstops
1. Troy Tulowitzki: 1/3 with a HR vs. Wacha. 17/33 with 5 HR’s over his last 8 games.
2. Jhonny Peralta: He’s going to do damage in Coors, even after a rare hitless game yesterday. Just 4/21 vs. De La Rosa, but one of those hits was a HR.
Other top plays: Reyes, Bogaerts, Hechavarria
Outfielders
1. Jose Bautista: 6/20 with 3 HR’s vs. Haren. 8/18 with 4 HR’s over his last 5 games.
2. Rajai Davis: .882 OPS vs. Lester over 41 career AB’s. Should have a field day on the base paths considering Lester’s issues.
3. Giancarlo Stanton: 8/24 with 4 HR’s over the last week. Destroying lefties to the tune of a 1.104 OPS this season.
4. Kevin Pillar: 10/23 with 2 HR’s over the last 7 days.
5. Torii Hunter: 2/9 with a HR vs. Young.
Other top plays: Colabello, Blackmon, A. Jones, Pollock, McCutchen, Cespedes, Braun, Gomez, Moss
Photo Credit: By Cbl62 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
