Tonight, Clayton Kershaw is $14,400 on DraftKings.
$14,400!
I have been playing daily fantasy baseball for more than 3 years and I don’t recall ever seeing a pitcher priced this high. You can pair him with Bryce Harper and have about $30K left for a second pitcher and 7 more positions for an average remaining salary of $3,700.
You can make that pairing work, but you might need to really punt pitcher, which you can choose four tonight under $5K. It’s an interesting dynamic in pricing tonight, so I can’t wait to see how the slate plays out with 14 games.
Before we get to the picks, remember today is a premium content day for the Index, so to view all of today’s recommendations, you can sign up with a monthly subscription or sign up for our 7-day free trial.
One more thing, you know that Coors bats and Kershaw are great plays tonight, so they aren’t making the Index, but hopefully the players below help you build around Kersh and the Nats/Rockies game.
MIchael Wacha – SP – St. Louis Cardinals – $6,800
Analysis: I can’t say that MIchael Wacha ever makes me very comfortable to roster, but the Blue Jays suck. I mean, they really, really suck. Jesse Chavez dominated them last night in a spot start. They don’t have Troy Tulowitzki, Bautista looks like he needs a walker, Donaldson is hurt and Kendrys Morales is struggling. Wacha has been very good at Busch Stadium this season, posting a 1.49 ERA at home with only 2 ER. Wacha is certainly prone to the long ball, but he’s looked fairly decent this year and is facing THE WORST OFFENSE IN BASEBALL. How the Blue Jays came to be that label, I guess, starts with losing E5 to free agency.
Austin Hedges – C – San Diego Padres – $2,900
Analysis: Don’t look now, but Hedges is on fire. In his last four starts, including Monday night, he has popped a home run. Hedges is dirt cheap at a thin position tonight (Kershaw eliminates Posey for me) and he is in the second-best ballpark for offensive production. Thirdly, he is facing Patrick Corbin, a plodding southpaw who gets eaten alive by RH bats. Against RHs, Corbin has allowed a .355 wOBA and a 35% hard contact rate since 2015. This is a great punt play with a hot hitter in a hitter-friendly ballpark. And he isn’t the only Padre on today’s list…
Hunter Renfroe – OF – San Diego Padres – $3,600
Analysis: For all the reasons I love Hedges, I really love Renfroe. He hits cleanup in this offense and gets the benefit of Chase Field. Renfroe has mashed lefty pitching early in his career, sporting a .395 wOBA with a .242 ISO and a 34% har contact rate. Lock him in.
Jonathan Villar – 2B – Milwaukee Brewers – $4,600
Analysis: Villar makes his first appearance on the Index this season. Villar is up against The Great White Swan, Scott Feldman, who DFS players continue to try and stack against. Feldman is on my most-hated pitcher list, but it’s Villar that makes this list. Against Feldman, Villar is 1-for-2 with 3 walks and 3 stolen bases. If he can steal that easily on Feldman in limited plate appearances, then the steal is firmly in play tonight. Ville might finally becoming alive, recording 7 hits in his last 6 games, all of which he has reached base in. I don’t think it’s going to take much for Villar to get on base against Feldman, and then the steal comes, but hopefully he won’t run into the Reds’ second baseman like in the .gif above.
Mike Moustakas – 3B – Kansas City Royals – $3,200
Analysis: Evan Longoria is a go-to guy against a lefty at the 3B position, but Miley is pitching well and Longo doesn’t have the BvP favoring him. So I have moved to the Moose! Moustakas has been the only reliable Royals’ bat this season, recording a hit in 9 of his last 10 games. Tonight the Royals take on Dylan Covey. Who? Yea, exactly. U.S. Cellular is a decent hitter’s faire, but if the wind gets going, it can be even better. Moustakas has destroyed RH pitching this season to the tune of a .430 wOBA, a .333 ISO with a 39% hard contact rate. Play the Moose!
