If you have been reading the Index this week, you know that I am bachelor dad this week as the wife is out of town for a work conference.
I am happy to say, that so far, my daughter and I have made it just fine the first two days. I hope this isn’t a jinx, but my daughter has been able to put up with me for the past couple of days.
But I can say I have been a lot more sleepy and tired a lot earlier in the evening, I guess a toddler will do that to you.
It kind of stinks this week is the week my wife is gone because come Monday, it’s back to school for me.
The summer has flown by, but football is upon us now and that means back-to-school and the end of the baseball regular season. We have less than 2 months left of regular season DFS for baseball.
But yea Monday, back to the daily work grind for me.
So before that grind starts, let’s grind out this Friday slate.
It’s 13 games tonight with some solid pitching options up top, including the debut of newly acquired Dodgers’ starter Yu Darvish.
Pricing is again very high for a lot of hitters. That’s four days in a row that we have seen this loaded pricing model by DraftKings. Maybe it’s temporary, maybe it’s a new tweak to their algorithm, Either way, I am likely paying down for pitching tonight in my lineups (those that I can make with a toddler racing around).
Let’s get to it…
Brian McCann – C – Houston Astros – $3,100
Analysis: I don’t know what possessed Brian McCann to be priced down so low today. The Astros are facing Cesar Valdez tonight, who in limited action, as allowed a 39% hard contact rate. McCann plays on the No. 1 offense for production against RH pitching. Against righties, McCann has 8 home runs and a 35% hard contact rate.
Eduardo Rodriguez – SP – Boston Red Sox – $6,900
Analysis: I know he hasn’t been very goof since returning from the DL, but he’s got a solid matchup tonight at home, where he has pitched much better than on the road. The White Sox used to be one of the top offenses against lefties, but they have fallen to the middle of the pack in offense. Eddy would let you fit in bats more comfortably at this very low price, too, including Coors.
Ivan Nova – SP – Pittsburgh Pirates – $7,800
Analysis: Last time out, Nova faced the Padres, I was on him a lot. He scored 10 fantasy points, but it wasn’t the 20-point effort we were hoping for. But this time Nova gets the Padres, who have cooled off, at home. The Padres are in the bottom five in team wOBA against RH pitching. Nova has had a lot of success at home with a sub-3.00 ERA
Hanley Ramirez – 1B – Boston Red Sox – $3,100
Analysis: The Red Sox are a sneaky stack tonight, but we likely won’t have Devers or Benintendi to choose from. But I will take the lowest-priced bat with upside on this team, and that’s Hanley, who owns a .343 wOBA and a .230 ISO with a 38% hard contact rate against lefties this season. Rodon can shut down teams, but he also can struggle, give up a lot of walks and thus a lot of runs.
Travis Shaw – 3B – Milwaukee Brewers – $3,300
Analysis: Much respect for Jacob Faria today, but I think the pricing model has this one wrong. The Brewers are vastly underpriced, including Shaw above. Faria has been tough on lefties, but he has yet to give up a HR to a lefty this season. That is unsustainable. Faria is due for some regression, and despite a high-upside matchup for Faria, Shaw is just too cheap to ignore.
MIke Trout – OF – Los Angeles Angels – $5,300
Analysis: Normally I wouldn’t recommend Trout, but with Coors and some very priced up bats, I think Trout falls under the radar a bit. He’s hot and mashes any baseball coming at him. Against Jharel Cotton tonight, Trout is on home run watch for me. Cotton has been a reverse-splits pitcher this season, allowing a .350 wOBA and a 37% hard contact rate to RH bats.
