With a big MLB slate on Friday, it’s a great time to get in on some DraftKings fantasy baseball action. Below, we take a look at Friday’s main slate, which locks at 8:05 p.m. ET.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $175K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
Starting Pitcher
Stud
Shane Bieber, CLE at MIN, $11,000 - There is a strong case for Bieber winning the AL Cy Young and MVP this season. He’s pitching that well. The only concern I have here is the weather. There is some rain in the forecast, so we have to check back before lock to make sure this game will play without issue. As long as it does, Bieber should crush. He averages 33.3 DKFP for the season and scored 46.2 DKFP and 29.3 DKFP in his previous two starts against the Twins.
Value
Yusei Kikuchi, SEA at ARI, $6,200 - Pitching with increased velocity, Kikuchi looks like a totally different pitcher this season. He’s generating about 33% more strikeouts, profiling him as a pitcher with a fantasy friendly game going forward. Even though he has a 5.23 ERA, Kikuchi’s 2.79 FIP suggests bad luck is at play. He has a 55.6% strand rate, so it looks like he is a victim of poor sequencing. After scoring 28.3 DKFP against the Rangers in his last outing, it looks like Kikuchi is starting to get on track.
Catcher
Stud
Austin Nola, SD vs. SF, $5,000 - Nola is off to a blistering start with the Padres. Hitting with better players around him than when he was with the Mariners, Nola’s production is going through the roof. He has two homers in his last five games and his counting stats are picking up hitting in the middle of the Padres’ lineup. San Diego has above-average hitters at every spot in the order now.
Value
Luis Torrens, SEA at ARI, $2,800 - With Nola gone, Torrens is getting regular playing time for the Mariners. It seems he is starting to make the most out of it, since he’s reached base in six consecutive games coming into today. As a whole, the Mariners’ offense is interesting to me at low ownership since they are going up against Caleb Smith, who hasn’t pitched since July due to COVID-19.
First Base
Stud
Matt Olson, OAK at TEX, $5,000 - Olson was a homer or bust hitter earlier in the season. A couple weeks into the season, all of his hits were homers, and while I wish that kept up all season, it’s nice to see him reach base in other ways for DFS purposes. This doesn’t mean the power is gone though. Olson has blasted a pair of homers in his last three games, bringing up to a dozen long balls for the season.
Value
Hunter Dozier, KC vs. PIT, $3,800 - Dozier’s numbers against left-handed pitching this season are nothing short of insane. Sure, the sample size is limited, but he has a 404 wRC+. If we want to be reasonable, look at last year’s numbers and see he’s hit lefties really well for a while. Dozier finished last season with a 135 wRC+ against southpaws, so I am willing to roster him against any non-elite left-handed pitcher.
Second Base
Stud
Keston Hiura, MIL vs. CHC, $5,300 - The demise of Jon Lester is upon us. With his average fastball velocity now under 90 mph, he no longer has the stuff to get out MLB hitters and it looks like his time in the big leagues is coming to a close. In the meantime, I want to get exposure to right-handed hitters going against him. Hiura is one of the higher upside second baseman in the league and Lester is allowing a .362 wOBA to righties.
Value
Anderson Tejeda, TEX vs. OAK, $3,000 - It’s only a matter of time until Tejeda is hitting somewhere near the top of the Rangers’ lineup. Texas has one of the worst offenses in baseball and Tejeda is one of the only bright spots lately. He’s taken on an everyday role in the last week and responded by averaging 9.8 DKFP in his last five games. I am not too concerned that Tejeda is currently hitting at the bottom of the lineup, which is also something that we could see change.
Third Base
Stud
Anthony Rendon, LAA at COL, $4,900 - There is a game at Coors Field that we want to get exposure to tonight. Despite the struggles of the Angels as a team, Rendon is playing extremely well and is in the MVP conversation. He is averaging 9.3 DKFP and has scored at least 14 DKFP in four of his last seven games. I don’t think Rendon is priced up quite enough for a game in Denver.
Value
Matt Thaiss, LAA at COL, $2,700 - Another Angels player with third base eligibility, Thiass also is an outfielder, so there is some added utility in where we can roster him. We haven’t seen a ton of Thaiss this season, but he homered two games ago and is extremely cheap for a player at Coors Field. If starting, he’s one of the better values on the slate.
Shortstop
Stud
Trevor Story, COL vs. LAA, $5,800 - I am not really sure why Griffin Canning is still pitching. He dealt with an elbow injury prior to the season and is pitching with decreased velocity and limited effectiveness, so it seems like he’s compromised. This is a recipe for disaster heading to Coors Field. Canning has allowed at least one homer in five consecutive starts and Story has at least 13 DKFP in four straight games.
Value
Adalberto Mondesí, KC vs. PIT, $2,800 - I have hyped up Mondesi getting back on track about 10 times this season, but this time it’s for real! Not only is he finally getting on base more, Mondesi is also showing a bit of power. He’s homered in two of his last four games and we know the speed will always be there. Mondesi has swiped five bags in his last seven games and is finally showing the fantasy promise that had him going at the top of fantasy drafts before the season started.
Outfield
Stud
Mike Trout, LAA at COL, $6,000 - Trout leads all of baseball in homers and now we get the chance to roster him at Coors Field. What more do I need to say? Ever since becoming a father, his power numbers have shot through the roof and he has six homers in his last 12 games.
Value
David Dahl, COL vs. LAA, $2,800 - Hopefully Dahl is in the lineup because he’s clearly the most mispriced player on the slate. After missing the last month due to a back injury, the Rockies activated Dahl ahead of today’s game and the pricing algorithm isn’t hip to the latest news. We have seen Dahl priced over $6,000 for games at Coors Field in the past.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $175K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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