Our late DraftKings Showdown matchup on Friday sees the Oakland Athletics return home to take on the Cleveland Indians in the Bay Area. Oakland stumbled to the finish line in the first half, though they did pick up a couple of late wins to go out on a high note, while the story was the same for Cleveland, who was lost on an awful losing streak before a sweep of the Royals. Both will look to build on those series wins on Friday.
Plenty of fun is sure to ensue, so let’s get right into how to construct your DraftKings lineups for Friday night’s Showdown contest.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $10K Extra Inning [$2K to 1st] (CLE vs OAK)
Cleveland Indians vs. Oakland Athletics
Captain’s Picks
Editor’s Note: Athletics SP Sean Manaea will start in tonight’s game vs. Cleveland.
Chris Bassitt ($15,600 CP) - The elephant in the room is that Bassitt just pitched three days ago in the All-Star Game, and it wasn’t exactly a breeze of an inning. With that said, there aren’t many pitchers I trust more at the moment. The righty had a 2.70 ERA and a shiny 4-0 record in June, and after a rough outing against the Astros on the sixth of this month he rebounded to shut down the Texas Rangers over seven solid frames. I’d back him to have another seven-inning gem against one of the AL’s weaker offenses, and even with some underwhelming strikeout numbers he should still be worth captaining.
Sean Murphy ($12,000 CP) - The A’s backstop was on fire before the break with 16 and 17-DKFP performances in his last two games, respectively, fueled by back-to-back home run games. He’s the second-best hitter of right-handed pitching in the A’s lineup, which is the stronger of the two to target. He’s hit .258 in July and should probably cost more to own.
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UTIL Plays
Jed Lowrie ($7,600) - Murphy may have the second-best wRC+ on the team against righties, but Lowrie isn’t too far behind in third. He was equally hot before the break with 40 DKFP in his last two games, but prior to that he’d found his contact stroke with five multi-hit games in the last nine contests. Lowrie has been this team’s most consistent option at the plate all year, and a master of contact. I love backing him to get another couple of hits.
Franmil Reyes ($7,400) - The big man is a little more than a lottery ticket for a homer every night, but you do pay this price in search of a long ball. That’s what Reyes has delivered against righties this year, with 11 homers in the split and a .300 average to boot. His hard-hit rate this month sits at a nice 45%, and nothing should stop him from connecting at least once against Manaea.
Fades
Jose Ramirez ($9,800) - It seems hard to remember, but prior to the break Ramirez was mired in a miniature slump, at least for his standards. He’s been significantly worse on the road this year, and he’s also hitting .247 against righties compared to .282 against lefties. The splits don’t seem to be on his side, nor does form, and at such a high price there are surely many better uses of your money.
The Outcome
Eli Morgan has been very bad this season with few redeeming qualities, and against one of the stronger lineups in the American League I don’t see him standing a chance. The A’s have grown to be stronger against righties than lefties lately, and their best hitters are peaking. This shouldn’t be in question.
Final Score: Athletics 6, Indians 3
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $10K Extra Inning [$2K to 1st] (CLE vs OAK)
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