Our late DraftKings Showdown matchup on Friday sees the Colorado Rockies head back on the road, where they’ve struggled all season long, to face one of the strongest teams in the NL, the San Diego Padres. Though San Diego has statistically hit the ball very well lately, its offensive outbursts have been sporadic. Will another one come on Friday against the weak Chi Chi Gonzalez ($10,000)?
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 $15K Extra Inning [$3K to 1st] (COL vs SD)
Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres
Captain’s Picks
Jon Gray ($15,900 CP) - The super-volatile righty has once again left us scratching our heads, putting together some masterful performances lately. He’s now allowed just 10 earned runs over his last six starts, posting a 2.57 ERA in 35 innings. All but two of those games have come against quality opponents, too, with Gray shutting down the Brewers, Dodgers (twice) and these very same Padres. The last time he faced San Diego, he struck out seven hitters, and with his rising strikeout rate this year, I don’t see any reason why he can’t punch out at least six.
C.J. Cron ($12,300 CP) - If Cron, who is currently day to day, is able to go in this one, I really like his chances of homering. The Rockies have been great as a team against left-handed pitching, and Cron has hit .282 off of southpaws with five homers in 85 at-bats. Ryan Weathers ($9,800) has also been very fortunate judging by the ERA indicators, and his 42.9% hard-hit rate could lead to a couple of longballs in this one.
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UTIL Plays
Fernando Tatis, Jr. ($12,000) - I like Tatis here, but I don’t really like him enough to pay all the way up at captain and inhibit my ability to build a lineup. The price is a lot easier to stomach in the flex, and I think it’s worth paying for a guy with 12 hits and five walks in his last 10 starts including three doubles and three homers. He’s just found ways on base, and even with a strong performance from Gray, Tatis is probably the top candidate to go deep.
Brendan Rodgers ($7,200) - In what could be Rodgers’ first game really taking over as the primary shortstop in Colorado, I expect some sort of cathartic experience for the once highly-touted prospect. He’s actually had himself a pretty solid year with a 101 OPS+, and he’s reeled off eight hits in 25 at-bats over his last six games, including a triple and two homers. He’s led the way in contact rate over the last two weeks for Colorado and gets the splits advantage here, and should be playing with some confidence. He’s my favorite play from this game.
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Fades
Trevor Story ($9,600) - This is more of a public service announcement if you’re filling out your lineups far ahead of lock and might not be plugged into the news cycle or just checking the latest news on his DraftKings player page, which will just tell you he had a homer on Wednesday. Story’s expected to be traded ahead of Friday’s game, so this is an easy one to avoid. Take a wait-and-see approach.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Trevor Story has been scratched from the lineup for tonight’s game vs. the Padres.
The Outcome
With the Rockies all but definitely deciding to hang on to Jon Gray, and the righty pitching his heart out, I don’t see the Padres lighting up the scoreboard here. On the other hand, Ryan Weathers is a massive regression candidate and should start to see his luck turn. I’m thinking the Rockies have a great chance to pull the upset here with a favorable advantage against a lefty — a spot where they have a 90 wRC+.
Final Score: Rockies 5, Padres 3
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $15K Extra Inning [$3K to 1st] (COL vs SD)
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