Welcome back to the Daily Double Switch here at the Fantasy Fix. For those who aren’t yet Daily Fantasy baseball players at DraftKings, head over there via this link and join. DraftKings gives you $50,000 to draft eight hitters (one at each position) plus two pitchers. When you join they will double your initial deposit, up to $600, so it’s a great time to jump in.

Let’s take a look at today’s slate, and see where we can exploit the matchups! You can find me on twitter @RyNoonan if you have player specific questions.

Game times and Weather

It’s an odd Saturday, with mostly every game taking place under the lights. The A’s roll out their big new toy Jon Lester at 1:05pm local time, the same time that his former club takes on their bitter rivals from New York, 4:05pm EST. It looks like that Red Sox/Yankees game is going to be a wet one, with rain forecasted for most of the day in Boston. I recommend you stay away.

Stacking options

There are so many ways to skin this proverbial Daily Fantasy Sports cat, and a very popular way to construct your DraftKings team is by stacking your roster with multiple players from one or two teams. Today, I’d look to stack the Tigers and Nationals. Detroit likes facing left-handed pitching, here’s where they rank in some key metrics against lefties; .449 SLG (2^nd), .790 OPS (1^st), .345 wOBA (1^st), and 117 wRC+ (2^nd). They face Rockies lefty Tyler Matzek. The Nationals have had some success as a team against AJ Burnett, and he’s coming off of a rough outing where he gave up seven earned runs to the Mets.

Pitchers

The afore mentioned Jon Lester ($11,200) is the highest priced pitcher of the day, but in his first start in a new home I’m going to leave him on the board. The Mets have to be excited about the future with a stacked young staff, and that includes Jacob deGrom ($9,800). He’s been outstanding over the past two months, and he’ll continue to cause trouble for the Giants at home today. It’s always a good idea to see who’s pitching against the Padres, and today’s winner is Ervin Santana ($9,100). He was excellent against them on Monday, striking out 11 over eight shutout innings. The Reds Homer Bailey ($8,200) pitches well in the second half, and that trend is continuing. He’s yet to allow more than three earned runs in any of his past five starts, and he looks to continue that today against the Marlins. The Dodgers are a completely different team against left-handers.  Only four teams have a worst SLG % against southpaws, and they’re facing the Cubs Tsuyoshi Wada ($5,900) who’ll cost you next to nothing. Wada isn’t an elite pitcher by any stretch of the imagination, but is coming off of a strong start at home against the Rockies, and is worth a look if you want to splurge on offense.

Catcher

Catcher is my punt position today. I’d like to find a discounted player that I know is in the lineup, which in itself is tricky at times. Wilson Ramos ($3,900) fits nicely into a Nationals stack, but he’s been playing better of late and he’s getting costly. You can never have too many lower case d’s in your lineup, so I like Jacob deGrom’s battery mate, Travis d’Arnaud ($3,100). d’Arnaud has been deGrom’s catcher of late, and his price makes him very appealing tody.

First baseman

I want Miguel Cabrera ($5,700) in my lineup today, but I’d prefer to use him at third base instead because we have other options at first. Freddie Freeman ($4,700) comes in at a $1,000 discount compared to Miggy, and has hit Padres starter Ian Kennedy well in the past. I like the looks of Adam LaRoche ($4,300) today, and the cost is controlled here as well. He has a career OPS of 1.242 in 37 career plate appearances against AJ Burnett.

Second baseman

Second base strategy today is a lot like catcher. I don’t love a lot of the matchups, so I’m looking to save money and get a starter who’s likely to hit near the top of the order, increasing the likelihood of more at-bats. Kolten Wong ($3,900) fits that mold. Hitter near the top of the Cardinals lineup of late, Wong has been one of the more pleasant surprises in all of baseball over the past month. Rickie Weeks ($3,500), yes Rickie Weeks, could be an option as well.

Third baseman

I mentioned in the First baseman section that Miguel Cabrera is getting the start for me today at the hot corner. It’s up to you where you play him, but just get him in your lineup today. I’m doing a similar thing with his teammate, Nick Castellanos ($3,500). He’s eligible at third and in the outfield, so I’m taking advantage of that and starting Castellanos in the outfield today. He’s a different hitter against left-handed pitching. He’s more patient and his wRC+ of 122 is nearly 50 points higher than it is against right-handers.

Shortstop

Surprise!! I’m not starting Jed Lowrie ($4,300) at short today! I’ve used him quite a bit lately and I have to say, he’s been a strong return on investment more times than not. Today I’m going with the recently traded Asdrubal Cabrera ($4,400) who’s going to fit in quite well on this Nationals team. I like his chances to have success today against AJ Burnett; he has a .813 career SLG % against him.

Outfielder

We’ve mentioned Nick Castellanos already as an outfield play, and I want as many Tigers in my lineup today as possible, so let’s add the free-swinging JD Martinez ($4,400). Martinez has cooled a bit lately, but I like the Tigers to explode today, and Martinez enters play with a 164 wRC+ at home when facing a left-handed pitcher. A player that’s turned it on of late is Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday ($4,700). He’s already hit more home runs post All-Star break than he did before it. I like his chances to drive in Kolten Wong today, making for a nice mini-stack of Cardinals.

Good luck today!