Below we’ve got a discussion of the starting pitching situation as well as the best teams to use for stacks for Friday night’s ten-game slate. We’ve also added a few quick tutorials for you to check out from our partners at RotoQL to help guide your research for today’s games. To learn more about RotoQL or to take a look at the packages they have to offer, please follow this link – it will truly help you become a better daily fantasy baseball player.

The weather outlook seems to be okay with the exception of the Yankees/Rangers contest, so be sure to check your sources for weather updates prior to lineup locks to make sure all of your players will get some play. Many times you can follow each team’s Twitter feed, but I think Kevin Roth really does a fine job and think you could give him a follow if you don’t already.

PITCHING PERSPECTIVE

[cointent_lockedcontent article_labels=”baseball”]

The “Coors and Aces” combination will have players picking and choosing carefully for tonight’s 15-game slate. A home game for the Rockies jacks up the prices of the Pirates’ and Rockies’ bats while suppressing the price of Gerrit Cole ($7,200!). However, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, Max Scherzer, David Price, Johnny Cueto and Dallas Keuchel all take the bump on Tuesday night and carry price tags north of $10,000. Pick your poison.

At the top, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw may be the favorites of the day. Scherzer comes into the day as the slate’s third-largest favorite at -205. The Nationals against the Phillies feature an expected run total of 7 (at the time of the writing) according to Vegas with Philadelphia carrying an implied team total of 3.1 runs. Among MLB teams in wOBA against right-handed pitchers since the start of 2015, the Phillies sit at 29th (.297) while striking out 10th-most at 21.0% of the time. Kershaw is the heaviest favorite of the day at -240 and the Marlins’ team implied run total is the lowest on the slate (2.3). The Marlins don’t strike out a ton against lefties and own a decent wOBA (.323) against southpaws, but this is Clayton Kershaw we’re talking about.

The Padres don’t fare all too well against right-handed pitchers. They’re last in the league in wOBA against righties at .295 and whiff the fifth-most in the majors at 22% versus RHP. Considering the pricing around the league, Cueto makes for a great SP1 on DK for cash games if you can’t afford the top four arms.

Kyle Hendricks and Bartolo Colon present fine value as a SP2 for cash or tournaments. A nice low run total of 7, the wind blowing in at Wrigley and the Brewers strikeout rate against RHP (21.8% K% – 7th highest in baseball since ‘15) lead us to believe Hendricks will provide a fine floor this evening. There may be some weather issues with Bartolo Colon, so keep an eye on that first. But if the game goes off without a hitch and doesn’t appear to have a chance to be delayed, Colon’s affordability along with a low run total and wind blowing in from center make him a fin SP2 for cash or GPPs. And finally, Gerrit Cole is arguably and ace, but priced at just $7,200 — down from $10,300 — because he’s playing in Coors Field with a high expected run total (10). I’ll be running Cole out as a SP2 in tournaments in lineups I don’t roster any Rockies.

STACK OPTIONS

Tigers/Athletics – If you’re looking away from Coors Field due to ownership or price point concerns, this game could be your Huckleberry. The Athletics have the higher current expected team total, but the Tigers fare well against LHP and can put up runs in bunches. Justin Upton and J.D. Martinez are way too cheap on DK today, so pair them with Miguel Cabrera for a nice mini-stack. On the Oakland side, look for the left-handed batters Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick, Stephen Vogt and Chris Coghlan. Both of these stack options will leave you some cushion to get some access to Coors if you’d like to.

Coors – Not sure this needs to be discussed on the daily, but an expected 10 run total means runs should be scored. For the Rockies, you’ll want to lock in some left-handed bats against right-hander Gerrit Cole. Since the start of ‘15 they’ve posted the league’s second-best wOBA (.331) and top ISO (.189) against lefties. Carlos Gonzalez, Gerardo Parra and Ben Paulsen should all be considered in addition to Nolan Arenado. Right-handed batters like Jordy Mercer, Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, David Freese, Josh Harrison and Francisco Cervelli could all be considered. You’ll have to pay up for Bucs while sacrificing one of the big arms, but some exposure to this game in both tournaments and cash makes sense.

Marlins – Sure, we noted Kershaw being Kershaw above, but we also noted the Marlins’ relative success against southpaws. Tournament play only.

Blue Jays/White Sox- Similar to the Marlins against Kershaw, the Jays against lefty Chris Sale make for a top notch tournament stack. Donaldson, Bautista, Encarnacion and Tulowitzki make sense. And on the other side, I think the White Sox will be a lower owned group in tournaments. Jose Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Todd Frazier and Melky Cabrera should all be on your radar if you’re going for it.

Yankees – This is weather dependent, but if this game goes, the Bronx Bombers should be considered for tournaments with an implied team total of five runs.

PLAYER RANKINGS

DRAFTKINGS

CATCHER

1. Yan Gomes – $3,400
2. Stephen Vogt – $3,400
3. Miguel Montero – $2,900
4. Francisco Cervelli – $4,300
5. Yasmani Grandal – $3,100

FIRST BASE

1. Jose Abreu – $4,000
2. Miguel Cabrera – $4,100
3. Anthony Rizzo – $4,900
4. David Ortiz – $4,600
5. Albert Pujols – $3,700
6. Mark Teixeira – $4,200

SECOND BASE

1. Jason Kipnis – $4,100
2. Chase Utley – $3,400
3. Joe Panik – $3,600
4. Chris Coghlan – $3,300
5. Jose Altuve – $4,700
6. Josh Harrison- $4,700

THIRD BASE

1. Matt Carpenter – $4,500
2. Manny Machado – $4,900
3. David Freese – $3,800
4. Chris Coghlan – $3,300
5. Todd Frazier – $3,900
6. Justin Turner – $3,200

SHORTSTOP

1. Francisco Lindor – $3,700
2. Jordy Mercer – $4,000
3. Eduardo Escobar – $2,800
4. Corey Seager – $4,100
5. Carlos Correa – $4,700
6. Jimmy Rollins – $3,300

OUTFIELD

1. Andrew McCutchen – $5,300
2. Starling Marte – $5,200
3. Nelson Cruz – $4,200
4. JD Martinez – $3,800
5. Justin Upton – $3,300
6. Carlos Gonzalez – $5,000
7. Jon Jay – $2,400
8. Melky Cabrera – $3,200
9. Corey Dickerson – $3,200
10. Bryce Harper – $5,400

STARTING PITCHER

1. Max Scherzer – $12,900
2. Johnny Cueto – $10,700
3. Clayton Kershaw – $13,800
4. Vince Velasquez – $9,400
5. David Price – $11,400
6. Kyle Hendricks – $8,600
7. Bartolo Colon – $6,400

[/cointent_lockedcontent]