Good morning folks! Welcome to another weekend edition of “Daily Fantasy Baseball Strategy.” I’ll be discussing today’s entire slate with special analysis on the pitching situation, the best teams to stack from as well as a set of player rankings.

If you haven’t signed up at DraftKings yet, be sure to do so here!

Forecast

The games in Kansas City, Atlanta and Chicago all have some weather concerns today. All of these games are day games today, so most likely these will work as late as they have to get the game in, but please make sure to check the forecast before submitting your lineups.

Pitching Perspective

You’re all probably bummed that Kershaw and King Felix were wasted in last night’s short night slate. Don’t worry though, because today we actually have a few solid options to choose from.

I’ll start with young gun right-hander, Gerrit Cole. Cole is slowly but surely becoming one of the best pitchers in the league and gets a solid matchup today with a less than stellar Atlanta Braves squad. Cole has all the underlying statistics that we like to see before selecting a pitcher as he’s good for a 10.01 K/9 and a 54% groundball rate. The Braves are actually near the bottom of the league in terms of K percentage, but that’s not something that is scaring me off Cole. He’s the most expensive pitcher on the slate, but rightfully so.

Perhaps the best “value” on the slate is Johnny Cueto at $9,500. Cueto is used to pitching in his home ballpark at Great American and has done it successfully. He’ll take a 3.29 xFIP into a matchup with the 24th best wOBA in the league. I know the Padres lineup seems “star-studded,” but without Wil Myers at the top, and a few give away outs near the bottom, this lineup is really manageable. I like Cueto at a nice price point for cash games.

Carlos Carrasco is also a great value at $9,500. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, strikeouts are king in daily fantasy baseball, and especially at DraftKings. Carrasco is a strikeout guy, he’s got a 10.35 K/9 going into a game with the league’s third most strikeout prone team. As a result, he becomes a really solid option and an awesome tournament play at his price.

Chris Archer is another top option today, getting a solid matchup with the Seattle Mariners. Archer has been incredibly dominant this season and is blossoming into one of the best pitchers in the game. He has incredible strikeout potential (11.49 K/9) and is actually a great value at $10,400. He should filter into your cash games and tournaments today.

Below the top three, you can swing for Clay Bucholz or Jeff Samardzija if you’re feeling risky. Both possess the ability to work deep into games and rack up a bunch of strikeouts, but neither has the type of matchup or price point that is screaming must play. I prefer doing all you can to fit two of the three top tier guys into your cash games, but these guys can be used as tournament fliers.

Stack Options

Alert: Coors Field game today. The game will feature a pair of subpar right-handed starters and essentially everyone is in play. Giancarlo Stanton needs no introduction or a park shift in his favor, but he’s getting it today. He’s priced accordingly though, so he might be a stretch for cash games. I like any of the top options from either team – use ’em all.

The Coors Field stack will be the most popular stack today, but there are a lot of other solid tournament options today. Because of all the options, I’m not going to be going really in-depth, because I want to touch on all the options.

First, don’t sleep on the Cincinnati Reds at home. The Reds play in one of the best ball parks for offense, and have some guys that can make a tournament lineup go boom. Joey Votto, Todd Frazier and Jay Bruce make for a solid trio in tournaments and a team that is worthy of hitting 3-4 home runs. Frazier and Votto will be priced up for their play, but they’re solid tournament options regardless.

Bud Norris is pitching today – that’s a good sign for hitters, especially the Cleveland Indians left-handers. Like I mentioned yesterday the Indians have the ability to get all left-handed and will do so today against Norris. Some of their left-hand hitting specialists, like David Murphy and Lonnie Chisenhall will find their way into the lineup if you’re looking for value. Otherwise look to Kipnis, Brantley and Moss for the bulk of your stack.

The San Francisco Giants are a great team in terms of wOBA but their home ballpark kills offensive production.Good thing for them they’re playing at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia today. The Giants will have a matchup with Sean O’Sullivan who hasn’t shown the ability to get out left-handed hitters. The Giants will feature a bunch of lefties up top, including Joe Panik and Brandon Belt. Brandon Crawford will also make for a solid shortstop play.

The New York Mets have a sweet park boost and get to face Josh Collmenter. That will make Lucas Duda very happy, but the Mets as a whole aren’t a really good offensive. That’ll make them quite contrarian, plus they’re cheap, which will allow you to grab two top pitchers. It’s worth a shot.

Last but not least, I always feel the need to mention both the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros. Both of these teams are alike in the sense that they’re great tournament teams. They have a lot of power, and the Astros combine that power with speed. The Blue Jays will face the better pitcher, but they’re also the “safer” alternative. Both teams are priced up, but they’re contrarian tournament options today.

Player Rankings

Catcher

1. Nick  Hundley -$3,800 – Colorado Rockies

2. Wilin Rosario -$3,600 – Colorado Rockies

3. Buster Posey -$4,500 – San Francisco Giants

First Basemen

1. Justin Bour -$3,400 – Miami Marlins

2. Ben Paulsen -$3,700 – Colorado Rockies

3. Brandon Belt -$4,500 – San Francisco Giants

Second Basemen

1. Dee Gordon -$5,500 – Miami Marlins

2. Joe Panik -$3,800 – San Francisco Giants

3. Jason Kipnis -$4,800 -Cleveland Indians

Shortstops

1. Troy Tulowitzki -$5,400 – Colorado Rockies

2. Brandon Crawford -$4,000 – San Francisco Giants

3. Adeiny Hechavarria -$4,200 – Miami Marlins

Third Basemen

1. Nolan Arenado -$5,000 – Coloardo Rockies

2. Todd Frazier -$4,900 – Cincinnati Reds

3. Alex Rodriguez -$4,200 – New York Yankees

Outfield

1. Giancarlo Stanton -$5,700 – Miami Marlins

2. Charlie Blackmon -$4,800 – Colorado Rockies

3. Carlos Gonzalez -$4,600 – Colorado Rockies

4. Andrew McCutchen -$4,800 – Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitchers

1. Gerrit Cole -$10,600 – Pittsburgh Pirates

2. Carlos Carrasco -$9,500 – Cleveland Indians

3. Chris Archer -$10,400 – Tampa Bay Rays

4. Zack Grienke -$9,800 – Los Angeles Dodgers

5. Johnny Cueto -$9,500 – Cincinnati Reds