Below we’ve got a discussion of the starting pitching situation for the today’s 12-game night slate as well as the best teams from which to pick hitters. We’ve also got projections derived from Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections, and we have rankings of the top plays at each position.

All of the plays discussed below are tailored to DraftKings and the DraftKings scoring system. If you don’t have an account there yet, please sign up using the link!

Forecast

At present time it does not look there should be much trouble in the way of weather tonight. The only game I see that we should monitor is the game in Texas. Be sure to check twitter and the forecasts yourselves before submitting a lineup.

Pitching Perspective

Below are pitching our projections, as well as a summary of the pitching options for tonight.

It’s going to be a Dark Knight in Chicago (wink). Matt Harvey ($10,400) will take the mound against the Cubs looking to earn New York’s first win of the series. Harvey wasn’t as sharp as we would have liked last time out against the Phillies, but he should get on track against the Cubs. The Cubs are a powerful lineup, but one that can be tamed, especially via the strikeout. Harvey brings great strikeout upside (8,62 K/9 this year, 9.70 for his career) and should be considered for both cash games and GPPs as a result. He will likely be the highest owned pitcher on the slate, but for good reason. Make sure to also pay attention to what the wind is doing prior to the first pitch. He’s graded as a slight negative value in our projections, but he’s also projected to score the 2^nd most DraftKings points. He’s as safe as it gets.

Just above Harvey in terms of value in our projections is Francisco Liriano ($8,900). Liriano has a tasty matchup with the atrocious Phillies lineup that is primarily left-handed. Liriano has great strikeout upside and can twirl a gem at any given time. He’s brought his walk rate down this year, but at 3.79 he’s still allowing too many free bases to make me feel completely safe with him. There is always the risk that he blows up, but I don’t think it comes against the Phillies. While he’s outperformed his true stuff this year, (2.79 ERA but 3.55 FIP) I think we should see a solid outing tonight. Lirino and Harvey will probably be a common combination for cash games.

James Shields should also earn a bunch of cash game consideration at his price ($9,500). He’s affordable enough that the system projects him as one of the best values on the night, a positive value. He’s projected as the highest scorer in our system and will have the benefit of pitching in Safeco Field against a Mariners lineup that doesn’t pose too many real threats. As always, Shields is a great source of strikeouts (11.69 K/9!!!!) but has been torched by the longball this year. Lucky for him, not too many balls should be leaving the yard at Safeco.

Cole Hamels ($10,100) pitches tonight, but you’ve probably forgotten he existed. Hamels is buried on a terrible Phillies team, but he’s actually still a competent arm. He’s facing a tough Pirates offense in a solid hitting environment, but I do like him as a tournament option.

Last but not least, the model really likes Carlos Frias ($5,100) as an extreme value today. Sure, Giancarlo Stanton hit off the Earth last night, but that’s only one hitter that Frias has to contend with. If he can get past the top-3, he should be in for a good night. He’s dealing with a solid 62.2 GB% and a nice K/9 (7.82) for his price.

Stack Options

As is the case on most nights, it feels like we’re always inundated with offensive options. My job is to try and lead you to the right ones, so hopefully I can do that tonight.Our hitter projections can be found here, or at the bottom of this section.

I’ll start in Comerica Park. The Tigers squeaked by Kyle Gibson and the Twins last night, but I don’t see them having any trouble with Ricky Nolasco tonight. Nolasco just doesn’t have it, he’s simply not a good pitcher. The Tigers are a great stack offense as they provide both speed and power potential in lineup spots 1-6. I like 2-5 especially tonight, focusing on Ian Kinsler ($4,400), Miguel Cabrera ($4,900) and Victor Martinez ($4,800).

The total on this game currently is 9, so don’t count out the Twins who are also a sneaky solid offense, especially against left-handed pitching. Lobstein is a decent arm, but he doesn’t miss many bats (4.09 K/9). I like the Twins to put it in play, and do so hard tonight. Focus on their core right-handed bats, Brian Dozier ($4,800), Torii Hunter ($5,000) and Trevor Plouffe ($4,500). I like Dozier and Plouffe for cash games, but Hunter’s price makes him only GPP worthy given his skill set at this age. Both Lobstein and Nolasco rank in the bottom 5 of our pitcher model tonight.

Also near the bottom you will find Eric Stults. Stults is another soft left-hande pitcher that doesn’t miss many bats (5.60 K/9). The Reds have a great run-scoring environment in Great American Ballpark and should have no trouble barreling up Stults tonight. His GB% has decreased to 39.5%, leaving a lot of flyballs on the table. I love Todd Frazier ($4,500) the most, but all other bats are in play. Keep in mind Billy Hamilton ($4,300) has elite stolen base upside, especially if AJ Pierzynksi is behind the dish.

Runs keep oozing out of Camden Yards, and I expect the same tonight. Both offenses are in a prime spot, as Aaron Sanchez and Miguel Gonzalez will take the mound for their respective teams. We saw the power punch the Blue Jays encompass last night as Edwin Encarnacion ($5,400) went deep twice and Josh Donaldson ($4,700) added one of his own. The problem with the Blue Jays offense is their salaries. Although they’re one of the best offenses in baseball from top to bottom, they carry price tags that reflect that. As a result, I like trying to sprinkle some players in cash games, but prefer them as a tournament play.

The Orioles on the other hand carry lower price tags. Adam Jones ($4,400) is grossly underpriced for his ability and matchup, and Chris Davis ($4,500), Travis Snider ($3,500) and Alejandro de Aza ($3,700) provide cheap ways to get exposure to the game and park.

Tonight marks the return of Brett Oberholtzer. That’s a good thing for hitters, primarly Giants hitters who will be facing him tonight. Buster Posey ($4,300) has elite numbers against left-handed pitchers in his career and instantly becomes the top catching option as a result of the huge park shift in his favor tonight. Although the Giants don’t have a lot of other impact games, you can get fill in value from Angel Pagan ($3,800), Justin Maxwell ($2,900) and Matt Duffy ($3,100). Maxwell is one of my favorite values if he gets a nice lineup spot thanks to his incredibly low price point.

Don’t forget about the game in Miller Park tonight that should see a lot of flyballs from White Sox bats off of Jimmy Nelson. Jose Abreu ($5,000) is a great tournament option as a result. Brewers right-handers should also have some fun against Jose Quintana. Carlos Gomez ($5,100) and Ryan Bruan ($4,900) both rank well in our projections.

Last but not least, we can’t forget about the Dodgers offense who will see another mediocre right-handed pitcher tonight. I like Jarred Cosart, but he’s no match for the Dodgers left-handed hitters. Joc Pederson ($4,400) has seen a price decrease and Adrian Gonzalez ($4,900) just keeps on hitting. Jimmy Rollins ($3,700) becomes a nice shortstop play, and Andre Ethier is raking ($3,700).

Below are our hitter projections, which can be downloaded here.

Player Rankings

Catcher

1. Buster Posey -$4,300 – San Francisco Giants
2. Yasmani Grandal -$4,400 – Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Devin Mesoraco– $4,400 – Cincinatti Reds (make sure he’s in the lineup)

First Basemen

1. Miguel Cabrera -$4,900 – Detroit Tigers
2. Adrian Gonzalez -$4,900 – Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Jose Abreu -$5,000 – Chicago White Sox
4. Chris Davis -$4,500 – Baltimore Orioles

Second Basemen

1. Brian Dozier -$4,800 – Minnesota Twins
2. Ian Kinsler -$4,400 – Detroit Tigers
3. Dee Gordon -$4,900 – Miami Marlins

Shortstops

1. Troy Tulowitzki -$4,500 – Colorado Rockies
2. Jimmy Rollins -$3,700 – Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Ryan Goins -$2,100 – Toronto Blue Jays (complete punt option)

Third Basemen

1. Todd Frazier -$4,500 – Cincinatti Reds
2. Trevor Plouffe -$4,500 – Minnesota Twins
3. Mike Moustakas -$4,000 – Kansas City Royals

Outfield

1. Ryan Braun -$4,900 – Milwaukee Brewers
2. Carlos Gomez -$5,100 – Milwaukee Brewers
3. Joc Pederson -$4,400 – Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Justin Maxwell -$2,900 – San Francisco Giants
5. Mike Trout -$5,100 – Los Angeles Angels

Starting Pitchers

1. Matt Harvey -$10,400 – New York Mets
2. Francisco Liriano -$8,900 – Pittsburgh Pirates
3. James Shields -$9,500 – San Diego Padres
4. Cole Hamels -$10,100 – Philadelphia Phillies
5. Carlos Frias -$5,100 – Los Angeles Dodgers