Good morning everyone! Below we’ve got a discussion on the pitching situation for the entire day on DraftKings. We’ve also got a discussion on which teams are the best to pick hitters from as well as player rankings for each position

Forecast

It looks like games in Kansas City, Chicago and Colorado could all be affected by the weather today. Make sure you’re paying close attention to the players in these games before completely setting your lineups.

Pitching Perspective

Once again yesterday we were failed by one of the top options of the slate. It appears that is the story this year. Today hopefully we can avoid being bitten by our top choices.

Yesterday a bunch of top options leaped off the page, today is quite the opposite. I’m looking pretty extensively into using Sonny Gray against the hapless Rays. The Rays are in the top ten in the league in team strikeout percentage and Gray has an above average K/9. He also is especially groundball happy, receiving 50.3% groundballs. His ERA has outperformed his xFIP so far this season, but that doesn’t worry me against a Rays team with an implied runs total below 3.5. Gray is currently a decent sized favorite on the day, and a top option.

The biggest favorite of the day is the Indians Trevor Bauer. As discussed about Bauer in the past, he’s a bit of a DFS enigma. He’s a great tournament option as he provides the upside needed with his strikeout potential, but his high pitch counts normally have him leaving the game early, limiting his potential to work deep into games. The Reds team total is hovering around three, and Bauer’s price makes him easily obtainable – use him in spots.

Gio Gonzalez also takes the mound today for the Washington Nationals. Much like Bauer, Gio is a bit of a DFS tilt-o-whirl. He provides great strikeout upside and the ability to flip a switch and be dominant, but it more often than not escapes him. He’s actually pitching fairly well this year, indicated by his numbers (3.34 xFIP, 58.5% GB Rate, 8.18 K/9). The Phillies lineup is hot garbage and will be stacked up with tons of left-handed hitters, which should benefit Gonzalez. Again, much like Bauer, Gonzalez is incredibly affordable but the thought of him in cash games is almost frightening. Luckily I think you can get away with it against the Phillies.

Last but not least I want to touch on both of Francisco Liriano and James Shields. Shields is the pricier of the two, but will face a Dodgers offense that has the ability to really strike. He’s been bitten by the homerun ball this year and although he’s getting a decent park to pitch in, it’s not something that I’m oohing and ahing about. I like his prospects in tournaments, but don’t think I’m paying up quite that much for cash games.

Liriano has a bit of a nicer matchup against a Mets team that can’t seem to get it going offensively. PNC Park plays into the hands of pitchers and Liriano has done a good job utilizing it (44.9 % GB%). The problem with Liriano is the 3.97 BB/9 and his inexplicable implosions. With that being said I think he’s an option against a less than stellar Mets offense. 

Stack Options

First I will mention that there is a game in Coors Field today. It features two bad right-handed pitchers and the highest total of the day. It doesn’t even make sense for me to begin listing names due to not knowing lineups, as every player in this game is essentially in play. It appears that left-handers on each side will have the upper-hand, but at scarce positions such as shortstop and catcher, Posey and Tulowitzki make for great options.

There might also be a shootout today in the Rogers Center where a pair of really young right-handed starters will take the mound. The difficult thing about using the Blue Jays is their relatively high pricings, making them more suitable for tournament plays rather than cash games, but any cheap exposure you can get when the lineup comes out is good exposure.

The Mariners on the other hand will be receiving a huge positive park shift and will feature a few potent left-handed bats against Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez does a really good job of getting ground balls, but he isn’t missing too many bats, and balls in play are good for us. Robinson Cano is priced way below his abilities at $4,400, and Kyle Seager and Nelson Cruz are also in play. Don’t sleep on the Mariners just because they don’t ever find their way into this section.

The Red Sox always disappoint me when I try to look to use a bunch of their players, but I’ll probably try to do it again. They have the ability to get fairly right-handed, and I’ll welcome that against the left-handed Hector Santiago today. Mookie Betts should be back atop the lineup that will feature 4 or 5 right-handed hitters in the top 6. Santiago provides plenty of free passes and has given up 1.36 HR/9 to right-handed hitters in his career along with posting a 4.67 xFIP. Use Red Sox bats today and force them not to let us down.

It’s obligatory that I mention the Detroit Tigers although again, they’re preferred in tournament formats because of their insufferable prices. The good news today though is that you can afford two lower priced pitchers to try and pay up for big time offenses like the Blue Jays or Tigers. They’ll face the former Fausto Carmona, now looking to make a name for himself as Roberto Hernandez.

Last but not least, don’t leave out my Cubbies. The Cubs get a great park shift in their favor playing at Chase Field and will have the pleasure of facing right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson has struggled not only with his command (3.27 BB/9) but seemingly every part of his game has taken a hit. He’s sporting a 4.46 xFIP and is going to be facing a dangerous Cubs lineup that features a lot of power to couple with their strikeouts. I love Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant today but you can use any Cubbie with confidence.

Player Rankings

Catcher

1. Buster Posey -$5,500- San Francisco Giants
2. Miguel Montero -$3,500 – Chicago Cubs
3. Stephen Vogt -$3,800 – Oakland Athletics

First Basemen

1. Brandon Belt – $5,500 – San Francisco Giants
2. Anthony Rizzo – $5,300 – Chicago Cubs
3. Edwin Encarnacion-$5,000 – Toronto Blue Jays

Second Basemen

1. Robinson Cano -$4,400 – Seattle Mariners
2. Dustin Pedroia -$4,100 – Boston Red Sox
3. Joe Panik -$4,800 – San Francisco Giants

Shortstops 

1. Troy Tulowitzki – $4,600 – Colorado Rockies
2. Hanley Ramirez -$4,500 – Boston Red Sox
3. Ian Desmond -$4,200 – Washington Nationals

Third Basemen

1. Kris Bryant -$5,000 – Chicago Cubs
2. Adrian Beltre -$4,500 – Texas Rangers
3. Josh Donaldson -$4,400 – Toronto Blue Jays

Outfield

1. Bryce Harper -$5,300 – Washington Nationals
2. Mike Trout-$5,300 – Los Angeles Angels
3. Angel Pagan -$4,800 – San Francisco Giants
4. Carlos Gonzalez -$4,700 – Colorado Rockies
5. Charlie Blackmon -$4,400 – Colorado Rockies

Starting Pitchers

1. Sonny Gray -$9,700 – Oakland Athletics
2. James Shields-$10,100 – San Diego Padres
3. Gio Gonzalez -$7,900 –Washington Nationals
4. Trevor Bauer-$8,500 – Cleveland Indians
5. Francisco Liriano – $8,000 – Pittsburh pirates