There’s one last day to make a bunch of cash before the first big weekend of the NFL season! Take a chance! Below as always I’ve got a discussion on the pitching options, best teams to stack from as well as an individual set of player rankings for the upcoming set of night games on DraftKings.

Forecast

There appears to be significant rain chances in both Philadelphia and Cleveland tonight, but as always, make sure to check weather right up until the time of lineup lock.

Pitching Perspective

After a slate filled with less than ideal pitching options yesterday, today we have at least a few arms that present us with a safe floor. I’ll start with Noah Syndergaard pitching at Turner Field in Atlanta. Syndergaard is a huge favorite tonight and rightfully so. Syndergaard has been fantastic in his rookie season, pitching to a 3.18 xFIP while striking out 9.5 hitters per nine innings. The Braves are in dead last in terms of team wOBA and wRC+ this year, load up on Syndergaard.

While Syndergaard is my favorite option today, there are two pitchers who are actually more expensive than him that are also solid options. Both Jose Fernandez and Madison Bumgarner take larger salaries to the mound at their respective home ballparks today. If you’re looking to pay up for one of the two, pay up for Bumgarner, who is a bit safer option against the Padres today. Bumgarner has been phenomenal again this season, posting an xFIP under three and nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings. The Padres are much like the Braves, and they fall in the bottom five in the league in a pair of important offensive categories, meaning they are no match for Bumgarner. Fernandez on the other hand will be making his first start since coming off the DL and is going to be used with much care by the Marlins. Fernandez recently threw a 75 pitch simulated game, and I’d imagine the Marlins are going to let him throw close to 90-100 pitches before ending his day. The good news is, he can make a lot happen in that amount of pitches. The bad news is, it makes him very risky, essentially limiting him to tournament play.

If you’re looking for a cheaper high upside option, look towards Trevor Bauer against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are a tough offense, but given Bauer’s upside and salary, he’s on my radar today. Bauer has plenty of strikeout potential, but his problem so far this year has been free passes and the long ball. Given his matchup today, he’s a decent sized favorite and provides a lot of salary relief.

Stack Options

1. The Cleveland Indians – Putting the Indians here is just a product of them facing old man Randy Wolf. I’m not sure how Wolf is still pitching, but he’s not been doing so well. He’s yielded 1.69 HR/9 so far this season, and hasn’t been good in any other category. The Tigers are essentially using him to eat up useless innings, and the Indians will make them really useless today.
2. The Texas Rangers – The Rangers didn’t quite live up to the hype last night, but I’m going back to the well again today against left-hander Sean Nolin. This early in the day they’re sitting at an implied run total of 5.5 runs, the highest mark of the day. As I mentioned last night, the Rangers are a great team to stack because they’re cheap enough that they allow for a full stack while still fitting in solid guys around them. Adrian Beltre will be my favorite of the bunch against the southpaw, but everyone is in play.
3. The Pittsburgh Pirates – I’m back on the Pirates against right-hander Zach Davies. Much like the Rangers, the Pirates have a solid core in the middle of their lineup, and they’re not overly expensive. Davies has been decent in his first two starts this year, but it shouldn’t be any issue for the Pirates lineup today. They haven an implied runs total of nearly five runs, one of the highest of the day.

Player Rankings

Catcher

1. Kyle Schwarber -$4,500 – Chicago Cubs
2. Wellington Castillo -$3,300 – Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Buster Posey -$4,100 – San Francisco Giants

First Basemen

1. Anthony Rizzo -$5,300 – Chicago Cubs
2. Carlos Santana -$3,800 – Cleveland Indians
3. Lucas Duda -$4,200 – New York Mets

Second Basemen

1. Jason Kipnis -$4,400 – Cleveland Indians
2. Neil Walker -$3,400 – Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Chris Coghlan -$3,300 – Chicago Cubs

Third Basemen

1. Adrian Beltre -$3,600 – Texas Rangers
2. Jung-ho Kang -$4,000 – Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Kris Bryant -$4,900 – Chicago Cubs

Shortstop

1. Carlos Correa -$4,500 – Houston Astros
2. Cesar Hernandez -$3,100 – Philadelphia Phillies
3. Corey Seager -$3,400 – Los Angeles Dodgers

Outfield

1. Andrew McCutchen -$4,900 – Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Michael Brantley -$5,100 – Cleveland Indians
3. Delino Deshields -$4,100 – Texas Rangers

Starting Pitchers

1. Noah Syndergaard -$10,700 – New York Mets
2. Madison Bumgarner -$12,200 – San Francisco Giants
3. Jose Fernandez -$11,700 – Miami Marlins
4. Trevor Bauer -$8,000 – Cleveland Indians