Happy Hump Day foks! As always, below I’ve got a discussion on the nearly full slate of evening games for DraftKings tonight, including a look at the pitching options, the best teams to stack from and an individual set of player rankings.

Make sure that if you haven’t signed up at DraftKings for the start of football season, you do so now!

Forecast

There appear to be clouds around the nation with some rain chances at both Fenway and Petco Park. Make sure to monitor the forecasts as the day goes on!

Pitching Perspective

Oh, how glorious it would have been to be handed a slate with some really solid and safe pitching options. It didn’t happen, and now I’ve got to help lead you in the right direction and through a mist of a bunch of no-name arms and scary, erratic options.

I’ll start where I think things might be safest, in the Mets and Nationals game. This game is huge for both teams as the Mets look to extend their lead over the Nats, and the Nationals look to try and claw back and get over their horrendous loss last night. We’ve seen decent flashes from both offenses as the Mets haven’t stopped scoring recently, and the Nats are finally healthy, but the matchup between Stephen Strasburg and Jacob deGrom doesn’t sound like too many runs. deGrom was roughed up in his last start and Strasburg has a history of being a “tilt-o-whirl” for DFS players, but there isn’t much else to choose from tonight.

From a pure “total” standpoint, this game is tied for the lowest with a run total of around 7.5 runs, a far cry from a sure thing as both teams have implied run totals between three and four runs. Strasburg and deGrom, though, represent what we’re looking for when selecting a pitcher on DraftKings where strikeouts mean so much. They both have high upside, big strikeout potential to help mitigate any potential mishaps in terms of earned runs. Both guys are striking out more than a hitter per inning and come with accessible price tags. I note accessible because while deGrom is near $12,000, given his floor and upside and the lack of options tonight, he’s well worth paying for.

Outside of this game, look to take advantage of the Rockies offense outside of Coors Field. James Shields has been nothing special this year in terms of run prevention, however he’s made improvements in terms of strikeout rate, which will be the main reason you’ll be targeting him tonight. The Rockies offense comes into this game carrying an implied run total of only 3.2 runs, and they’ll be experiencing a huge negative park shift as this game is being played in Petco Park. Shields has bumped his K/9 by over 2.5 hitters this year, he has a sub $10K price tag, and the Rockies sit in the top-1o in the league in terms of K%. Lock him in as a potential cash game option tonight.

The last two arms that I’m particularly interested in using tonight are Colin McHugh and Kris Medlen. These guys fall on the opposite ends of the spectrum, but both hold some cash game value, depending on the strategy you use in cash games. McHugh is the high-end option that’ll be pitching against the Oakland A’s in a great pitchers park, while Medlen falls near the bottom of the barrel in terms of price tag and has a matchup with the Minnesota Twins. McHugh hasn’t been quite the revelation he was last season, but he’s been serviceable, posting a 3.91 xFIP with an average K-rate. His price tag is a bit high, and in terms of skills he ranks below the other arms for me, so I’m designating his usage to tournaments. Medlen, on the other hand, has posted a great strikeout rate thus far this year and is getting over 50% groundballs. He pitches for a terrific defense in a great pitchers park and is a sizable favorite tonight, making him a cash game play in my eyes.

Stack Options

1. Fenway  Park – Both sides of the matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox carry noticeable weight in terms of tournament upside tonight. A pair of errant right-handers, Joe Kelly and Drew Hutchison will take the mounds, looking to limit the offenses in a game with one of the highest totals of the day. The best part about this matchup is the home run potential. Both Kelly and Hutchison have struggled with the long ball, and this season, Kelly has allowed 1.42 HR/9 to right-handed hitters. Typically we jump on the Blue Jays against lefties, but don’t miss out on the reverse splits here for Kelly.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates – The Pirates always fly under the radar as an offensive option, but they have a fairly deep core and they’re playing in a great park for offense, experiencing a large positive park shift tonight. Their opponent, Keyvious Sampson hasn’t been anything to write home about so far this year, posting a 4.58 xFIP while allowing 1.19 HR/9. The other great thing about taking advantage of Sampson is his obvious lack of command. Sampson is giving up nearly 4.5 free passes per nine innings this season. I’ve mentioned in the past how highly correlated at-bats are for baseball, hence the validity of stacking. With free base runners and a great park, the Pirates are dangerous tonight.
3. Tampa Bay Rays – This last play is an ode to the super contrarian. The Tampa Bay Rays are by no means an intimidating offensive option, however, they set up very well to face bad left-handed starters like Kyle Lobstein. So far, their implied run total has taken a shift up and is one of the highest of the day settling in at just under five runs. The best thing about the Rays is the immense value that their hitters provide, allowing you to pay for the top arms without stretching to build a solid lineup. Using a full Rays stack with two top pitching options will still leave you some room to pick up a couple guys in other great spots as well.

Player Rankings

Catcher

1. Russell Martin -$4,200 – Toronto Blue Jays
2. Brian McCann -$5,000 – New York Yankees
3. Buster Posey -$4,700 – san Francisco Giants

First Basemen

1. David Ortiz -$4,900 – Boston Red Sox
2. Edwin Encarnacion -$5,300 – Toronto Blue Jays
3. Pedro Alvarez -$3,300 – Pittsburgh Pirates

Second Basemen

1. Dustin Pedroia -$3,800 – Boston Red Sox
2. Neil Walker -$3,600 – Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Ben Zobrist -$4,400 – Kasnsas City Royals

Third Basemen

1. Josh Donaldson -$4,800 – Toronto Blue Jays
2. Pablo Sandoval -$3,100 – Boston Red Sox
3. Evan Longoria -$4,000 – Tampa Bay Rays

Shortstop

1. Troy Tulowitzki -$4,200 – Toronto Blue Jays
2. Jung-ho Kang -$3,800 – Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Xander Bogaerts– $3,800 – Boston Red Sox

Outfield

1. Andrew McCutchen -$4,900 – Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Jose Bautista -$5,400 – Toronto Blue Jays
3. Gregory Polanco -$3,500 – Pittsburgh Pirates

Starting Pitchers

1. Jacob deGrom -$11,800 – New York Mets
2. Stephen Strasburg -$10,100 – Washington Nationals
3. James Shields -$9,400 – San Diego Padres
4. Kris Medlen -$4,600 – Kansas City Royals
5. Collin McHugh -$10,800 – Houston Astros