With seven games taking place earlier on during the day, DraftKings has a seven-game main-slate set for this Wednesday night. Paying up for starting pitcher proved unsuccessful last night, as the bats went crazy all over the place.
Sure, Chris Sale and Justin Verlander had great games. But there were other arms who put up massive games at a huge discount. When Coors Field goes off, as it did, paying up for hitters becomes vital. Let’s take a look at some of the best GPP options for tonight’s smaller slate.
Pitchers
David Price (BOS): $9,700 @ MINÂ
The highest priced pitcher worth considering tonight is David Price. Price has scored over 20 DraftKings points in each of his last three starts and looks like a younger version of himself. Although the strikeout rate is slightly down from a couple of years ago, he is still hovering above the 20% threshold. The Minnesota Twins are struggling in the month of June and there are strikeouts in this lineup. Brian Dozier is usually a threat against lefties but in 2018, he is hitting just a .189 average with one homer and 10 strikeouts. There will be a lot of righties in this lineup, so David Price is by no means a slam dunk. At the price, he is a fairly safe option to score around 20 points, once again.
Jonathan Loaisiga (NYY): $8,300 vs. SEAÂ
The matchup and ballpark is scary. This will lower ownership (hopefully) on a fantastic talent. The Yankee’s prospect has another spot start for the injured Masahiro Tanaka tonight against the Mariners. Seattle should not be taken lightly, but as we witnessed last night, there are holes in the armor. Domingo German struck out nine through seven innings of work last night in an absolutely dominant performance. Loaisiga has made just one MLB start and had a good outing against a much weaker Rays team. The command is an issue for the 23-year-old and the Mariners will be a much tougher test. However, in AA, Loaisiga owned a 31.4% strikeout rate to go along with a fairly high groundball rate. In his only start, he showed a 15.4% swing and strike rate showcasing filthy stuff. This is a risky pitcher to feel confident about, but the upside is certainly there.
Brent Suter (MIL): $6,500 @ PITÂ
The lowest I am personally willing to go is Brent Suter on Milwaukee. A very boring, low upside selection which will allow us to pay up for hitters. To be honest, there isn’t a lot to say about Suter. He is a very average pitcher who should get the job done in a great pitchers park against a weak hitting team. The Pittsburgh Pirates do not scare me one bit and are a team to target. They do not strike out much, but they have struggled to create offense.
Hitting Stacks
New York Mets and Colorado RockiesÂ
No need to overthink this. Sure, both teams will carry ownership and there is “game-theory” reason to fade. Most series in Colorado I will try to find ways to fade, or at least look at the visiting team at lower ownership. The Mets pitching is so bad though. Not just their starting pitchers, but their bullpen as well. On the flip side, the Rockies bullpen has been overused and just as bad. Chad Bettis has 31.1 innings pitched in Coors this season for sample size. He owns a .491 wOBA to right-handed hitters and .301 to lefties (eight home runs allowed in this span). That is not a small sample size.
New York YankeesÂ
I refuse to believe Felix Hernandez is still a good pitcher. I fully understand he is one of the best pitchers in the last decade, but the 2018 New York Yankees should get the better of him. Yankee Stadium is becoming the new “Coors Light” ballpark with how many home runs are being hit. The stack is not cheap and will not go low-owned, but the sheer power 1-9 in this lineup is unmatched. Lefties do hit King Felix harder, making Didi Gregorius, Greg Bird, and Aaron Hicks the top options.
Washington NationalsÂ
The Nats broke out a bit last night, putting up nine runs against the Orioles. Tonight, they will get another soft matchup against Andrew Cashner. Even though there are still injuries at first base, the Nationals lineup is getting healthier and more intimidating to go up against. This also allows Daniel Murphy to play first as he still recovers (no need to include him in a stack as he is struggling). Trea Turner went off last night and is worth paying up for at shortstop as a nice pivot off of Trevor Story. Bryce Harper is still struggling, although did manage to hit a weak RBI double last night. They are not my favorite team to stack, but worth mentioning in this great matchup.
Houston AstrosÂ
The last team I will mention are the Astros. Tonight, I really feel like paying up for bats is the right path to success. The value hitters are just not in great spots and won’t return the same value as a cheap pitcher. Of the stacks mentioned above, the Astros should come in with the lowest ownership. Houston always goes overlooked even though they continue to produce every night (except last night). They will have a pretty good matchup against Nathan Eovaldi who has an inflated ERA in 2018.
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