The Los Angeles Dodgers forged a comeback for the ages in Game 5 of last October’s World Series, sending the New York Yankees back to the Bronx ringless with a 7-6 defeat. New York has waited exactly seven months to get redemption; the World Series rematch begins tonight.
It’s a star-studded affair, and you could reasonably build an entire lineup just based on these two teams. But I’ll pick just one player from that game to keep it interesting, in addition to seven others from tonight’s less-heralded matchups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Nick Pivetta, San Diego Padres vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, $9,800 – After getting roughed up at high altitude in a 9-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on May 11, Pivetta has put together two straight quality starts, pitching 12 innings over his last two outings and giving up six total hits and two total earned runs, both of which came via solo homers (22.5 FPTS per game). All in all, Pivetta has given up two or fewer earned runs in all but three of his starts and lasted six or more innings in six of his 10, and a similar performance should be expected tonight against the woeful Pirates’ offense. Pittsburgh has posted just a .643 OPS this season, the fourth-worst in the MLB, even after their bats came alive in Arizona earlier this week.
Value
Jeffrey Springs, Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays, $6,500 – Springs produced a quality start in his last outing, when he gave up three earned runs in six innings (15.9 FPTS), marking the fifth straight start in which he has given up three or fewer earned runs. Springs certainly isn’t a prototypical staff ace — he still ranks near or below-average in nearly every Statcast category — but he’s settled down after a rocky start to the season. Prior to a 12-0 win yesterday, the Blue Jays had scored a total of six runs over their last six games, so unless they light up Springs today, I’m not yet ready to call their slump over.
INFIELDER
Stud
Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals at Texas Rangers, $4,800 – Donovan has been one of the league’s best contact hitters this season, leading the National League in hits and doubles and ranking third in batting average. His power is always going to be limited by the fact that he has just an 11th-percentile bat speed, but he very rarely whiffs, very rarely strikes out, and can hit it to all parts of the field. He’s also slashed .395/.452/.579 over his last 10 games, so if anything, he’s even turning it up a notch. Rangers starter Jack Leiter ($6,900) should be scared; although he’s given up two or fewer earned runs in two of his last three starts, those came against the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies, neither of whom rosters a hitter as dangerous as Donovan.
Stud
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves vs. Boston Celtics, $4,400 – Baldwin has usurped Sean Murphy ($4,100) as the Braves’ catcher of choice and has moved from one of my frequent value picks to a stud pick for the first time. He’d have a top decile expected batting average if he’d had enough plate appearances to qualify, and with the exception of not walking enough — in part because he so rarely whiffs — he has no weaknesses as a hitter. So far this season, Baldwin has slashed .333/.379/.531 against right-handed pitchers like Lucas Giolito ($6,300), who has alternated quality starts with blow-ups this season. Giolito’s most recent disaster came against Atlanta on May 17, when he gave up eight hits and six runs in just four innings (-3 FPTS), a game in which Baldwin homered (16 FPTS).
Value
Editor’s Note: Today’s game between the White Sox and the Orioles has been moved to 4:30 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.
Chase Meidroth, Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles, $3,800 – Meidroth, the White Sox’s eighth-ranked prospect, has been pretty solid in his first few months in the big leagues, slashing .286/.370/.345 (7.1 FPTS per game). He’s exhibited tremendous patience at the plate, ranking in the top decile in chase percentage, whiff percentage, and strikeout percentage, something that should serve him well against an Orioles starter in Zach Eflin ($7,000) whose only strength has been avoiding walks. Eflin is coming off of two extremely rough starts, and he’ll be backed up by a bullpen that has allowed the league’s fifth-worst ERA and the fourth-most hits.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Juan Soto, New York Mets vs. Colorado Rockies, $5,200 – Soto has been horrible in his last 10 games, posting a .105/.200/.132 slash line across that span and averaging 4.6 FPTS per game. However, his underlying metrics belie the numbers, as he’s posting a .294 expected batting average and a .569 expected slugging percentage. In fact, he ranks in the top quartile in every Statcast category barring launch angle sweet-spot, so maybe his luck will finally turn around if he produces hard hits against a Rockies team that ranks dead last in defensive efficiency, fielding percentage, and defensive runs saved. Soto also has reverse splits, so he should be fine against Kyle Freeland ($5,000), who has given up three or more earned runs in five of his last six starts.
Stud
Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers, $5,000 – I hate to target a player going against my favorite team, but Bellinger has put together a very solid debut campaign in the Bronx, and he’s especially been on fire in his last 10 games, slashing .342/.409/.676 (11.2 FPTS per game) while playing some of the best defense of his career. It’s a sight that brings a tear to the eye for Dodgers fans, who saw Bellinger blossom into an MVP in his first three seasons in Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ injury-decimated pitching staff has been inconsistent outside of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tony Gonsolin ($7,500) has given up four earned runs in each of his last two starts. Dodger Stadium has also been the league’s fifth-most homer-friendly for lefties this season, a venue where Bellinger has gone deep 82 times.
Value
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Washington Nationals, $3,600 – The 31-year-old Cuban has had a solid season, and he’s especially started to turn it around in his last 10 games, posting a .316/.372/.421 slash line over that span, hitting a homer and stealing two bases (7.5 FPTS per game). Nationals starter Jake Irvin ($8,100) is coming off of the second-best start of his career — an eight-inning, three-hit, zero-run (33-FPT) gem — but even after his tremendous start, he still ranks in or near the bottom quintile in all but three of the Statcast categories. Plus, he’s backed up by a bullpen that has been the league’s second-worst this season.
