With the trade deadline having come and gone, rosters are now locked. Some contenders got better and others fell behind, but headed into Friday’s games, every organization at least knows where it stands for the remainder of the season.
There’s plenty of talent to choose from as part of tonight’s 11-game featured DFS slate at DraftKings…it just might not be in the same place it used to be. Here are two pitchers, three infielders, and three outfielders I’m targeting from tonight’s baseball action.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants at New York Mets, $9,400 – Ray hasn’t been great in either of his starts after the All-Star break, allowing five runs in 4.1 innings (-0.25 FPTS) in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 20 and two runs in 5.2 innings (9.95 FPTS) in a loss to the Mets on July 26, demonstrating poor control in both of those games. But given how cold New York’s offense has been in general, with the third-lowest OPS since the All-Star break, he could get back on track. His mediocre recent numbers are somewhat affected by poor luck; in the loss to Toronto, batters slugged .824 from an expected slugging percentage of just .511.
Value
Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins, $7,800 – Minnesota self-imploded at the trade deadline, dealing just about everyone of value except for Byron Buxton ($6,000), who’s on the injured list regardless. Sure, several of the Twins’ trades involved relievers, which won’t impact fantasy, but Carlos Correa ($3,500), Ty France ($3,400), Willi Castro, and Harrison Bader will hurt the offense at least a little bit. I expect Minnesota to be atrocious on that side of the ball at least until Buxton returns, so it’ll continue to be a target until then. The inconsistent Williams has averaged 18.2 FPTS per game at home and has a 2.81 ERA (15.8 FPTS per game) in his last 10 starts.
INFIELDER
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers at Tampa Bay Rays, $6,500 – It’s been a while since I picked Ohtani, so when in doubt, take the best player in baseball. To be fair, the lefty has been “disappointing” (by his standards) over the last 10 games, slashing .220/.319/.610 across that span with five homers and eight runs scored (11.2 FPTS per game) as the Dodgers’ offense as a whole has gone somewhat cold. Still, Shane Baz ($8,000), who ranks 10th in the AL with 19 homers conceded, has just a 35th-percentile barrel rate, and plays at hitter-friendly George M. Steinbrenner Field, is a good matchup for Ohtani to go yard.
Stud
Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins vs. New York Yankees, $4,200 – Edwards, like Miami’s offense as a whole, has put together a very solid last 10 games, with a .325/.386/.400 slash line (7.7 FPTS per game), and while he doesn’t have a ton of power (just one homer all season), he’s averaged a solid 8.2 FPTS per game at home, making him decent value for his salary. Plus, Carlos Rodón ($10,200) has given up three or more runs in three of his last five starts, so he’s certainly gettable. Rodón has also historically been one of the worst pitchers in the league against baserunners, and the speedy Edwards has 13 stolen bases in 45 home games.
Value
Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, $3,900 – The Venezuelan is celebrating his 24th birthday today as the starting shortstop for a Colorado team that has been pretty decent since the All-Star break. Tovar himself has been in solid form since the break, with an .817 OPS and three homers (7.8 FPTS per game) over his last 10 games, and he has benefited from some extreme home-road splits. A 1.072 home OPS (10.6 FPTS per game) is probably unsustainable over a larger sample size than 17 games, but the regression won’t happen against Andrew Heaney ($5,500), who’s had a negative fantasy output in five of his last seven games and pitched to a horrific 6.45 ERA on the road.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Fernando Tatís Jr., San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals, $5,400 – San Diego had an aggressive approach at the trade deadline while the defending champion and division-leading Dodgers stood pat, and it’s not hard to see why the Padres are going all-in with Tatís having such a solid season. He has a .919 OPS at home, averaging 10.4 FPTS per game, and in the four-game road series with the Cardinals last weekend, he slashed .412/.474/.765 (13 FPTS per game). Matthew Liberatore ($6,600) throws predominantly four-seamers and sliders, and Tatís has been among the league’s best against both pitches.
Stud
Brent Rooker, Athletics vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, $4,700 – Though Rooker has been outshined by his teammate Nick Kurtz ($5,900) in recent weeks, he finished the midweek series against the Seattle Mariners with a pair of excellent performances, hitting a pair of homers and putting up 18 and 22 FPTS. He’ll get the chance to stay in hot Central Valley conditions against a team trying a bullpen game with a relieving corps that has posted the league’s fifth-highest ERA this season. The Diamondbacks have also allowed the second-best batting average and the seventh-most home runs to right-handed hitters.
Value
Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros, $3,900 – I’m not sure why Anthony consistently has this low of a DFS salary, given that he’s been among the best hitters in the league since his first week of MLB baseball. Over his last 34 games, he’s slashed .325/.445/.475 (8.5 FPTS per game), which should give him a fantasy salary somewhere between $4,500 and $5,000. In his last five games, he’s reached double-digit fantasy points four times. His salary is partially depressed because Hunter Brown ($10,500) is among the league’s better pitchers, but he had a 5.54 ERA in July, so now’s a pretty good time to face him while he’s off his game.
