We’ve got a five-game slate for Thursday’s MLB action.
Let’s find some studs and values for your MLB DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written before lineups were announced.
Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $70K Relay Throw [$20K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Taj Bradley, Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels ($9,500) — Bradley is still wild, posting a 10.3% walk rate, but the strikeout rate is 27.3%. Now he gets to face an Angels team that is second in strikeouts, 28th in ISO, dead last in wOBA and 27th in wRC+. Bradley is worse on the road with a 4.37 FIP compared to 3.58 at home. You know what, though? The Angels are second in strikeouts and dead-last in ISO, wOBA and wRC+ at home. Bradley has put up at least 20 FPTS in four of the last five games with a high of 31 FPTS.
Value
Framber Valdez, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox ($6,800) — I kind of hate this recommendation because the White Sox can be scary, especially against left-handed pitching at third in ISO, eighth in wOBA and fifth in wRC+. In addition, the last time Valdez faced Chicago – granted that was way back in May, he put up only 10.2 FPTS. That said, Chicago is fifth in strikeouts against left-handed pitching and Valdez is a ground-ball pitcher, allowing only 15 home runs in 163.2 innings with a 5.7 degree launch angle and 5.6% barrel rate.
INFIELD
Stud
Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox ($4,400) — Dingler has 27 home runs, 68 runs and 88 RBI in 575 plate appearances. The launch angle is 17.5 degrees while the barrel rate is 9.9%. Against right-handed pitching, 23 of the home runs have been hit while the ISO is .259 with a 129 wRC+. Erick Fedde has allowed 16 home runs to righties with a 5.91 FIP. He’s also been worse at home, as the K-BB% is 5.6% lower while the FIP is 0.9 higher.
Value
John Peck, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox ($2,800) — Since Peck was called up at the end of August, he has received 46 plate appearances. The walk rate is 13% and strikeout rate is 19.6%, but the ISO is only .027. In 298 minor league plate appearances this season, though, the ISO was .214. Granted, for much of his minor league career, that number was in the low .100s, but he does have some pop, hitting double-digit home runs in three minor league seasons while stealing over 20 bases three times. He already has four in the majors. In the Dingler section, I showed that Fedde has had struggles at home and against righties. Over the last seven games, Peck has been shut out only once, but that’s because he entered the game as a late sub and did not get an at-bat. Three of those games were double-digit FPTS outings.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals ($5,900) — Alvarez has 39 home runs, 96 runs and 98 RBI through 643 plate appearances. The walk rate is 16%, the strikeout rate is 17.7%, the ISO is .284 and the slash is .310/.429/.594. The average exit velocity is 94.3 mph, the launch angle is 19.1 degrees, the barrel rate is 16.1% and the bat speed is 76.1 mph. L.O.L. Is this for real? When healthy, Alvarez puts up video game numbers and the matchup really doesn’t matter.
Value
Jahmai Jones, Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers ($2,400) — The strikeout rate is 32.1% in 159 plate appearances. That said, the average exit velocity is 91.6 mph, the launch angle is 16.2 degrees and the barrel rate is 10.1%. All of his damage has come against left-handed pitching with all five home runs hit while the ISO is .197 and the wRC+ is 116. When he’s in the lineup, Jones is usually batting first or second. Lefty Cody Bradford is slated to start and he’s allowed an average exit velocity of 89.8 mph with a launch angle of 20.2 degrees and a barrel rate of 10.4%. Against righties, the FIP is 4.34 with a 9.4 K-BB%. The slash is .281/.326/.472 with three home runs in 23.1 innings.
