We’ve got ourselves a 12-game featured slate this evening on DraftKings, though whether it stays at 12 games is anyone’s guess. There are weather concerns all across the country, meaning you’re going to have to watch the radar in places like Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago and Colorado. Sounds like a lot of fun, right?
Well, I’m here to help as much as I can. Here are my five favorite offenses to stack on Friday.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $200K Gyroball [$50K to 1st]
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
A consistent theme of this truncated season has been pitchers experiencing a notable drop in velocity and Mike Minor ($8,300) is definitely someone who falls into that category. Where Minor’s fastball was sitting at an average of 93.3 mph as recently as 2018, that velocity has slipped down to just 91.0 mph through six outings in 2020. The results have been pretty predictable. The left-hander, who has always been a fly ball oriented pitcher, has conceded a staggering 2.15 opponent home runs per nine, which correlates directly with Minor having surrendered the ninth-most opponent barrels (10). This all seems like bad news heading into a matchup with the Dodgers, as Los Angeles leads MLB in runs per game (5.7).
Players to Consider
Mookie Betts ($6,200)
Cody Bellinger ($5,700)
Justin Turner ($4,900)
A.J. Pollock ($4,300)
Chris Taylor ($4,000)
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2. San Diego Padres
On the surface, Kyle Freeland ($7,200) has actually put together a pretty decent start to his 2020 campaign, maintaining a 2.87 ERA across 37.2 innings of work. Still, I think it’s fair to have some doubts about the legitimacy of that success. Of the 50 qualified pitchers in baseball, Freeland possesses the third-largest negative disparity between his ERA and FIP (4.48). Freeland also carries the league’s fourth-highest opponent zone contact rate (90.5%), which is a dangerous way to live when your home park is Coors Field. Don’t believe me? Well, Freeland did surrender a .428 wOBA while pitching in Colorado just last season. With all of the bats on the Padres’ roster that crush left-handed pitching, I think we see Freeland begin to regress a little on Friday night.
Players to Consider
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($6,200)
Manny Machado ($5,800)
Eric Hosmer ($4,900)
Wil Myers ($4,100)
3. Oakland Athletics
It’s weird to think we might be at a point where it’s a legitimately good idea to stack against the Astros, but 2020 is full of surprises. Simply put, Lance McCullers Jr. ($8,900) just hasn’t looked like himself since returning from Tommy John surgery. Not at all. Through six starts, the right-hander’s velocity has been down from where it was in 2018, leading to a spike in his opponent contact rate (75.7%) and a massive dip in his strikeout rate (18.5%). McCullers has also posted ugly marks in both expected wOBA (.382) and expected ERA (6.07). When you factor in a struggling Houston bullpen that owns the fourth-highest xFIP in the league (5.09), it’s easy to see why the Athletics’ bat should have some success this evening.
Players to Consider
Matt Chapman ($5,700)
Matt Olson ($5,600)
Marcus Semien ($5,300)
Mark Canha ($5,100)
Stephen Piscotty ($2,700)
4. Philadelphia Phillies
While it’s obviously fun to make fun of Philadelphia’s bullpen woes, that aspect of the team has sort of overshadowed the fact that the Phillies can really hit. Philadelphia comes into tonight’s matchup with Robbie Erlin ($5,700) in possession of the league’s third-highest wOBA (.344), a figure that actually jumps to .360 when the Phillies are specifically hitting against southpaws. So, it probably shouldn’t be too shocking that Erlin’s prior two meetings with Philadelphia in 2020 have gone poorly. In fact, all four home runs that the 29-year-old has allowed this season have come within the 6.2 innings he’s pitched versus Atlanta’s division rival. Erlin’s career 4.88 ERA as a starter doesn’t seem to bode all that well, either.
Players to Consider
Bryce Harper ($6,000)
J.T. Realmuto ($5,100)
Rhys Hoskins ($4,200)
Jean Segura ($4,100)
Phil Gosselin ($3,500)
5. Colorado Rockies
While I’ll admit that I am slightly intrigued by Zach Davies’ ($8,700) increased cutter and changeup usage leading to a career-high swinging strike rate so far in 2020; at the end of the day, it’s still Zach Davies pitching in Colorado. As you would anticipate, the Rockies are currently slashing .307/.355/.515 as a team at Coors Field this season, a place where Colorado is averaging well over five runs per game. Also, there’s no better park in baseball for Davies’ microscopic .213 BABIP to start normalizing. We’re going to see a lot of runs on both sides of this matchup, just make sure you keep an eye on the weather reports.
Players to Consider
Charlie Blackmon ($5,800)
Trevory Story ($5,700)
Nolan Arenado ($5,600)
Daniel Murphy ($4,200)
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $200K Gyroball [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.