It’s hard to ever imagine a slate being more loaded with pitching options than on Opening Day, but this random Tuesday in April is making me reconsider that stance. We’ve got more aces than two decks of cards taking the mound for tonight’s 10-game schedule on DraftKings, which should keep ownerships low, but will make your decisions at the top very, very difficult.
Let’s go position-by-position and break down everything you’ll need to know to set your lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $300K Jr. Man of Steal [$100K to 1st, Record Breaker Week]
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PITCHER
Stud
Dylan Bundy, Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Royals, $8,800 - There are so many studs on this slate, but Bundy might have the best dollar-for-dollar potential at the top. The right-hander has looked great in his first two starts of the season, pitching to a 2.22 expected ERA across 12.0 innings. Bundy’s also racked up a 32.7% strikeout rate and a 5.33 K/BB ratio within that span of time. Basically, he’s proved last season wasn’t a fluke. Meanwhile, the Royals are a perfect opponent. Kansas City leads baseball with a 14.8% swinging strike rate and, while Bundy’s had his issues over the years with LHBs, the Royals don’t really have one particular left-handed bat to fear. In fact, in 101 plate appearances versus RHPs in 2021, Kansas City’s lefties have compiled an ugly 66 wRC+.
Value
Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants, $7,100 - To get a sense of just how low this price tag is, consider that Castillo has been less than $9K on a slate just once since the beginning of last August. I understand that the strikeouts haven’t been there through two starts, but there’s definite reason to believe that they’ll be coming back soon. Look at Castillo’s chase rate of 44.9% in 2021. That’s an elite mark, yet opponents have somehow registered an outside the zone contact rate of 77.5% on those passes. Castillo’s career o-contact? 54.8%. Normalization is on the horizon and I think we see some impressive stuff out of the RHP in his matchup with the Giants. Over the past seven days, San Francisco is slashing a putrid .159/.273/.278 as a team. That’s gross.
CATCHER
Stud
Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies, $4,900 - The Dodgers will be among the most popular stacks of the evening and for good reason. Antonio Senzatela ($6,000) is the definition of a contact-oriented pitcher, as the right-hander owns the highest qualified zone contact rate among all active starters dating back to the beginning of 2019 (90.7%). You have to be able to mitigate contact against a lineup like Los Angeles’, or its surplus of power bats like Smith will make you pay.
Value
Jose Trevino, Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays, $3,100 - There’s couple of things to like about Trevino. First and foremost, due to the shallow nature of Texas’ lineup, Trevino tends to hit in a relatively decent slot. In fact, in Monday’s loss to Tyler Glasnow, the backstop was batting fifth. Trevino has also had a fair amount of success against left-handed pitching in his brief career. The 28-year-old owns a .301 average and a 108 wRC+ in 87 plate appearances within the split, so he could give Ryan Yarbrough ($7,400) some issues tonight.
FIRST BASE
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angeles at Kansas City Royals, $4,500 - While Ohtani will see the left-handed Danny Duffy ($7,900) to begin this evening’s tilt with the Royals, we’re at the point where I don’t care about matchup with the Japanese phenom — especially when his price is this manageable. Ohtani comes into Tuesday leading baseball in barrels per batted ball event (28.6%), which makes sense when you consider he’s racked up five extra-base hits and seven RBI in his past three games. There’s no reason for Ohtani to be less than $5K with the way he’s currently swinging the bat.
Value
Jesus Aguilar, Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves, $3,100 - For as much as I want to make this about Aguilar, Max Fried ($6,500) is less than $7K this evening. Again, the pitching quality is insane on Tuesday. Anyway, Fried has struggled through two starts, getting blooped to death with an opponent BABIP of .565. Regardless of how you feel about the Braves’ RHP, this is actually about how cheap Aguilar is. The slugger — who possessed a 160 wRC+ versus LHPs in 2020 — is just $3.1K. That’s a lot of dollar-for-dollar upside with someone also hitting in a premium lineup spot.
SECOND BASE
Stud
Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers, $4,500 - Lowe’s been in a massive slump to start 2021, with the biggest issue being strikeouts. However, with Kyle Gibson ($5,600) on the mound for the Rangers, the infielder might be due for a change in fortune. Not only has Gibson allowed 2.1 home runs per nine to opposing LHBs going back to the start of last season, but he’s also struck out just 13.9% of the lefties he’s faced. Lowe can do some serious damage if he’s actually able to put some balls in play.
Value
Gavin Lux, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies, $3,800 - If things break right, Lux has the potential to be one of the best value’s on today’s slate. It’s unclear if Mookie Betts ($5,900; back) will be able to return to the Dodgers’ lineup on Tuesday, and if he can’t, I’d look for Lux to once again be in the leadoff spot. That would give the former top prospect five plate appearance upside against not just the aforementioned Senzatela, but a Colorado bullpen that owns the National League’s worst ERA (5.92).
THIRD BASE
Stud
Alex Bregman, Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers, $5,000 - It feels like we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop with Matthew Boyd ($6,200). The left-hander has pitched well in his first two outings of 2021 and he’s yet to allow a home run. That last part seems unlikely to continue, as Boyd surrendered 1.98 long balls per nine from 2019 to 2020 — the most among the 60 starters to work at least 200 innings in that stretch of time. Bregman is no stranger to going deep and his career 171 wRC+ versus LHPs is very enticing. I’m more than willing to pay up for his services on Tuesday.
Value
Travis Shaw, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs, $3,900 - It’s early, and Shaw’s been terrible over the past couple of seasons, but the veteran is showing some serious signs of life in his second stint with Milwaukee. In his first 27 plate appearances versus right-handed pitching this season, Shaw is slashing .320/.370/.600 with a .280 ISO and a .415 wOBA. Kyle Hendricks ($7,700) isn’t your average RHP, yet he is more contact-oriented than most. Shaw could certainly give the Cubs some issues this evening.
SHORTSTOP
Stud
Carlos Correa, Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers, $4,700 - Correa comes into Tuesday’s matchup with Boyd and the Tigers riding an eight-game hitting streak and sporting a 182 wRC+ across his first 44 plate appearances of 2021. So, I guess you could say he’s pretty locked in. Correa, much like his teammate Bregman, also has some pretty impressive splits as it pertains to southpaws. In fact, the shortstop is slashing .310/.401/.497 against LHPs dating back to the beginning of 2019.
Value
Jose Iglesias, Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Royals, $3,700 - The Angels have the fourth-highest implied team total on tonight’s slate, which means it might not be a horrible idea to find some inexpensive assets in their lineup. Iglesias is a solid, if unspectacular option, as the middle-infielder has always been more productive against LHPs in his career than RHPs. Plus, who knows when the 2020 version of Iglesias might show up for a single slate? In a funny way, it gives the veteran some decent upside.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays, $5,200 - Stanton has looked awful to begin the season, but the hulking outfielder was moved up to the two-spot in Monday’s win over the Jays. If that continues this evening, he’s in a sneaky good spot against Hyun Jin Ryu ($8,000). While Ryu is elite, he’s left-handed, and generally that’s all Stanton has needed to do some damage. In fact, among active players with at least 500 career plate appearances within the split, Stanton ranks first in OPS (1.016), first in ISO (.332) and second in wRC+ (169). I doubt he’ll he a popular pick, yet few possess more raw upside.
Value
Garrett Cooper, Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves, $2,800 - While recency bias isn’t generally the way I like to navigate a slate, Cooper had three hits and three RBI in last night’s contest versus the Braves. More importantly, he hit in the top-third of the Marlins’ lineup. In a 43 plate appearance sample in 2020, Cooper posted a .425 ISO and a 209 wRC+ when facing left-handed pitching. He’s within his preferred split, he’s in good form and he’s dirt cheap. That’s a pretty great combination in DFS.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $300K Jr. Man of Steal [$100K to 1st, Record Breaker Week]
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