Our late DraftKings Showdown matchup on Friday sees two offenses which have shown signs of life in the second half, as the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays do battle out west. With the pitching matchup skewed towards one team, stacks should be popular here. So, how do you construct a good, yet unique build?
Let’s get into it.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $20K Extra Inning [$5K to 1st] (TOR vs SEA)
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners
Captain’s Picks
Robbie Ray ($15,900 CP) - If you’ve been following my Friday Showdown picks, you’d know I’m not always willing to deploy the high-priced pitcher as my captain. With that said, Ray checks all the boxes here. He’s going against a Mariners team which is way down in 23rd against left-handed pitching with a 93 wRC+, and which has struck out in a ridiculous 26.4% of their plate appearances against southpaws. Ray is a strikeout-reliant pitcher who should find success here against Seattle. If Andrew Heaney could rack up the strikeouts against Seattle, so can Ray.
J.P. Crawford ($10,800 CP) - I’m not sure how unique your build will be with Crawford in your Captain’s spot, but you’ll definitely be able to fit both starting pitchers, and even a high-priced bat in a UTIL spot if you pay down for the shortstop. Crawford should provide some great value, as he’s averaging 8.0 DKFP over his past 10 games and owns a respectable 103 wRC+ against lefties. He does more damage against righties, but he’s very hard to ignore with the way he’s playing at the moment. He has a knack for getting on base and has even flashed some power over the last week.
UTIL Plays
Abraham Toro ($7,400) - Another candidate for a cheap Captain, Toro has been fantastic since joining the Mariners and has posted a 1.071 OPS against lefties so far in Seattle. I realize I’ve established already that I like Ray, but Toro warrants some consideration as a proven contact-hitter who has four multi-hit games over his last 10. Contact-happy bats do well against Ray, who struggles with quality contact, and Toro could take the lefty deep on a mistake.
Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. ($6,800) - You’re kind of at a loss in this one if you need bargain-bin options, which is why I like paying down at Captain. One of the exciting guys you can fit into your build is Gurriel Jr., who has been on fire lately with five hits, five RBIs and two homers over his last three appearances. With Corey Dickerson ($5,800; back) likely to miss Friday’s game, Gurriel should be locked into a spot in the order against the Mariners, and with an 80.2% contact rate since the break, I like his matchup with Chris Flexen ($9,800).
Fades
Kyle Seager ($8,400) - The veteran third baseman has cooled off over the last couple of games, and that trend should continue against a left-hander on Friday. He’s struck out in 28.1% of his plate appearances against lefties this year and has historically struggled in this split. He’s also never recorded a hit against Robbie Ray in 11 at-bats, striking out five times. It’s not a very good matchup for Seager, who’s been prone to the swing and miss, so that stat line makes sense.
The Outcome
The Blue Jays boast one of the hottest lineups in baseball since the All-Star break, and with Robbie Ray drawing a great matchup versus the Mariners, they’re deserving of being heavy favorites. Ray should miss a lot of bats here, making it hard for the Mariners to score runs, and the Toronto power bats should get to Flexen, who’s come back down to Earth as of late.
Final Score: Blue Jays 6, Mariners 2
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $20K Extra Inning [$5K to 1st] (TOR vs SEA)
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