Pitchers
Charlie Morton- Morton has been exceptional for the Rays this season pitching to a 3.57 SIERA with 30% strikeouts, and with no Max Scherzer or Chris Sale type pitcher to be found on this slate, he checks in as the most expensive option. I hate spending up on guys with control issues, but over the last month Morton has fixed those problems with only two walks in his last four starts, after walking two or more batters in eight of his first ten starts this season. I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that Morton’s leash will be a bit longer than normal tonight after Blake Snell lasted just one out yesterday, the problem is this is not an easy matchup with the Oakland Athletics. Overall, Morton definitely tops my list in terms of ability and safety, I just don’t know if spending over $10,000 on a pitcher is the correct move on a slate like this.
Dylan Bundy- Bundy is not someone that we typically think of as cash game viable, but I am interested in him at his price tonight, especially for tournaments. He owns a strikeout rate of 24% this season, along with over 13% swinging strikes, and he will match up with a watered down Mariners lineup that will still be without Mitch Haniger, and that just traded Edwin Encarnacion to New York. The one knock here is that the Mariners will be able to send five or six lefties to the plate against him, and Bundy’s strikeout rate is much lower against left-handed batters, but these aren’t exactly intimidating bats and that didn’t stop Homer Bailey from hurling 7.2 innings of shutout baseball with six strikeouts against this team a few nights ago. Overall, I like the upside we get with Bundy at his price, and on a slate like this I do think you could call him playable in all formats.
Zac Gallen- Gallen might end up being my favorite overall option on this slate when factoring in price, which speaks volumes to both this slate and his ability, as this will be his major league debut. He gets a date with the St. Louis Cardinals, who seem intimidating on paper, but they have been scuffling mightily since the calendar turned over to June. Over the last 30 days, the Cardinals rank fifth-overall in strikeout rate (25%) and dead-last in wRC+ (73)…yikes! Gallen is also someone that projects to have upside, he owns a 33% strikeout rate at Triple A this season with just 5% walks and a 3.25 FIP. For the narrative crowd, the Cardinals are also the team that traded Gallen to Miami, so it’s quite fitting that he will see them in his big league debut. He’s playable in all formats tonight, and appears like a strong value play for cash games.
Wade LeBlanc- If you aren’t quite comfortable putting Bundy in your cash game builds, I would have no issues dropping all the way down to Wade LeBlanc at only $5,800 on DraftKings. LeBlanc is this cheap for a reason, but I like the idea of saving at pitching tonight to fit in some top bats, and the Baltimore Orioles head into tonight striking out over 25% of the time against left-handed pitching this season, with the seventh worst wRC+. A Gallen/LeBlanc pairing is becoming more and more intriguing as the day goes on, and is something I will strongly consider when building lineups tonight.
Tournament Pitcher Pool: All the above + Nick Pivetta, Wade LeBlanc
Building Blocks
Jose Altuve (DK)- This is more of a price play than anything, as Altuve comes in priced at just $3,800 on DraftKings tonight. Sure, he just recently came off of the injured list, but Altuve is too good of a hitter to ever be below $4,000 in my opinion, even against a bullpen game for the Yankees.
Derek Dietrich (FD)- This is another price play, as Dietrich is the second base value play on FanDuel at only $2,800. There was once a time when Jimmy Nelson was thought of as an up-and-coming ace for the Brewers, but his career has been derailed by injuries and he has not fared well in hist first two starts of 2019. Through seven innings this season (small sample alert) he has allowed over 42% fly balls to left-handed batters, and that plays right into Dietrich’s strength given his massive .410 ISO against right-handed pitching this season.
Kyle Schwarber- This feels like the 20th time this month that I’m featuring Kyle Schwarber in this section, but I will continue to do so until the sites price him more aggressively. He will lead-off for the Cubs again tonight, up against Walker Lockett and the Mets bullpen. Lockett is making a spot start in place of the injured Noah Syndergaard, and he has featured almost no strikeout ability in the minor leagues this season. I love the power that Schwarber provides at the top of the order and he is firmly on my cash game radar again on Thursday night.
Albert Pujols- Obviously Pujols has had a hall of game career, but he isn’t someone we necessarily lock in for DFS anymore. That won’t be the case tonight however, as Pujols and his Angels teammates get another gift from the Blue Jays with Clayton Richard toeing the rubber opposite them. You might be surprised to see that Pujols is sporting a .280 ISO against left-handed pitching this season even in his old age, and he also matches up well individually with Richard. Richard is throwing his sinker 60% of the time to righties this season, a pitch that Pujols has crushed to the tune of a .474 xwOBA and a .254 ISO over the last two seasons.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
