Pitcher
Walker Buehler- I fully expect Max Scherzer to be chalk at SP1 tonight, and I think he is a completely fine play. That being said, Buehler is in just as good of form as Scherzer, and I actually prefer to attack the Diamondbacks rather than the red-hot Phillies. Buehler is coming off a gem against the Rockies, yet will be a fraction of the ownership compared to Scherzer. Some may be concerned that he will see six or seven lefties, but he has actually been just as good in opposite hand matchups since the start of last season. The ground balls go up vs lefties, while the strikeouts remain the same at 28%. Max could definitely burn me as chalk with a 30 DK point game, but I actually feel a bit safer with Buehler in this matchup — especially on FanDuel where he is $1,000 less.
Triston McKenzie- McKenzie should be the chalk SP2 on Wednesday night against the Royals, and I really can’t argue it at his price, He did get knocked around a bit in his last start, but the fact is, he shouldn’t be this cheap still. I still think any team that hasn’t seen his stuff in person will struggle with him at first, and i’m really not scared of this Royals lineup. They’re striking out 24% of the time as a team. You can definitely differentiate in tournaments, but I’m fine eating the chalk here in cash games.
Building Blocks
Jake Cronenworth- Cronenworth comes in under $4,000 once again on DraftKings despite a matchup with Julio Teheran. Teheran has always struggled with left-handed batters, but that weakness has been amplified since joining the Angels. He’s allowing a massive .471 wOBA in the split this season. As we like to call him “Rake” Cronenworth continued to be one of the best hitters in baseball. He ranks third-overall in xwOBA just behind the likes of Juan Soto and Corey Seager. He’s just too cheap on DraftKings and will be the first player in my lineups tonight.
Max Kepler- On a normal slate, the Twins would be extremely chalky tonight against Reynaldo Lopez. They haven’t been exploding offensively as of late, and with the Padres and Braves in exceptional spots they will go overlooked. Lopez has allowed a .205 ISO to left-handed batters since the start of 2019, which plays into Kepler’s strength. He boasts 50% hard hits and 47% fly balls against right-handed pitching in 2020.
After plugging those two guys in, you have some room to spend up on both sites. Freddie Freeman is my favorite play on the slate, followed closely by JD Martinez who is only $3,200 on FanDuel.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
