DraftKings MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 6/26/15
Now that the NHL and NBA seasons are officially over, it's the perfect time to start playing MLB DFS, if you haven't already.
DraftKings has contests going on each night where you can win real cash prizes. And with a nice slate tonight in baseball, it's the perfect chance to join and play. After all, new users at DraftKings get a free entry into a league with up to $100,000 in prizes.
Not sure who to select? Don't worry. We've got you covered with tonight's optimal lineup.
Be sure to check out our optimal lineups prior to games starting to ensure each player is in his team's lineup.
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Scherzer | SP | 19.20 | 14000.00 | 1.37 |
| Noah Syndergaard | SP | 18.43 | 8100.00 | 2.28 |
| Brian Dozier | 2B | 11.5 | 4600.00 | 2.5 |
| Jose Reyes | SS | 10.26 | 4500.00 | 2.28 |
| Buster Posey | 1B/C | 10.04 | 4400.00 | 2.28 |
| Ryan Rua | 1B/OF | 7.11 | 3300.00 | 2.15 |
| Eddie Rosario | OF | 8.37 | 3200.00 | 2.62 |
| David Peralta | OF | 7.8 | 2700.00 | 2.89 |
| Ryan Raburn | OF | 6.89 | 2600.00 | 2.65 |
| Adam Rosales | 1B/3B | 6.86 | 2600.00 | 2.64 |
Fitting in Max Scherzer into your lineups will be tricky, as his price tag is an astounding $14,000. Thankfully, though, our algorithms have lined up enough value bats to make it work. Paying up for Scherzer is worth it not just because the Nationals' rotation is on a historic run but because the matchup is against the Phillies, who rank last in the league in wRC+ (74) and wOBA (.280) against righties.
Scherzer's 10.82 strikeouts per nine innings rank him fourth among 101 qualified pitchers, and a lethal Swinging Strike percentage of 14.40% (tied for third) should keep the struggling Phillies bats in check.
You also don't have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for your second pitcher even with Scherzer. Noah Syndergaard squares off against the Reds tonight, who rank 18th in the league in wRC+ against righties (96) and 16th in wOBA (.314). Syndergaard's xFIP of 3.11 is the same as Felix Hernandez's, which would tie him for 15th had he thrown enough innings to qualify so far this year. His strikeouts per nine (9.67) would rank 13th among qualified pitchers.
Rounding out the roster, the algorithms like a few pairs of teammates. One such pair comes from the Twins against Kyle Lohse, who is rocking an ERA of 6.30, worst among qualified pitchers. In fairness, his xFIP is just 4.10, but that still ranks just 68th. Lohse also is allowing a hard hit rate of 34.90%, fifth-worst in the group. Brian Dozier grades out as our second-highest projected point scorer, and Eddie Rosario is one of our better value picks at just $3,200.
Adam Rosales at $2,600 and Ryan Rua at $3,300 batting in the top five or six of the order are some of our best value bats this evening. Why? Mark Buehrle owns a Swinging Strike percentage of just 5.10%, which ranks 100th among qualified pitchers. His hard hit rate (34.20%) is eighth-highest, too.
Targeting some Blue Jays in the same game against Nick Martinez should also be a good bet. He owns a pretty modest Swinging Strike rate of 7.50% and an xFIP of 4.92, which ranks 98th among the 101 qualified pitchers. His SIERA of 4.79 ranks 96th. Jose Reyes should be in for a solid night batting leadoff for Toronto.
Buster Posey is doing his thing. He's got a wRC+ of 138 this year overall and boasts a .382 wOBA and .194 ISO against righties on the year.
Even against Tyson Ross, David Peralta makes our optimal lineup tonight. Be mindful of where he actually hits in the order, but if he does hit second (or in the top six) against a righty, he's a pretty smart play for the price ($2,700). He possesses a .182 ISO against righties on the year, and is the second-best dollar-for-dollar value bat on the board, per our algorithms.
