Pitcher List is proud to partner with DraftKings for the 2019 season. We’ll be featuring our top picks for every daily slate through the season and feature articles dedicated to the GPP.
DraftKings’ MLB Showdown provides a different type of DFS competition where you create a team from one game while staying under the $50,000 salary cap.
Lineups consist of six players (1 CPT, 5 UTIL) and must include players from both teams. The player you select as Captain will score 1.5x the standard fantasy point value for each statistic, but drafting a player as Captain will cost more salary than drafting him in a utility slot.
Let’s look at my lineup for tonight’s game between the Brewers and the Angels, which starts at 10:07 p.m. ET.
CPT(1.5x): Mike Trout, ($15,900)
How could we not? Freddy Peralta is throwing his fastball more than ever (82.2%) and that’s a recipe for disaster against the game’s best hitter. Trout has seen 74 four-seamers this season and is hitting .538 against the pitch with 3 HR and just 1 strikeout. In the midst of his best start to a season yet, the former MVP has a career-low O-Swing% at 14.9% and a career-high contact rate at 91.5%. Not much needs to be said about tonights choice for Captain.
UTIL: Christian Yelich, ($10,200)
From one MVP to another. Yelich has had a ton of success against Matt Harvey over the course of his career, hitting .370 (10-27) with 2 XBH and 5 RBI. The lefty is showing more patience at the plate than ever sporting a 21.3% walk rate while consistently hitting at an elite level. Also, Yelich is hitting .433 with a .1472 OPS against RHP so far this season. Plug him in your lineup.
UTIL: Lorenzo Cain, ($7,600)
LoCain wreaks havoc on the basepaths against RHP and that should be the case tonight. Arguably the best chance at the coveted +5 SB tonight, the righty is a high upside play in this game. Also in his favor, Cain is hitting a career .291 at Angel Stadium while batting .571 in 7 career at-bats against Harvey. One of the better options at this price point, make sure you roster the speedster.
UTIL: Orlando Arcia, ($6,000)
Arcia has shown flashes with the bat over the course of his career, but we’re still waiting for him to put it all together. The young SS is currently riding a hot streak, with 7 hits in his last 13 at-bats and that’s good enough to roster him tonight. Almost all of his power comes against RHP and we can only hope he gets into one tonight.
UTIL: Andrelton Simmons, ($5,400)
Simmons has gotten off to a slow start but we didn’t have many better options with just $10,300 left for two players. As always, Simmons is making contact at an above average rate while having a SwStr% of 8.9%, which is under the league average. The gold-glove fielder has consistently been a good fastball hitter throughout his career and is the best pure hitter left on the board.
UTIL: David Fletcher, ($4,800)
Fletcher has been somewhat of a revelation for the Angels this season, batting .290 and hitting towards the top of the lineup. With all of his damage coming versus RHP, Fletcher is hitting .421 against righties as opposed to .083 vs lefties. By far the best hitter under $5,000, he is the only logical option left for this roster and I’m not upset about it.
Remaining Salary: $100.00
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is MikeTheRotoCop) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.