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Top Play SP: Kyle Gibson, MIN ($9,000) vs. DET
Mike Clevinger certainly has the higher upside on this slate, but you’re really paying up for him. Kyle Gibson may not have Clevinger’s upside, but he has as safe of a matchup as they come. Gibson faces the Tigers, who’s projected lineup have a 27.1% strikeout rate. Historically, Gibson has struggled against lefties, so thankfully for him, the Tigers lack any scary left-handed batters. For the season, Gibson has allowed a .134 ISO and .288 wOBA against righties.
Honorable Mention: Mike Clevinger, CLE ($11,800) vs. KC
Value SP: Alex Wood, CIN ($8,000) at PIT
Alex Wood has not been at his best since returning on July 28th, but it hasn’t been all bad. He has 21 strikeouts versus just four walks in his first five starts. Today, Wood gets a matchup against the Pirates, who have a league-worst 66 wRC+ against left-handed pitching since the all-star break. I’m putting my money on today is the day that Wood takes a step forward since his return.
Honorable mention: John Means, BAL ($6,100) vs. TBR.
Top Play: OF Max Kepler, MIN ($5,000) vs. DET
It’s Edwin Jackson day, which means, its time to pick on Jackson and the Tigers’ bullpen. For the season, Jackson has a 5.48 SIERA to go along with his 8.46 ERA. Following Jackson will be the Tigers’ bullpen who have a 5.02 ERA in the second half. Leading off for the Twins is Max Kepler, who has put up a .285 ISO and .362 wOBA against righties this year. The Twins are one of my favorite stacks, but their price at the top makes it tough to fit in Nelson Cruz with the other big bats.
Honorable mention: OF George Springer, HOU ($5,300) vs. LAA; OF Marcell Ozuna, STL ($4,800) vs. COL; 3B/OF Marwin Gonzalez, MIN ($4,100) vs. DET.
Top Play: 1B Jose Abreu, CHW ($4,600) vs. TEX
The White Sox have a great matchup against Kolby Allard, who has a 5.11 SIERA to go along with a 6.60 ERA. The White Sox have actually been sneaky-good against left-handed pitching in the second half, batting .284 against southpaws. Jose Abreu leads the way with a .256 ISO and .414 wOBA against lefties for the year. Over the last seven games, Abreu has batted .308 with four extra-base hits including two bombs.
Honorable mention: SS Francisco Lindor, CLE ($5,100) vs. KC; 3B/SS Alex Bregman, HOU ($5,300) vs. LAA; SS Bo Bichette, TOR ($4,700) at SEA.
Value: 2B Jason Kipnis, CLE ($3,900) vs. KC
The Indians have one of my favorite matchups of the day facing Glenn Sparkman, who strikes out only 13.3% of the batters he’s faced this year. Sparkman has gotten hit really hard by lefties, in particular, this year, allowing a .295 ISO and .386 wOBA. Jason Kipnis has come on in the second half batting .277 with six bombs. He’s also hit righties well all year, putting up a 41.3% hard-hit rate.
Honorable mention: 3B Matt Duffy, TB ($3,300) at BAL; OF Josh Naylor, SD ($3,700) vs. BOS; Dexter Fowler, STL ($4,000) vs. COL.
Top Stack: Cardinals vs. Rockies (RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez)
I really like all of the matchups for the Astros, Twins, Indians, and White Sox, but truthfully, everyone other than the White Sox is really priced up, making it difficult to full-stack those teams. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are on an upswing, and their prices haven’t caught up to their production. The Cardinals have averaged six runs over their last eight games and they should have no problem continuing the trend against Chi Chi Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has put up a 5.91 SIERA over 30.2 innings pitched this year, which pairs well with his 2.1% K-BB%. He’s allowed a 43.3% hard-hit rate and struggled against both sides of the plate. A Cardinals stack has to start with Marcell Ozuna ($4,800), Paul Goldschmidt ($4,100), and Paul DeJong ($4,300). From there, you can pick your value bats from Dexter Fowler ($4,000), Kolton Wong ($3,900), Yadier Molina ($3,300), and Matt Carpenter ($3,700). Good luck today!
Honorable mention: White Sox vs. Rangers (LHP Kolby Allard); Twins vs. Tigers (RHP Edwin Jackson); Indians vs. Royals (RHP Glenn Sparkman); Astros vs. Angels (LHP Dillon Peters).
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is RMoss1983) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games on which I offer advice. 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 nonpublic information.