This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
I've seen a few debates about how Rockies home games should be handled with DFS slates. Should there be full versions with and without them? Should the prices be inflated even further?
At least for this week, it's choose your own adventure since the Rockies are playing in one of two late-afternoon games (ATL/COL, KC/CLE).
DraftKings does not have a nine-game slate that includes the two early games, so the focus of this piece is the seven-game main slate.
(I assure you, Ozzie Albies would have been a recommended play again at his price if we were breaking down the two early games.)
For those interested, we've started an MLB DFS Slack channel for paid RotoWire subscribers. (There is a season-long one as well.) To join those channels, e-mail support@rotowire.com.
Pitcher
Kyle Hendricks, CHC at MIL ($9,400) -- Throwing starters at the Brewers in Miller Park is dangerous...at least, it should be throughout the season. Christian Yelich (oblique) is day-to-day, and the Brewers have plenty of depth to withstand a short-term absence from him, but replacing Yelich with Domingo Santana is a nudge back toward the whiff-heavy Milwaukee lineup that relied heavily on the long ball last season. With a -140 moneyline for a road matchup against the Brewers, Hendricks and the Cubs for the fourth-heaviest favorite on the night slate Friday. While Hendricks doesn't usually offer the high-strikeout total coveted to bring down a tournament, the smaller slate features plenty of arms with even greater skills limitations.
Also consider: Luis Castillo, CIN at PIT ($8,700) -- Even if the Hendricks-Castillo pairing is the most popular duo used on DraftKings for Friday night, the lack of interesting cheap arms makes me content to utilize the chalk on the mound. The draft-season helium around Castillo's 2017 debut was largely warranted, thanks to his three-pitch mix led by a big fastball (97.5 mph average in 2017, 95.8 mph in his first start against the Nats).
Based purely on price, Kevin Gausman at $5,600 on the road against the Yankees is the most tantalizing dart for tournaments, but I can't recommend taking on that risk unless it's an extraneous lineup from a meaty bankroll.
Fade: Lance McCullers, HOU v. SD ($12,300) -- If you can build a lineup of bats that you like enough to spend up for him, by all means, do it because a home matchup against the Padres could lead to a huge night. (I haven't been able to pull it off, yet.) The fade call here is entirely price-related because of the impact rostering McCullers has on the rest of the lineup.
Catcher
Gary Sanchez, NYY vs. BAL ($4,900) -- One benefit of staying away from McCullers at the inflated price Friday is having enough room in the budget to pony up the cash for the best catcher on the board. Sanchez has a 139 wRC+ against right-handed pitching since the start of the 2016 season, ranking him in the top-20 during that span (out of 249 hitters with at least 500 PA). Orioles starter Kevin Gausman struggles to keep the ball in the park, and Yankee Stadium highlights that flaw as much as any park in the American League.
First Base
Albert Pujols, LAA vs. OAK ($3,100) -- Admittedly, I didn't think I would recommend Pujols at all this season since my scheduled days to write this piece are Tuesdays and Fridays and there are usually 10-15 first basemen I would rather put in my lineup. A's starter Daniel Gossett has underwhelmed in 95.1 big-league innings to this point (16.7% K%, 1.98 HR/9), and while that sample size is limited, the low price on Pujols, paired with his placement in the improved Halos lineup in a favorable matchup is enough to move the needle.
If you can't bring yourself to use Pujols, Trey Mancini is $3,300 against CC Sabathia and the Yankees on Friday night, and Kendrys Morales draws lefty Matt Moore ($2,900) if the rain forecasted for Arlington ends up blowing over.
Second Base
Jonathan Schoop, BAL at NYY ($3,600) -- Currently locked in to the No. 3 spot in the lineup for Baltimore, Schoop is nearly $2,000 cheaper than Jose Altuve on Friday night. A fringe top-50 overall player for season-long settings, Schoop's first 30-homer season in 2017 was fueled in part by a step forward against lefties (.955 OPS, 10 of his 32 homers). Yankees starter CC Sabathia has carried a sub 20-percent K% against righties since the start of the 2016 season, leaving him particularly vulnerable to a righty-heavy O's lineup.
Third Base
Alex Bregman, HOU vs. SD ($4,400) -- In a perfect world, Luis Perdomo would be a lefty. Bregman's production against lefties since debuting with the Astros would make him an automatic consideration at this price. This particular righty-righty matchup is good enough for him, and the splits against same-handed pitching aren't bad by any stretch (17.9% K%, .783 OPS, 112 wRC+). A cheap pivot for Friday is Orioles third baseman Tim Beckham ($3,500), who was handling lefties capably in Tampa Bay prior to his overall surge with Baltimore in the second half.
Shortstop
Manny Machado, BAL at NYY ($4,200) -- If Machado were priced up closer to $5,000, he still may have appeared in this space. Shortstop gets very dicey on a half-size slate, and weather concerns for the games in Texas and San Francisco add a lot of risk to a couple of mid-tier pivots, while Marcus Semien has a righty-righty matchup against the Angels, which is OK, but not great. Running with Machado alone, or paired with Schoop up the middle is an easy way to address two of the thinner positions on the table. As a premium bat who doesn't strike out much (15.3% against LHP over the last two seasons), Machado brings plenty to the table as the likely No. 2 hitter for Baltimore on Friday.
Outfield
Kole Calhoun, OF, LAA vs. OAK ($3,400) -- A 4-5 Angels stack? Again, if you're skeptical of Pujols, I get it, but Calhoun looks like a nice one-off play as he's settled into the No. 5 spot in the lineup for Anaheim. At least Calhoun has been an above average hitter against righties over the last two seasons (Pujols has fallen just below league average in that split), carrying a 106 wRC+ against right-handed pitching since the start of 2016.
Steve Pearce, OF, TOR at TEX ($2,800) -- The Jays have only faced one lefty through the first week of the season, but Pearce started in left field and led off since that matchup overlapped with a day off for Devon Travis. The risk with Pearce (and Curtis Granderson) is the potential for a late-inning swap since they're platooning in left field, but the price on Pearce is cheap enough to take on the risk of him getting removed after three plate appearances. A matchup against Matt Moore is on tap Friday, if the rain in the forecast for Arlington doesn't cause a postponement. Assuming that Travis is in the lineup (he had a day off two games ago), Pearce will likely hit cleanup for Toronto.
Derek Fisher, OF, HOU vs. SD ($3,100) -- Cheap Astros are hard to find, and the knock on Fisher is that he'll likely hit ninth against the Padres on Friday. Luis Perdomo is a groundball machine, but he's carried a 16.4% K% over 314.1 career big-league innings. The Astros are elite at avoiding strikeouts, so the disaster potential for Perdomo is understandably high. Fisher might be best suited for the unusual 9-1-2 stack, where George Springer and Alex Bregman are in the fold. Jesse Winker ($2,900 at PIT) has a better lineup spot and a lower price, so he's worth considering as a viable alternative.
For what it's worth, I doubt I would have any more than two of the value outfielders above in the same lineup, unless I ended up doing something with McCullers in one of the pitching spots.
