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Happy #JoseDay everyone! Jose Fernandez long-awaited debut will be Thursday, and although I think it’s a little over-the-top to make a player’s start a national holiday, it does have a better ring than Harvey Day. The Marlins’ front office is just as excited as the fans are about this money-making return of what should be an ace. Meanwhile, teammates will be wondering if Fernandez minds hitting in the three spot of the order.
Apart from the most coveted matinee since Opening Day, we have 11 other games on the schedule for Thursday, July 2nd. Five games will take place before the normal 7:05 start time, while seven games will take place at or after that mark. The Brewers and Phillies are playing at 6:35. Why you ask? Well I wasn’t going to mention either team in this article if they had a normal start time, so there’s a PR guy out there who needs a raise. I’m just kidding by the way. There are usable players in that game, but there was a joke to be made and I couldn’t pass it up. Let’s break this down!
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Offenses to Target for FanDuel DFS
Arizona Diamondbacks (vs. Chris Rusin, LHP)
The Dbacks can crush lefties, especially mediocre ones. The leader of the pack, Paul Goldschmidt, has a .486 wOBA against lefties. A.J. Pollock carries .379 wOBA against LHP. Yasmany Tomas and Nich Ahmed follow that up with .358 and .401 wOBAs respectively against lefties. It can be a very dangerous lineup with decent left-handed batters like David Peralta scattered in too. Chris Rusin is in for a long day if he is unable to get swings in misses, which is very likely. The Goldy and Pollock combo will be very expensive, and Tomas won’t be cheap either. If you want to use the full stack on this one, you’ll likely need a bargain pitcher on the side.
Toronto Blue Jays (vs. Wade Miley, LHP)
Surprise, surprise, I’m stacking the Blue Jays. Well, against left-handed pitchers I feel like it’s a sin not to. That theory is exactly what came back to bite me on Tuesday night when Eduardo Rodriguez threw a gem, but I’m not giving up hope. Not to mention, Wade Miley is no Eduardo Rodriguez. This lineup is filled to the brim with lefty-killers. If you average together Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Chris Colabello, and Danny Valencia you would get a .435 wOBA against left-handed pitchers. That’s insane. In a hitter-friendly ballpark, Miley is in for a rough day. Once again, this stack will break your bank. However, you can get contrarian with guys like Devon Travis and Kevin Pillar to try to save some bankroll.
Honorable Mentions: Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers
DFS Starting Pitchers to Target for FanDuel
Max Scherzer (SP, WAS) - $12,500
Forget #JoseDay. Scherzer day is where it’s at. On an all-day slate, Scherzer’s ownership might be lower than normal. This is in part because of the various other options from Corey Kluber to Jacob DeGrom to our friend Jose. However, in the night slate, everyone and their mothers are going to be using Scherzer. To be honest, you have to. He’s pitching some of the best baseball we have seen in a long, long time. He’s getting to the point where he’s showing up what Clayton Kershaw did last year. I don’t know who he paid off at the beginning of the year, but his matchups lately have been incredible! Scherzer gets an Atlanta Braves team who stunk with Freddie Freeman in the middle of the order. Without Freeman in that lineup, I’m going to guess that Mad Max carries a no-no into at least the fifth inning again on Thursday.
Scott Kazmir (SP, OAK) - $9,000
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Scott Kazmir has been dazzling this season when he’s been healthy. On a normal day, he would be a great cash game option. With Scherzer on the map, he’s not. But, if you want to get risky in a tournament and try to beat out the Scherzer owners, this might be the way to go. Kazmir is going to save you just enough money so that you can reasonable roster one of the stacks I mentioned above. The Scherzer owners will not be able to do that. So, if Kazmir is able to rack up a good amount of strikeouts and get a win against a very shaky Mariners’ offense (Of course Cano and friends go out and crush James Shields yesterday. Ugh.), you might just have a chance. If the stack fails, forget about it. But the fact that Scherzer is going to be so highly owned and so expensive means that the high-end stacks will be few and far between. This is exciting stuff, and this kind of strategy is what DFS is all about.
DFS Infielders to Target for FanDuel
Francisco Cervelli (C, PIT) - $2,900
Cervelli has quietly become one of the better-hitting catchers in baseball this year. Along with his .300 batting average is a 164 wRC+ against lefties. He gets Kyle Ryan on Thursday, and his value is still above his price on nights like these.
Justin Bour (1B, MIA) - $2,400
He doesn’t play much if at all against lefties, but the return of righty Matt Cain to the Giants rotation gives Bour a chance to shine on Thursday. He’s a very all-or-nothing hitter, but he does have .359 wOBA and a .222 ISO against lefties. Bour’s price definitely helps to relieve some salary for those who are rostering Scherzer or another high-priced arm.
Rougned Odor (2B, TEX) - $2,700
Odor has been raking since his call-up a few weeks ago, and Kevin Gausman is no reason to think that will stop. The lefty hitter has a solid .327 OBP this year against righties, and he hits them slightly better than southpaws. His price won’t break your bank either. (Editor's Note: Make sure to check on Odor's status for Thursday's game, as he missed Wednesday's start after receiving a dental procedure.)
Daniel Murphy (3B, NYM) - $3,100
Murphy was in the midst of another consistent, Murphy-esque season before his injury. He is a lefty who loves right-handed pitchers, and Jake Arrieta will make him fairly underowned. Murphy’s injury has also depressed his price a bit.
Jordy Mercer (SS, PIT) - $2,600
While we're on the theme of made up baseball holidays, I’ve heard some daily fantasy analysts refer to the days Pirates play lefties as “Mercer Day.” Mercer has always had a thing for lefties, and the cheap shortstop is currently riding a six-game hitting streak. Ryan will have his hands full at the middle/bottom of the order trying to get out both Mercer and Cervelli.
DFS Outfielders to Target for FanDuel
Christian Yelich (OF, MIA) - $2,800
It brought a tear to my eye seeing that I had Giancarlo Stanton as a recommendation in this article last week. In his absence, Yelich has been asked to step up, and he has done just that. The left fielder has been a multi-hit game machine, and he’s hitting better against righties this year despite his reverse splits history. His price won’t break your bank either.
Jason Heyward (OF, STL) - $3,500
As long as Heyward is on this tear, I will continue using him in DFS against righties like Tyson Ross. In the last 12 days, he has an absurd .483 wOBA with four home runs and two steals. That’s exactly the kind of player that can have a quiet 10-point game on FanDuel on any given night.
A.J. Pollock (OF, ARI) - $3,700
Pollock has to be a part of your Dbacks stack. However, if you have to pick just one Dback, he is the one to play. Pollock’s earlier mentioned wOBA and his line of nine home runs, 49 runs, 35 RBI, and 16 SB is unbelievable. He has turned himself into one of the game’s elite outfielders this season.
Good luck with your FanDuel and DFS lineups RotoBallers!
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