Draftkings Picks: August 5th
Value pick: Mike Zunino (SEA, $2900)
Zunino comes into today’s game on a bit of a hot streak. He has been hitting rather well since his return to the Mariners lineup and looks to continue that success against a struggling pitcher in Tim Lincecum. In only 13 games this season he has 5 home runs to go along with 3 doubles. 8 of his 10 base hits have gone for extra bases. Now, while this is certainly unsustainable for a player who has never shown consistent power production over the course of his career, you want to ride him while he’s hot. His OPS at the moment sits at a terrific 1.128 to go along with an isolated slugging percentage of .434, both well above league average. He has hit 2 HR in his last 3 games and is going up against a pitcher with an 8.50+ ERA. Lock him in for a low salary and spend up on someone who is a little more proven.
Pitcher Pick : Jaime Garcia (STL, $6900)
First of all, he is playing the Braves, and at a salary so low, it doesn’t hurt to give him a chance versus the softest hitting team in baseball. Although he has struggled in his previous couple of outings, a bounce back against a struggling Braves lineup doesn’t seem that unlikely. Garcia boasts decent strikeout numbers, recording 30 in his previous 39 innings (7 games, 6.9 K/9) and versus a team batting .243 collectively, he should be able to record a good amount of outs. He offers salary relief if you want to pair him with a high end talent such as Verlander or Syndegaard and can give you 20+ points at a very modest price. Use him with confidence.
Batting Picks: Robinson Cano (SEA, $5000)
An elite lefty hitter facing a troublesome righty makes for a perfect matchup in fantasy sports. Cano is absolutely destroying right handed pitchers this year putting together a line of 312/.374/.585/.958. With 24 homers on the season versus Lincecum (2.6 HR/9 in 8 starts) having Cano in the lineup tonight could prove to be very beneficial. The entire Mariners team has a favourable matchup tonight. If some batters can get on in front of Cano he could have a very productive night. Look for Cano to send one out of the yard tonight and make sure he is in your lineup when he does so.
Tyler Naquin (CLE, $3900)
The young batter in Cleveland has enjoyed a pretty successful rookie campaign. He looks to continue that success against an inconsistent RHP in Michael Pineda. Batting left handed, the matchup is very good for Naquin. Versus right handers this season he he is hitting with a line of 339/.401/.645/1.046 which is unreal for a rookie. The sample size isn’t small either as he has collected 183 ABs versus RHP. Everyone in the baseball world knows that Pineda can be a little wild at times and that is good news with Naquin priced so cheap. Pineda has actually pitched better to lefties than righties this year but his ERA against them is still an unsightly 4.72. Pineda does give up his fair share of walks as well (2.6BB/9) and Naquin does have 3 stolen bases this season so if he does get on base, it would not be surprising to see him steal a bag. With stolen bases being valued very high on DK it could be a source of some cheap fantasy points. Naquin is a cheap source of offence and should be able to outperform some of the higher priced options listed above him.