MLB

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Tuesday 8/13/19

Every day is unique for daily fantasy baseball, which is both a blessing and a challenge. Although we can’t simply plug and play our favorite studs day in and day out, each slate presents us with a chance for a new gem to vault us up the leaderboards.

Through the use of numberFire’s tools, we can better identify the players primed to succeed each day, making the process of filling out a lineup just that much easier. In addition to our custom optimal lineups, you can check out our batting and pitching heat maps, which show the pieces in the best spot to succeed on that slate. Put on the finishing touches with our games and lineups page to see who's hitting where and what the weather looks like, and you'll have yourself a snazzy looking team to put up some big point totals.

Which names stand out for today on the DraftKings main slate? Let’s check it out, starting with the pitchers.

Pitchers to Target

High-Priced Pitcher

Lance Lynn ($11,300 on DraftKings): The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the more exciting young, up-and-coming teams in the Majors, but they have plenty of warts in their game. Over the last two weeks, the Blue Jays have a 26.2 percent strikeout rate against right-handed pitching, which is the sixth-highest. Now they are also smashing the ball with a .368 wOBA, which is the third-best, so this is certainly a boom-or-bust lineup. Lance Lynn has been incredible this season and arguably the best pitcher in the American League. He has a 27.7 percent strikeout rate and very good 5.9 walk rate. There's a lot to like here, and he's a top option today.

Matt Boyd ($10,300): Another surprise arm this season has been Matt Boyd. The Detroit Tigers' has produced a 31.9 percent strikeout rate along with an elite 3.35 SIERA. Now, his 40.3 percent hard-hit rate is certainly a concern, but he is taking on a Seattle Mariners team that has been a disaster against left-handed pitching this season. Over the season, their 26.4 percent strikeout rate against southpaws is the highest in baseball.

Value Pitcher

Yusei Kikuchi ($5,300): This is a pitcher who I have targeted a lot with batters throughout the season, but tonight might be one of the very few matchups that makes him worth using. The price point is certainly a big factor, with him way down at $5,300. He has not been much of a strikeout pitcher in the Majors at just a 16.9 percent clip, and his 5.13 SIERA is also a nightmare. However, he'll face the Detroit Tigers -- a team that has a 25.4 percent strikeout rate against left-handed pitching, the fifth-most in the Majors. In addition to that, the the Tigers have just a .298 wOBA against lefties, which ranks way down at 26th.

Hitters to Target

High-Priced Hitters

Cody Bellinger ($5,400): An absolute righty masher, Cody Bellinger comes into tonight's game with a ridiculous .434 wOBA and .353 ISO against right-handed pitching. He's got an interesting matchup against Miami Marlins right-hander Jordan Yamamoto. While Yamamoto has a solid 25.1 percent strikeout rate, the 10.5 percent walk-rate for Yamamoto is a big concern. In addition, his 49.3 percent hard-hit rate allowed is horrific and the worst mark on the slate. Adding in his 41.9 percent fly-ball rate, it is very surprising to see just a 10.5 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate. However, a .208 BABIP does explain a lot, and we could see regression for Yamamoto coming sooner rather than later.

Pete Alonso ($5,200): Pete Alonso and the Mets head to Atlanta to take on Max Fried and the Braves this evening in what is a solid matchup for Alonso. While Fried doesn't have too much to pick on other than a 36.8 percent hard-hit rate and 24.5 percent line-drive rate, Alonso is so good against left-handed pitching that it tips the scales a bit. He's got a .405 wOBA against southpaws this year along with an unbelievable .407 ISO in the split.

Kris Bryant ($4,800): Speaking of dominating lefties, Kris Bryant has completely smashed southpaws. He's put up an elite .469 wOBA with a very good .365 ISO against left-handed pitching this year, which makes his matchup against Philadelphia Phillies southpaw Jason Vargas a great one. Vargas has a horrific 5.17 SIERA to go along with a 39.5 percent hard-hit rate. While he hasn't given up too many home runs, a hard-hit rate like that mixed with a 42.3 percent fly-ball rate will result in home runs sooner rather than later. And a .251 BABIP also shows that he's gotten a bit lucky there.

Value Hitters

Jake Lamb ($4,000): Jake Lamb has not been very good this season, but his career numbers against right-handed pitching are very interesting as Lamb heads to Coors Field. He's also taking on one of the Colorado Rockies better pitchers in Jon Gray. But Gray has given up a 39.9 percent hard-hit rate and a 23.1 percent line-drive rate. Lamb has put up a .350 wOBA and .215 ISO against righties throughout his career and is in a great spot tonight at a fantastic price point.

Jean Segura ($3,800): Jean Segura has brought a ton of power to the plate against left-handed pitching this season. With Segura's .363 wOBA and elite .284 ISO, matchups against lefties are very intriguing. Tonight he'll face Chicago Cubs' southpaw Jose Quintana -- a pitcher who has had some struggles this season. He's got a great 6.4 percent walk-rate but a lowly 20.1 percent strikeout rate. He's also giving up a 39.1 percent hard-hit rate along with a 23.9 percent line-drive rate -- numbers that are going to cause him issues tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park.

Manny Pina ($3,100): From a hitting standpoint, the Milwaukee Brewers are in a fantastic position behind the dish with Yasmani Grandal and Manny Pina. However, Pina's numbers against left-handed pitching are incredible. In this split and at this price point, I always find him hard to fade as a one-off. He's basically a punt and has great numbers against left-handed pitching -- including a ridiculous .425 wOBA and .308 ISO this season.


Ryan Sheppard is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ryan Sheppard also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username donkshow_. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.