After scorching hot starts, both Jose Altuve and Christian Yelich still present good value, as STATS projections don’t see an end to those hot starts tonight. Altuve’s teammate, Alex Bregman, also projects to have a standout performance tonight.
Pitchers
Top Projected: Carlos Carrasco ($10,400 DraftKings/$9,600 FanDuel) Carrasco is off to a rollercoaster 2019 campaign that has seen him run out of the game by Kansas City in less than an inning, and then unhittable through seven versus the Mariners. A matchup versus a lowly Marlins offense that is last in the league in scoring gives him a chance to get right, and do so in a big way.
Best Value: Homer Bailey ($6,200 DraftKings), Jeff Samardzija ($6,700 FanDuel) Bailey is pitching relatively well in comparison to the past few years and he projects to make the best of his meager price tag this evening with a projected six-plus strikeouts. Samardzija presents a similar value in FanDuel contests as he sports a middling salary but looks to capitalize with a projected seven-plus strikeouts.
Catchers
Top Projected: Wilson Ramos ($3,900 DraftKings), Kurt Suzuki ($3,500 FanDuel) Ramos, who is having another great season, looks to have a good matchup against Zach Eflin, who has given up 26 hits in 22 innings this season. Similarly, Suzuki looks to have a solid performance as he gets to hit against Jeff Hoffman, who has given up nine runs in just over eight innings.
Best Value: Buster Posey ($3,400 DraftKings/$2,600 FanDuel) Posey is off to a meager start but presents value at his middling salary as he projects to have at least one hit tonight.
First Base
Top Projected: Freddie Freeman ($5,300 DraftKings/$4,100 FanDuel) Freeman is off to another great year that sees him slashing .316 /.444/ .481. He projects to continue his dominance tonight.
Best Value: Chris Davis ($2,700 DraftKings), Tyler Austin ($2,000 FanDuel) Chris Davis doesn’t project well, but his salary is still disproportionately depressed. He is a good bargain bin option. Austin presents a similar value as he sports the lowest FanDuel salary at the position despite being off to a respectable year thus far.
Second Base
Top Projected: Jose Altuve ($5,000 DraftKings/$4,400 FanDuel) Altuve is our top projected second baseman, as he is hitting for contact per usual, but doing so while also slugging .563 with eight home runs through 25 games.
Best Value: Ben Zobrist ($3,100 DraftKings), Joey Wendle ($2,100 FanDuel) Zobrist and Wendle both project to outperform their cheap salaries with respectable outings this evening with both projected to get on base at least once.
Third Base
Top Projected: Alex Bregman ($4,800 DraftKings/$4,100 FanDuel) Bregman, like Altuve, is off to a monster start that has him hitting well across the board, as he’s slashing .314/.430/.543. He is our top start at third base for the slate.
Best Value: Travis Shaw ($3,200 DraftKings/$2,300 FanDuel) Shaw hasn’t done much to this point but presents a strong value at his low salary with a good chance to get on base at least once against the rival Cardinals.
Shortstop
Top Projected: Francisco Lindor ($4,900 DraftKings/$4,000 FanDuel) Lindor is our top projected shortstop for the slate, as he gets to hit against Pablo Lopez and the rest of the mediocre Marlins pitching staff.
Best Value: Brandon Crawford ($2,900 DraftKings/$2,100 FanDuel) Crawford is dirt cheap and is projected to get on base at least once. He presents a strong bargain bin option on both sites.
Outfield
Top Projected: Juan Soto ($5,000 DraftKings/$4,300 FanDuel), Mike Trout ($5,500 DraftKings/$4,900 FanDuel), Christian Yelich ($5,800 DraftKings/$5,100 FanDuel) Soto is down to earth after a surreal rookie year, but projects as the best outfielder of the slate. Trout is Trout; not much else need be said. Yelich is slugging an absurd .820 and looks to make good on every penny of his bloated salary.
Best Value: Brandon Nimmo ($4,000 DraftKings), Gerardo Parra ($3,400 DraftKings/$2,200 FanDuel), Matt Kemp ($3,500 DraftKings/$2,200 FanDuel), Scott Schebler ($2,000 FanDuel) All of these options are strong bargain bin plays with none projected to perform particularly well, but well enough to make the best of their deflated salaries.
STATS Picks (DraftKings) STATS Picks are what our model considers to be the most optimal lineup for the slate (on DraftKings) based on a mix of our projections and how the salary cap would be best spent to get the most out of every single roster selection.
Pitching Patrick Corbin ($8,800) Zach Wheeler ($7,800)
Catcher Buster Posey ($3,400)
First Base Anthony Rizzo ($4,000)
Second Base Jeff McNeil ($4,100)
Third Base Justin Turner ($3,600)
Shortstop Brandon Crawford ($2,900)
Outfield Juan Soto ($5,000) Mike Trout ($5,500) Adam Eaton ($4,800) [/av_textblock]
