Chris Sale will look to turn in another dominant start Friday
Welcome to a full Friday slate of games for FanDuel contests. Yesterday’s “cheat sheet” lineup wasn’t too hot, scoring 18.50 points, 17 of them coming from Jake Arrieta. That isn’t to say our FanDuel cheat sheet is a total bust, but it should be used as a guide instead of infallible scripture. Be sure to check out our FanDuel cheat sheet as you craft your lineup but make sure to do some research yourself to justify your picks. Many of my “other notables” will come from the cheat sheet. I’m entering tonight’s lineup in the $1 Bunt GPP game (which allows for only one entry) and a $1 50/50 game.
There are some weather concerns in Boston for the Royals/Red Sox game, and that’s about it for weather tonight. As always, keep yourself updated by following @KevinRothWX on Twitter for up-to-the-minute weather information.
Enter FanDuel’s MLB Rally to win cash 
Pitcher
- Chris Bassitt – OAK vs. TB – $7,600
Bassitt’s price allows me to build a pretty nice offense around him so I’m going with him tonight in my GPP lineup. At home this season, he’s been solid, allowing a .194 batting average and a .246 wOBA to opposing hitters. The Rays are fourth in the majors this season with a 22.0% strikeout percentage against right-handed pitching and have a .297 wOBA and 91 wRC+ against them as well.
- Chris Sale – CWS @ SEA – $12,200
Sale is the second highest priced pitcher tonight and he faces the Mariners in Seattle. In his career, Sale owns a 3-0 record with a 2.41 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP against the Mariners. Seattle is 20th in the league against southpaws this season with a .306 wOBA and a 98 wRC+. Their 21.2% strikeout rate against lefties ranks 15th in the major leagues. Sale is a strong choice tonight and will see high ownership percentages.
Other notables
- David Price – TOR @ LAA – $11,700
- Gio Gonzalez – WAS vs. MIL – $9,600
- Felix Hernandez – SEA vs. CWS – $11,000
- John Lackey – STL @ SD – $9,000
Catcher
- Matt Wieters – BAL vs. MIN – $2,500
Weiters for $2,500 seems like a steal to me. He’s hit safely in nine of his last 10 games with three multi-hit performances. He’s at home against the left-handed Tommy Milone. At home against LHP this season, Wieters owns a .429 batting average with a .481 wOBA and 214 wRC+. Milone has struggled against right-handed hitting on the road this season, allowing a .342 wOBA and a .475 slugging percentage.
Other notables
- Wellington Castillo – ARI @ CIN – $3,400
- Travis d’Arnaud – NYM @ COL – $3,900
- Kyle Schwarber – CHC vs. ATL – $4,500
- Buster Posey – SF @ PIT – $3,500
- Russell Martin – TOR @ LAA – $2,500
- A.J. Pierzynski – ATL @ CHC – $2,700
First Base
- Joey Votto – CIN vs. ARI – $4,200
Votto faces Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa who has trouble against left-handed hitters on the road. This season, lefties are teeing off on Rubby with a .414 wOBA and a .587 slugging percentage. He’s allowed 17 home runs this season to left-handed hitting. Votto has hit 17 of his 22 home runs this season against right-handed pitching. At home, he owns a triple slash of .275/.447/.549 with a .275 ISO against righties this year. His home wOBA of .424 and 171 wRC+ against them isn’t too shabby either.
Other notables
- Paul Goldschmidt – ARI @ CIN – $4,400
- Anthony Rizzo – CHC vs. ATL – $4,200
- Prince Fielder – TEX @ DET – $3,400
- Adrian Gonzalez – LAD @ HOU – $3,300
- Ryan Howard – PHI @ MIA – $3,100
Second Base
- Chase Utley – LAD @ HOU – $2,500
Criminally low BvP alert! Utley has three plate appearances against Mike Fiers in his career and sports a Ruthian 1.167 OPS against him. Don’t worry, I’m not relying on those three plate appearances to make this pick, but I am relying on my gut. Utley has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games with five multi-hit performances including five doubles and one home run. On the road against righties this season, Utley has a solidly low 9.0% strikeout percentage with a .168 ISO. The gut tells me Utley will want to hit the ground running in his first start with the Dodgers, like every player when they join a new team. Minute Maid Park has a nice park factor for left-handed home runs and Mike Fiers has allowed 1.86 HR/9 to left-handed hitters at home this season (although he’s only pitched in one game at home in an Astros uniform and DIDN’T allow a home run in that start, so his HR/9 data is skewed towards his time in Milwaukee).
Other notables
- Dee Gordon – MIA vs. PHI – $4,200
- Brian Dozier – MIN @ BAL – $3,400
- Aaron Hill – ARI @ CIN – $2,300
- Jose Altuve – HOU vs. LAD – $3,900
Third Base
- Manny Machado – BAL vs. MIN – $4,100
Like Wieters, Machado benefits from facing a lefty at home. This season, Machado is hitting .305/.369/.508 with a .203 ISO against lefties at home. Like I mentioned with Wieters, Milone has struggled against right-handed hitting on the road this season, allowing a .342 wOBA and a .475 slugging percentage.
Other notables
- Nolan Arenado – COL vs. NYM – $5,000
- Josh Donaldson – TOR @ LAA – $5,700
- Juan Uribe – NYM @ COL – $3,400
- Daniel Murphy – NYM @ COL – $4,000
- Derek Dietrich – MIA vs. PHI – $3,000
Shortstop
- Adeiny Hechavarria – MIA vs. PHI – $2,600
Hechavarria has been a popular choice for me this week and he hasn’t let me down with a negative performance. He’s hit safely in every one of his previous 10 games with four multi-hit performances. The Marlins will face Jerad Eickhoff, one of the pieces Philadelphia acquired in the Cole Hamels trade. This season at Triple-A, Eickhoff improved as the season went on. With Texas’ Triple-A squad he owned a 4.25 ERA but when he moved to Philly’s affiliate, he posted a 2.49 ERA over 21.2 innings before being called up for tonight’s contest. Will Eickhoff carry his recent success into tonight’s start? I’ll say no and bet on Hechavarria’s solid yet unspectacular floor.
Other notables
- Carlos Correa – HOU vs. LAD – $4,300
- Jose Reyes – COL vs. NYM – $3,600
- Troy Tulowitzki – TOR @ LAA – $3,800
Outfield
- Charlie Blackmon – COL vs. NYM – $4,500
- A.J. Pollock – ARI @ CIN – $4,200
- Andre Ethier – LAD @ HOU – $2,700
The Rockies will be popular tonight against Bartolo Colon at Coors Field. In his career at Coors, batters are hitting .377/.423/.594 against Colon with three home runs allowed in three starts. This season, lefties are hitting .286/.299/.411 against him on the road with a .301 wOBA. Blackmon has been stellar this year at home against right-handed pitching with a .355 wOBA and a 138 wRC+. I like Blackmon for $500 cheaper than Carlos Gonzalez tonight.
Pollock has been terrific over his last 10 games, hitting safely in nine of them with six multi-hit performances including a four-hit effort on Thursday night. His opposing pitcher, David Holmberg, doesn’t have a ton of data to suggest Pollock is an automatic play against him, so this is more of a gut call. In 14.1 innings against righties this season, Holmberg has allowed a .259/.367/.549 batting line with a .390 wOBA.
I’m justifying the Ethier pick the same way I justified the Utley pick. Mike Fiers has allowed a 1.86 HR/9 at home (keep in mind all those home runs came in Milwaukee) to lefties this season and he’s making his second start at Minute Maid Park. Ethier has hit safely in seven of his last 10 games with only one multi-hit performance, but he does have three doubles and one triple over that span. Minute Maid Park plays well for left-handed power and I just think one of those Mike Fiers meatballs will be leaving the park off of a left-handed Dodgers bat tonight. All 12 of Ethier’s home runs this season have come against right-handed pitching, and he has a .320 wOBA with a 106 wRC+ against righties on the road this season.
Other notables
- Yoenis Cespedes – NYM @ COL – $4,900
- Carlos Gonzalez – COL vs. NYM – $5,000
- Bryce Harper – WSH vs. MIL – $4,900
- Lorenzo Cain – KC @ BOS – $4,000
- Adam Jones – BAL vs. MIN – $3,800
- Curtis Granderson – NYM @ COL – $4,700
- Jose Bautista – TOR @ LAA – $4,800
- Mitch Moreland – TEX @ DET – $3,100
- Jay Bruce – CIN vs. ARI – $2,900
- Yasmany Tomas – ARI @ CIN – $2,400
- Ryan Braun – MIL @ WSH – $4,400
- Carlos Gomez – HOU vs. LAD – $3,200
My Lineup
- P: Chris Bassitt – OAK vs. TB – $7,600
- C: Matt Wieters – BAL vs. MIN – $2,500
- 1B: Joey Votto – CIN vs. ARI – $4,200
- 2B: Chase Utley – LAD @ HOU – $2,500
- 3B: Manny Machado – BAL vs. MIN – $4,100
- SS: Adeiny Hechavarria – MIA vs. PHI – $2,600
- OF: Charlie Blackmon – COL vs. NYM – $4,500
- OF: A.J. Pollock – ARI @ CIN – $4,200
- OF: Andre Ethier – LAD @ HOU – $2,700
Remaining salary: $100
JP Gale is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from JP, check out his archive and follow him @gojpg.
