Welcome to SuperDraft. Tired of salary-cap based DFS contests? In the mood for something refreshing and new? At SuperDraft, you can start any player available on the slate and receive differing multiplier bonuses based on the players you use.
Jacob deGrom, an annual Cy Young Award candidate, has zero multiplier because having him in your lineup should be reward enough. However, if you start someone with upside, but as inconsistent as Matt Boyd, you get a 1.6x multiplier. The multipliers vary, making for some interesting strategy sessions as you have to pit raw production against multiplier production when making lineup decisions.
Tonight’s slate features contests from 7:10 p.m. EST onward only. This means we miss out on highly attractive matchups like the New York Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles, and the Milwaukee Brewers against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is important not to get too cute in setting lineups by chasing high multipliers only, as a combination of high-floor and high-multiplier based upside usually lead to ideal results. Let’s take a look at some of tonight’s top plays.
Jacob deGrom (SP – NYM): 1x Multiplier
At SuperDraft, where there is no salary cap, deGrom should be a lineup fixture every time he takes the mound. He was pulled after five scoreless innings in his season debut, breaking the major league record for the most starts with five or more scoreless innings without picking up the win.
Facing the Red Sox has not been historically looked at as a potential plus matchup, but when you have one of the best pitchers in baseball against a Boston team in transition, you fire deGrom up. He may struggle to replicate his Opening Day outing’s 25 fantasy points if he only goes five innings again. With a longer start, however, deGrom should exceed that tally, making him a strong play despite the lack of a multiplier.
Matt Boyd (SP – DET): 1.6x Multiplier
Matt Boyd was one of the best pitchers in baseball early in the 2019 season. He started to struggle as the season wore on and became more of a matchup-based play. His second half was uneven, but there were still strong starts mixed in with the horrible ones. He gets one of the worst teams in the American League (apart from his own team and the Orioles) tonight, making him an interesting contrarian play for tournament entries.
He is a little riskier for cash games, but if you believe the Royals are a team to target, Boyd makes for an attractive play at his 1.6x multiplier. Boyd had 29 strikeouts in 20.2 innings against Kansas City last season, but he will need to show good command to walk away with a quality start.
Cody Bellinger (OF – LAD): 1.3x Multiplier
Cristian Javier was an impressive minor league pitcher, but the Astros would have done well to push back his start and avoid the Los Angeles Dodgers in his MLB debut. Javier will take Justin Verlander’s place in the lineup. Unless he has prolonged struggles, he is likely in the big leagues to stay.
Cody Bellinger has a solid 1.3x multiplier in a plus-plus matchup, making him one of the most attractive plays on the slate. He has scored 6.1 fantasy points per game at SuperDraft, putting him 1.1 points ahead of Mookie Betts pre-multiplier.
Max Muncy (1B – LAD): 1.3x Multiplier
Max Muncy had a hot start to the season, but rolling with him tonight is more about facing off against Javier. With that said, Muncy has scored 11.1 fantasy points per game at SuperDraft thus far on the young season, making him an extremely attractive option regardless of who is on the mound.
While Muncy has an alluring 1.3 multiplier, we should keep in mind that the multiplier may make him a bit of a chalk play in SuperDraft tournaments and cash games. He has struggled since his two-home run outing in the second game of the season, but welcoming a rookie to the league may just be what the doctor ordered to cure whatever ailment has kept Muncy hitless in his last three contests.
Yoenis Cespedes (OF – NYM): 1.95x Multiplier
Aside from his Opening Day mash, which made him the first-ever designated hitter to hit a home run in a game between two National League teams, Yoenis Cespedes has been a disappointment this season. He is not someone to chase on regular nights, but consider him with Mets facing an easier test in Nathan Eovaldi.
This is especially true when taking his SuperDraft multiplier into account. A 1.95x multiplier makes him a potential tournament-winning option who should not appear in too many entries. He has been bad enough this season to be a contrarian play, one which could yield a truly unique lineup when combined with Boyd. Despite the poor play this season, Cespedes is still averaging a healthy 5.8 fantasy points per game at SuperDraft.
Pete Alonso (1B – NYM): 1.25x Multiplier
Pete Alonso has struggled this season, but could have a bounce-back performance against Eovaldi. While Boston’s right-hander had a good first start against Baltimore, he is a replacement-level pitcher at best. Eovaldi had a 5.99 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in 2019, making him someone to target this season regardless of his previous start.
Alonso has eight strikeouts to just two hits on the season, averaging just 4.6 SuperDraft points per game, but he should get his ratios back in order. That push could very well come tonight. Alonso has a big enough name and game to appear in quite a few tournament and cash game entries, but he remains a top play due to the superb matchup.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyContext.
