Welcome to today's daily fantasy post! Remember that you can find our posts on the DFS home page, as well as the fantasy page. Bookmark those sites now!
You might be wondering where D.J. Foster is today. As much as he'd like to be offering his usual Saturday DFS picks, his wedding narrowly edged out your daily fantasy fortunes on the priority list. Congratulations to D.J. and Allison!
We'll cover all players below, but remember that four of today's games are in the afternoon, starting with with Rays-Yankees at 1:05 p.m. ET. Please note that much of the information in this post is being published several hours prior to game times, so check MLB lineups later to confirm that any recommended players are included.
Now, let's start the first day of our cold, dark, A-Rod-less baseball world ...
5 Things to Watch:
1. Kyle Hendricks ($11,400) are the day's biggest favorite at -225 over the Cardinals, with Jacob deGrom ($12,200) close behind at -205 over a surprising Padres' lineup that has averaged 5.5 runs per game in August.
2. Diamondbacks-Rays has the day's highest projected run total at 10, with Tigers-Rangers following up at 9.5. The lowest is 7.5 for Padres-Mets, Mariners-A's and Orioles-Giants.
3. Questionable for today are Dustin Pedroia (flu), Brett Gardner (ankle), Francisco Cervelli (wrist), Carlos Gonzalez (ankle) and Bryce Harper (neck).
4. Yo, BvPers: There's not much for you today. Jays Josh Donaldson ($5,100) and Michael Saunders ($3,600) have each homered twice in limited at bats vs. Collin McHugh ... Martin Prado ($4,000) has five hits - including a homer - and a 1.583 OPS in 10 at bats vs. James Shields.
5. In a move akin to a harsh fraternity initiation, the Cardinals will let SP Luke Weaver ($4,200) make his MLB debut against the Cubs at Wrigley Field today. Weaver has a 1.30 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 83 innings between Double A and Triple A this season. May the force be with young Mr. Weaver as he tries to stop the Cubs' 11-game winning streak.
Our recommendations for the day are below!
Yesterday's recap:
Jose Altuve had nine DK points as Adam Meyer's must start, while an Astros' stack netted you 39 if you used the top four batters. "Deal of the day" Dylan Bundy was solid, tallying 17.8 DK points while notching a win over the Giants.
Must Start of the day: Freddie Freeman, ATL
Freeman is raking, notching 33, 13 and 31 DK points in his last three games. He's $5K tonight against Nats' rookie Reynaldo Lopez.
Deal of the day: Aaron Altherr, PHI
Altherr has hit well since being activated from the DL (10.5 DK ppg in 14 games). He bats high in the order, faces a lefty, and costs just $2,700 today.
Avoid of the day: The Blue Jays
The Jays are always costly, and Collin McHugh struck out 10 of them on August 3. McHugh has been mostly good lately, too. We know this recommendation has the potential to blow up in our faces.
Stack of the day: Atlanta Braves
If you go with really cheap pitching - say, Eickhoff/Duffey - you can spend on Twins' hitters that all go for $5K-plus against Dillon Gee, or use some Red Sox/Rangers/Cubs. If you need to be more frugal, consider Freeman and his Braves' teammates (Inciarte/Aybar/Kemp/Markakis) against Lopez. The Braves don't strike out often, rank eighth in MLB in wOBA over the last month (.323), and might have a $4,100 Matt Kemp hitting cleanup.
Starting pitchers:
Madison Bumgarner, SF: If you're going to spend here, do it with MadBum against the overrated O's, who rank 26th in the majors in wOBA (.290) over the past month.
Masahiro Tanaka, NYY: You can save with Tanaka at $9,100 vs. the mediocre Rays.
Jerad Eickhoff, PHI: Only $6,900, and give him bonus points if CarGo doesn't play.
Tyler Duffey, MIN: The Royals have been terrible, with an MLB-worst .270 wOBA and .618 OPS over the last month. Duffey might be righting his ship after two consecutive good starts with 14 Ks in 12 innings. It'll only cost you $5,700 to take this calculated risk.
Catchers:
Jonathan Lucroy, TEX: Six home runs in his last six starts, and faces gopher-balling Matt Boyd. It seems like Lucroy should be $44,700 instead of $4,700 for this matchup. He'd be a must-start if Rupp wasn't $1K cheaper.
Cameron Rupp, PHI: $3,700, with a .387 wOBA in 143 career PA vs. LHP.
First basemen:
Anthony Rizzo, CHC: $5,400 vs. a pitcher in his first MLB start.
Freddie Freeman, ATL: "Must start of the day."
Kennys Vargas, MIN: The cheapest decent Twin at $4,200.
Hanley Ramirez, BOS: Hit two homers on Friday, $3,500 vs. Archie Bradley.
Second basemen:
Brian Dozier, MIN: $5,100 vs. Gee.
Rougned Odor, TEX: $5K, faces Boyd, four double-digit DK games in his last six.
Trea Turner, WAS: $4,400, also eligible at OF.
Scooter Gennett, MIL: $3,500, bats third or fourth, faces the solid Dan Straily in Cincy's hitter's park. He's got 10 homers this season.
Third basemen:
Miguel Sano, MIN: If you stack Twins, he's $5K. Also fits at OF.
Kris Bryant, CHC: $4,900 seems cheap vs. Weaver.
Maikel Franco, PHI: Not hitting lately, but interesting for $3,100 vs. Rockies' lefty Tyler Anderson.
Shortstops:
Erick Aybar, ATL: Really? Yes, if you stack Braves. $4K, and has four double-digit DK games in his last 10. No power, though.
Chris Owings, ARI: $3,900, has 11 hits in his last five games, faces Clay Buchholz. Also works at OF.
Didi Gregorius, NYY: Only $3,700 vs. Matt Andriese in tiny Yankee Stadium, where Didi has a .359 wOBA this season. Batting cleanup today.
Tyler Saladino, CHW: Homered Friday, $3,100 and might bat second vs. Adam Conley.
Outfielders:
Max Kepler, MIN: Expensive at $5,400 vs. Gee, but he's the real deal.
Ender Inciarte, ATL: $4,700, Braves' stack.
Matt Kemp, ATL: $4,100, Braves' stack.
Aaron Altherr, PHI: "Deal of the day."
