Thursday’s slate of MLB action includes 10 games, five during the day and five at night. DraftKings daily fantasy players have a limited number of choices available in both the afternoon and evening contests. The key to success might not be how the stars in your lineup perform, but whether or not the cheaper players on your roster contribute points as well.
Factors such as recent hot streaks and favorable matchups make these five low-cost options solid sleeper picks for August 6.
Afternoon
Joe Ross, SP, Washington Nationals ($8,700)
After Zack Greinke and Michael Wacha, pitching prospects in the early games drop off considerably. Joe Ross is likely the best of the rest.
Ross makes only his seventh career start on Thursday, but he’s been quite impressive through his first six. He’s lasted at least five innings in each outing while never surrendering more than three runs. As MLB Stat of the Day noted, Ross is showing spectacular control for a rookie:
Over 39 innings, Ross has 40 strikeouts and just four walks. He’s also holding opposing hitters to a .221 batting average.
Yangervis Solarte, 1B/2B, San Diego Padres ($3,400)
Yangervis Solarte is tearing the cover off the ball lately. Solarte currently owns an 11-game hitting streak, with multiple base knocks in six of his last eight contests. In that stretch, his season batting average has risen from .246 to .269.
Solarte owns much better numbers when playing away from spacious Petco Park this season. All seven of his home runs have come on the road, where he’s averaging 6.6 fantasy points per game, as opposed to 4.9 at home.
In two career plate appearances facing Milwaukee Brewers starter Matt Garza, Solarte is 1-for-1 with a walk and an RBI.
Evening
Mark Buehrle, SP, Toronto Blue Jays ($8,900)
Among a very thin field of pitching talent, Mark Buehrle may be the most reliable arm on the mound on Thursday night.
Buehrle has pitched at least six innings in 14 of his last 15 starts, with the lone exception being a 5.2-inning stint on July 26. In addition, he hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in a game in June, July or August, a span of 11 straight appearances.
The lefty has also yielded only one walk in his last 44.2 innings, dating back to June 26.
Above are highlights from Buehrle’s previous outing against the Minnesota Twins on May 29, in which he threw a complete game, walked none and allowed just one hit after the first inning.
Josh Reddick, OF, Oakland A’s ($4,100)
Josh Reddick is day-to-day with a sore back and hasn’t started since Sunday, although he entered Wednesday’s game as a pinch hitter and logged two innings of defense in right field.
Assuming he’s back in the lineup on Thursday, Reddick is an excellent play against the Houston Astros’ Scott Feldman. Reddick has five extra-base hits in 23 career at-bats versus Feldman, including three home runs.
Reddick is also much happier when facing right-handed pitchers—11 of his 13 homers and 48 of his 58 RBI have come off of righties. He’s also batting .312 against right-handers, compared to .190 versus lefties.
Ryan Goins, 2B/SS, Toronto Blue Jays ($2,300)
If you’re low on cash and need to fill out your squad with a middle infielder, Ryan Goins is your man. The Blue Jays second baseman owns a modest four-game hitting streak, during which he’s 6-for-11. Goins has also reached base in six straight contests.
As Toronto play-by-play man Mike Wilner pointed out, Goins is an on-base machine at the moment:
To further boost his fantasy value, Goins has scored eight runs in a span of eight games. At a bargain price of $2,300, a few points from Goins could make the difference between winning money and finishing empty-handed.
All prices courtesy of DraftKings. Statistics via MLB.com unless otherwise noted. Mark Vandeusen is an MLB featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @LucidSportsFan.
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