DraftKings players dig the long ball.
With one swing of the bat, position players can almost certainly exceed their per-game average for fantasy points and give your lineup a huge boost. When hunting for home run-hitting candidates on Friday’s schedule, you should focus on two matchups.
Of all the pitchers scheduled to throw on Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays’ R.A. Dickey (17) and Chicago White Sox’s John Danks (15) have allowed the most home runs this season. With Dickey taking on the New York Yankees and Danks facing the Kansas City Royals, there are at least two players you may want to target.
Going Deep on Friday?
Alex Rodriguez ($4,700)
He has his haters, but Alex Rodriguez has been outstanding this season with a .284 batting average, 24 homers and 63 RBI. He’s averaging just under nine fantasy points per game, and he’s in a good position to have a strong performance against Dickey on Friday.
A-Rod has faced the knuckleballer 27 times in his career and has produced a .296 batting average against him. Among the eight hits he’s managed, two of them have left the yard. He hasn’t homered since July 27. That’s a span of 10 games.
That’s A-Rod’s second-longest stretch of the season without a homer (he went 13 games without a dinger from May 28-June 12). Against a guy who gives up a ton of home runs—and with the game taking place in a hitter-friendly park like Yankee Stadium—A-Rod’s a good pick to end his homer drought.
Eric Hosmer ($4,500)
The Royals’ slugging first baseman hasn’t taken Danks deep yet in his career, but Friday seems like as good a time as any. The White Sox’s starter has been terribly inconsistent in his last five starts, while Hosmer‘s bat is heating up. Danks has allowed four or more runs in five of his last 10 starts. He’s mixed in some solid performances as well, but he’s truly been a mixed bag.
In his last three games, Hosmer is hitting .500. He hasn’t homered in that stretch. In fact, his last long balls came in back-to-back games on July 27 and 28 against the Cleveland Indians. Like A-Rod vs. Dickey, this looks like the right spot for Hosmer to send a souvenir to fans and a double-digit fantasy performance to DK players who draft him.
Bargain Pitcher
There are seven pitchers with DK salaries of $10,000 or above Friday. Chances are you’re going to have to draft one of them. It’s also likely you won’t be able to take a second one near that cost, which means a lower-salaried pitcher could be the difference between winning and losing a contest.
Here’s a bargain pitcher you might want to think hard about drafting:
Lance Lynn ($9,600)
At just under $10,000 in DK salary, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Lance Lynn could provide a high-value performance against the Milwaukee Brewers. Lynn had a rough start in his last appearance, but that wasn’t indicative of the way he’s pitched most of the season.
In his three starts prior to the 7.3-fantasy-point performance against the Colorado Rockies on August 1, Lynn had averaged 25.7 fantasy points per game.
Facing a Brewers’ offense that has been unpredictable, Lynn is a potential stud for Friday’s game. The Brewers’ bats seemed to awaken in their last series against the San Diego Padres, but prior to that, the team was held to just eight runs in a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs.
In nine games against the Cardinals this season, the Brewers have managed just 2.3 runs per game. Milwaukee has had some success against Lynn this season (.297 batting average against), but according to his track record and the Brewers’ on-and-off offense, the right-hander is due for a strong performance.
Stackable Lineups
Arizona Diamondbacks
Paul Goldschmidt ($5,600) and Co. will take their hacks against the Cincinnati Reds’ Raisel Iglesias. The 25-year-old from Cuba has allowed at least four runs in three of his last five starts and four home runs in that time. On the season, his ERA is 5.13, and though he’s had one solid start in August, he’s coming off a rough month in July. In three starts in July, Iglesias‘ ERA was 6.19.
The Diamondbacks’ bats fell a bit flat Thursday in an 8-3 loss to the Washington Nationals, but the up-and-down Iglesias should be a welcomed sight for the Arizona offense.
Detroit Tigers
The Boston Red Sox’s Joe Kelly has been knocked around in each of his last four starts. He’s given up at least four runs in all of those appearances. As a result, his ERA has ballooned to 6.11.
The Detroit Tigers still don’t have Miguel Cabrera back, but the lineup has enough pop to take advantage of Kelly. Ian Kinsler is hitting .517 in his last seven games. He hit a walk-off home run to beat the Royals on Thursday night.
J.D. Martinez has 29 home runs, and he’s hitting .300 with two long balls in his last nine games. Victor Martinez had two home runs in the aforementioned win over Kansas City. Detroit’s recent offensive success and Kelly’s struggles on the mound make the Tigers a good team to consider tabbing for multiple position players.
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