Daily Dime: Going with Dallas Keuchel, Jason Kipnis and some bargains
Here are 10 DFS recommendations for Saturday’s slate on Yahoo but be sure to double-check the weather and lineups before first pitch approaches.
Dallas Keuchel, SP, vs. Ari (Hellickson), $48: He’s coming off a poor start but still owns an 18:0 K:BB ratio over his last two outings. Keuchel has a 9.3 K/9 rate with a 1.13 ERA and 0.88 WHIP at home this season, with a .185 BAA. Keuchel has a 49:3 K:BB ratio over his past six starts, as he’s quickly becoming one of the best starters in baseball. The Astros are the biggest favorites on the board Saturday (-200), yet there are five pitchers priced higher than Keuchel.
Chris Heston, SP, at Tex (Hamels), $25: This obviously isn’t the best matchup in Texas with Cole Hamels the opposing pitcher, but Heston has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last nine starts, a span in which he’s posted a 1.92 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP over 61.0 innings, when he’s been the No. 7 fantasy starting pitcher. The Rangers have scored the seventh fewest runs when facing right-handed pitchers this season, and Heston is priced as the lowest starting pitcher among Saturday’s slate.
Buster Posey, C, at Tex (Hamels), $13: He’s up against a tough opposing pitcher in Hamels, but this is clearly the best hitting catcher in baseball who has a .913 OPS away from home this season and a career .951 OPS against southpaws. With the DH available, it’s a safe bet he’ll be batting cleanup in San Francisco’s lineup Saturday, and there are 10 catchers priced higher.
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, at Mil (Garza), $17: He has 15 homers and 10 steals with a .526 slugging percentage over 274 at bats when facing RHP this season. Matt Garza has a 1.70 WHIP versus LHB on the year. This seems like a good combo.
Jason Kipnis, 2B, at Oak (Brooks), $17: His OPS is more than 50 points higher than the next closest second baseman in MLB, and it’s 1.009 against RHP. Opposing pitcher Aaron Brooks has allowed 16 earned runs over 7.0 innings during his brief major league career.
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, at CWS (Danks), $20: He has a 1.054 OPS against lefties this season, and John Danks has served up 12 homers with a .320 BAA and a 1.63 WHIP over 81.2 innings against right-handed batters.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, vs. KC (Ventura), $17: This may not be an ideal matchup, but Tulowitzki is clearly the best hitting shortstop in baseball, and his price here would rank him as the No. 19 most expensive outfielder.
Chris Young, OF, at CWS (Danks), $16: He’s batting .371/.426/.711 against left-handed pitchers this season, and as mentioned above, Danks has struggled against RHB.
Chris Coghlan, OF, at Mil (Garza), $14: He has 11 homers and nine steals over 269 at bats when facing righties this year. It’s a tiny sample, but Coghlan owns a .417/.417/.833 line over 12 career at bats versus Garza.
Will Venable, OF, at Mia (Urena), $12: He typically bats leadoff against righties and has hit safely in five straight games, including swiping bags in his last two. He’s super cheap and will be facing a pitcher who owns a career 19:17 K:BB ratio over 42.1 innings.
