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Daily Dime: Wacha, Panda and other Friday delights

Daily Dime: Wacha, Panda and other Friday delights

I'm back from vacation, thrown immediately into the DFS fire. We have some wetness in the Friday forecast, so buyers beware. Prepare to tweak lineups as needed.

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Michael Wacha, P, vs. SD (Cashner), $8600 at FanDuel: OK, sure, Kershaw is the best available starter on Friday, even if he's facing a pretty fair opposing starter (Syndergaard). But Kershaw is also Friday's priciest option, massively more expensive than Wacha, a guy with a 1.10 WHIP. St. Louis hosts the Pads, and San Diego enters the day ranked next-to-last in the N.L. in on-base percentage (.295).

Pablo Sandoval, 3B, vs. Hou (Straily), $2400: Straily is obviously a hittable right-hander and Sandoval is slashing .314/.366/.492 against RHPs this year. Panda's performance versus lefties has been atrocious, as most of you know, but he's a quality option in this spot.

Jonathan Lucroy, C, at Cin (Lorenzen), $3000: Weather is a concern in Cincinnati on Friday night, but Lucroy would be a terrific play, assuming no PPD. He's 8-for-15 over his last three games with a double, one walk and five RBIs. Signs of life, at last.

J.J. Hardy, SS, at CWS (Danks), $2600: John Danks is starting for the White Sox, and ... well, that's all you need to know. Please consider stacking a few O's.

Luis Valbuena, 3B, at Bos (Masterson), $3400: Masterson has not retired a left-handed batter since Tony Womack in 2005. Go ahead, look it up.

David Ortiz, 1B, vs. Hou (Straily), $2900: Papi has homered in three of his past five games, and Straily has allowed 37 bombs over 243.2 major league innings (1.37 HR/9). At this price, Ortiz frees up cash for a few luxury buys.

Ubaldo Jimenez, P, at CWS (Danks), $8400: If Ubaldo can simply hold Chicago to single-digit runs, he'll surely beat Danks. Jimenez didn't allow more than three earned runs in any of his six June starts, going 4-0 with 42 Ks in 35.2 innings during the month. He can handle the Sox here.

Rougned Odor, 2B, vs. LAA (Richards), $2700: The kid is simply scorching hot, with 11 hits (including four XBHs) over his last six games. Richards has owned him to this point in their careers (6 Ks, 1-for-9), but Odor seems to have unlocked some new level of performance. At this price, I'm playing the streak.

Kole Calhoun, OF, at Tex (Gonzalez), $2300: Stubborn though it may seem, I still have faith in Calhoun. He's hitting near the top of the order, ahead of Trout and Pujols, and Friday's matchup isn't so scary. Despite the stellar fantasy ratios, Gonzalez has only K'd 14 batters in his 41.2 major league innings.

Eugenio Suarez, SS, vs. Mil (Fiers), $2600: A quality hitter at a near-minimum price, facing a sketchy starter (1.47 WHIP). Let's not make this game any harder than it needs to be. If the rain stays away, Suarez will score.