Daily Fantasy Strategy – 8/31 – For Draftstreet

Tomorrow marks the start of September, which means expanded rosters and frustrating lineup cards from managers. For the month, it’s likely you’ll want to stack your picks with the same start time so that you can easily go in at the last minute and adjust as guys are benched or started. It also means occasionally my picks, which go live at 10 a.m., will have a guy on the bench. Be forgiving.

It also means there are a few more interesting names to dial up. Zach Sanders has started to write up the interesting names who could be getting call ups. I’ll highlight a few notable names below so you can be prepared to move on them next week.

Danny Duffy – Sanders highlighted his strikeout potential and he didn’t disappoint in his debut on Thursday night, striking out seven over 6.7 shutout frames.

Billy Hamilton – Look, you’re going to be tempted by the steals. As Sanders notes, though, he hasn’t had a great year otherwise, struggling to reach base. He has 405 steals in 517 career minor league games, making him oh so enticing. He’ll be a match-up play to start, though.

Taijuan Walker – Walker looked great on Friday despite only striking out two, showing a nice pitch mix. The Mariners need something to get their fans excited and a taste of the 20-year old phenom could do the trick. Be aware that he’s only going to go five innings a start.

Reymond Fuentes – Another target for steals, Fuentes has great plate discipline and finally put it together for a plus hitting season for really the first time in his career this year. There’s a solid chance he’s overmatched down the stretch, as he’s only had 67 plate appearances at Triple-A.

The Daily Five
Will Middlebrooks – $6,510
There’s a strong wind blowing up and over the monster, making any righty enticing against lefty John Danks. Danks isn’t terrible, but Middlebrooks has been tearing it up since his early-August recall, posting a 152 wRC+. While Middlebrooks uses the whole field, he’s also shown an ability to pull the ball for power.

Chris Rusin – $8,604
There are a lot of cheap starters today but very few are in a position to succeed. Rusin doesn’t blow anybody away with strikeouts but he limits the walks and keeps the ball on the ground. The Phillies are also pretty poor against lefties with just a .290 wOBA and a 20.7% strikeout rate.

Jedd Gyorko – $7,175
Another righty who’s had a hot August drawing a lefty, only this time the lefty is Chris Capuano who, as you may have heard, is Chris Capuano. Generally you can’t buy into hot streaks continue but Gyorko comes at an acceptable price. I should note that Gyorko is always a bit of a risky play due to his horrific K:BB profile, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take in this matchup.

Carlos Gomez – $8,490
Jerome Williams does a pretty good job keeping the ball on the ground but has allowed an above-average HR/FB rate almost every time he’s been in the majors, a problem that’s only gotten worse since joining the Angels in 2011. That won’t play at Miller Park. Unfortunately, that’s priced into a lot of Brewers already, so I’m rolling with Gomez, who also has great stolen base potential against the team that’s allowed more of them than anyone else this year. That doesn’t lower the downside at this price, but it does provide multiple paths to profit.

Lance Lynn – $11,796
I know the Pirates are good, but they strike out a lot against right handed pitchers, making them an enticing play. That 21.9% strikeout rate comes with just a .306 wOBA, too. We’re also thin on quality starting pitchers at reasonable prices today, so I’ve tabbed Lynn for the whiff potential.

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