Here’s the picks the Touts are counting on in tonight’s Tout Daily DFS Contest.
Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)
Pitcher: Masahiro Tanaka – This feels like a trap game and goes against my preference of using DFS pitchers at home, so I’ll likely hedge it in a different contest.
Hitter: Braden Bishop – Platoon edge on Wade Miley, leaging off, essentially a free square.
Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)
Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard – Even the Marvel Comics character Thor was once stripped of his powers, but managed to regain his strength and glory. I see the same for the Mets equivalent in Noah “Thor” Syndergaard tonight aginst a weak San Francisco Giants hitting team. He’s priced moderately cheap at $9,600 and has extra incentive tonight as he opposes Madison Bumgarner. Here is to Thor raising the hammer tonight.
Hitter: Christian Yelich – Yelich let me down last week with a late scratch, so he owe’s me one. He has 4 home runs in his past 10 games. He’s not cheap at $5,900, but worth the investment at home against Miami’s Pablo Lopez.
Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy)
Pitcher: Blake Snell – If you’re going to pay up for pitching, I’ll take Snell against a Tigers team that struggles a bunch against left-handed pitching and are striking out over 26% of the time against them.
Hitter: Ramon Laureano – A modest bargain on DK, but a great value on FD. He’s on a 15-game hit streak with eight doubles, two home runs, four RBI, six runs scored and a stolen base.
Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy)
Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard – For $9,600 I have a pitcher who strikes out 1 out of every 4 batters he faces and the Giants strike out just under 9 times per game. The Giants are 27th in runs per game and 28th in OPS. Advantage Syndergaard.
Hitter: Austin Riley – 8 homers, 22 RBIs and an OPS of 1.083 for $4,900 and he faces Brault, a lefty, this evening in Pittsburgh. Versus lefties Riley has 7 hits in 18 ABs including 5 home runs. He’s a must play.
Gene McCaffrey (The Athletic, @WiseGuyGene)
Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard – If he’s ever going to dominate it’s at home against the Giants – and I bet the Mets let him pitch close to a, whaddya call it, complete game.
Hitter: Manny Machado – Looks like he’s heating up, have to take the chance at $3800.
Tim Heaney (Rotowire, ESPN, @TeamHeaney)
Pitcher: Chris Paddack – The Phillies’ lineup looks slightly less daunting without Andrew McCutchen (knee), and Paddack is nails at home with a 1.42 ERA.
Hitter: Elias Diaz – A catcher batting fifth is typically a value I’d chase, especially at $3,500, and Diaz’s career .344 wOBA versus southpaws typically makes him a near instant click in those matchups.
Michael Florio (NFL Network, @MichaelFFlorio)
Pitcher: Blake Snell – Blake Snell is the biggest favorite on the slate, plus he is facing a Tigers team that has the sixth highest strikeout rate against lefties (26.4%) and rank 22nd in terms of wOBA (.305) against south paws. You have to pay, but it is wise to pay up for Snell tonight.
Hitter: Ronald Acuna – Acuna is leading off for the Braves agaist lefty Steven Brault. Acuna has hit .302 with a .340 ISO against lefties, plus Brault has been anything but intimidating this season. At only $4,500, Acuna feels like a great value here.
Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner)
Pitcher: Max Fried – So many good pitchers on the slate tonight, you can’t help but pick a couple good ones. I’ll go with Fried at a relatively paltry $7800 vs. a Pirates lineup without Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco.
Hitter: Manny Machado – At $3800? This must be a misprint.
Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)
Pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez – Looking to pay down to afford some better bats. E-Rod has produced around 20 DK points in four of his last starts.
Hitter: All the Houston – Astros as much as possible against the worst starter on the board.