This has been a frustrating week from a fantasy perspective. The wildfires in Canada have destroyed the air quality across the east coast, leading to multiple postponements. We’re praying that’s the end of it because it’s terrible for DFS and even worse for our health as humans! That does bring up an interesting point, though, because checking the weather is one of the most undervalued variables when playing MLB DFS. It’s the only major sport that really has cancellations from weather, and some of those decisions aren’t made until after we post our lineups. Just be sure to monitor the weather before every DFS slate!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
| PLAYER | DK SALARY | FD SALARY | VALUE | RISK |
| Michael Kopech (CWS) vs. MIA | $9,100 | $9,600 | Medium | Medium |
| Kodai Senga (NYM) at PIT | $9,800 | $9,400 | Medium | High |
| Julio Teheran (MIL) vs. OAK | $8,700 | $8,700 | Medium | High |
| Jared Shuster (ATL) vs. WAS | $6,700 | $7,100 | High | High |
Starting Pitcher Strategy
This is one of the worst slates I can remember from a pitching perspective. I didn’t even want to recommend anyone for the cash game section because I don’t trust a single pitcher. With that said, we do have one of the hottest pitchers in baseball facing one of the worst teams. We’ll ride him as our sole cash game option, so let’s start there!
Cash Game Recommendations:
Michael Kopech (CWS) vs. MIA
Kopech has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last month. The right-hander has scored at least 46 FanDuel points in three of his last four outings, posting a 2.32 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and 12.5 K/9 rate across his last five starts. That’s incredible from a player in this price range, and the matchup with Miami is far from menacing. The Marlins rank 25th in xwOBA, 24th in K rate, and 26th in runs scored.
Hitter Strategy
There’s no doubt that this is one of the worst pitching slates of the season. That means we’ll have a ton of salary to work with when it comes to bats, and it should be easy to construct a build with whatever lineup you want. Stacking the Coors Field game is the obvious choice, but there are still plenty of offenses we love. Some of the other lineups we want to stack that we didn’t mention include the Cubs, Angels, Padres, Tigers, and Royals.
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Whether you’re new to fantasy baseball or a seasoned pro, our Fantasy Baseball 101: Strategy Tips & Advice page is for you. You can get started with our Sabermetrics Glossary or head to a more advanced strategy – like Maximizing Your Potential in Multi-Lineup Contests – to learn more.