Be sure to checkout tonight's FAWBC Qualifier, winner gets an entry to the $250K Fantasy Aces World Baseball Championship live in Anaheim, California at Angel Stadium August 15. Only 20 will win a trip to the final, the winner takes home $100K.
FantasyAces offers a great selection of contests for Friday night's huge slate of fourteen night games. FantasyAces has its own idiosyncrasies in scoring and positions, so here's a breakdown:
OPS is a great indicator of point potential under the scoring system because walks are worth just as much as singles and the progression of points per extra base is one per. Strikeouts are pretty heavily penalized, so be diligent with hitters prone to strikeouts or those against a high-strikeout pitcher. While on the pitching side, strikeouts aren't quite as overpowering as on other DFS sites, and pitchers that can keep their pitch count low and go deeper into games can be better rewarded.
Also, its worth touching on FantasyAces's two formats. Classic is your run of the mill salary cap format, but SalaryPro is an innovative new format giving those with the best ROI's the advantage. In SalaryPro you earn bonus points for your team's payroll falling under the cap. Here's how it work's specifically:
Every $50 under the cap = +.10 Point (10 bonus points max at $5,000 under cap)* *Bonus doesn't kick in until you are at least $250 under the Salary Cap
Pitchers: Lance Lynn ($6,500) Lynn has an excellent 10.48 K/9 and 2.53 FIP while the Pirates have a high strikeout rate at 8.41 and an all-around below average offense so far this season. Lynn's only issue is his walk-rate, but Pittsburgh is literally the worst team in the majors at drawing walks which should hopefully nullify that issue. Priced securely below the top-tiered pitchers, Lynn still offers top-tier upside. Not to mention the St. Louis bats have been hot; can you say, "run support?"
Carlos Carrasco ($6,750) Carrasco may be the third-highest priced pitcher, but the $1,000 gap between him and Max Scherzer (and Matt Harvey $100 less) is extreme. Carrasco boasts a gaudy 13.2 K/9 so far this season while also keeping his walk and home run rates very low. His 4.60 ERA could not be more misleading, with a .445 opposing batter BABIP and 1.86 FIP. Toronto may be one of the more explosive offensive teams in the majors (they actually lead the league in runs scored), but they strikeout plenty and were held to just one run by Rick Porcello and the poor Red Sox pitching staff Wednesday. Carrasco is a high upside pitcher without the price tag of Harvey and Scherzer.
Chris Heston ($4,750) In terms of pure upside, Heston isn't in the same league as the names above. At this price, the second cheapest available option, Heston could potentially offer a lot of value (especially for those looking to play the SalaryPro format). Heston doesn't give up home runs, has maintained a very low walk rate and is quantitatively an all-around solid pitcher. Taking any pitcher against the Angels last year was a scary proposition, but the team hasn't shown the same offensive prowess this year (outside of Mike Trout, of course), as they are in the bottom half of the league in runs scored.
I'm not going to directly recommend Scherzer or Harvey, as with the big slate of games there is a lot of value out there, but the two aces are undoubtedly lethal. It should be a great pitching duel, and for the record I prefer Harvey and the Mets – albeit by a slight margin.
Catchers: Stephen Vogt ($4,950) Vogt's price is a little inflated being a catcher, but his 1.106 OPS against righties validates it. A weak righty on the mound for the Rangers in a hitter-friendly ballpark should bump this lefty into yet another productive night.
Caleb Joseph ($4,050) For those looking to save on their catcher, Joseph provides a secure option in the powerful Orioles offense while boasting a high walk rate and decent strikeout rate. His .327 batting average won't last, but he's still cheap enough to consider.
Corner Infielders Evan Longoria ($4,950) Batter vs. pitcher is probably one of the most overused stats for DFS. Usually the sample sizes are simply too small to matter, but Longoria is one of the rare sorts that deserve notice. In 36 at-bats against Chris Tillman, Longoria has a ridiculous six home runs.
Joey Votto ($5,450) Votto still has an OPS over 1.000 and gets a first-time starter in righty Mike Foltynewicz, who struggled in his time out of the bullpen during a brief stint in the majors last year. Foltynewicz actually has some high upside in the future, but in his first major-league start, Votto will teach him some valuable lessons.
Adrian Gonzalez ($5,800): Gonzalez still leads the league in OPS and is a very strong play every time he faces a righty, of which he poses a 1.297 OPS and eight home runs against this season.
Yasmany Tomas ($3,650) The Cuban third baseman shuffles between third and sixth in the Diamondbacks' order, and with Jake Lamb still injured, he is frankly way too cheap to not strongly consider deploying each and every night. Tomas' price is the big plus, but he's also backing a .333 batting average and .804 OPS to boot.
Middle Infielders Marcus Semien ($4,500) Semien has a .919 OPS over the last seven days, with a home run and three doubles. The Oakland offense is largely overlooked, but actually ranks fifth in the league in runs scored. Semien has the pleasure of batting second in the order and should be in a prime position to be part of the Athletics' runs-scoring machine.
Jose Altuve ($5,650) Altuve absolutely abuses lefties, especially an inexperienced and relatively mediocre one. One just has to look back to Thursday night and his walk-off single (which was really a double) as part of a three-hit night with a stolen base to understand Altuve is worth his price. Just to make sure you understand, Altuve has a 1.353 OPS against lefties. The Astros will look to make it eight in a row Friday night against Seattle.
Jimmy Rollins ($4,450) Rollins has been slumping at the plate, but he's going to be batting first or second and he hit a home run Wednesday night. He won the MVP just a few years ago, so he'll get whatever slump he's in lined out, and he won't be at this price once he does. A switch-hitting shortstop with base-stealing ability simply doesn't maintain a .210 BABIP.
Outfielders Allen Craig ($3,750) With lefty CC Sabathia on the mound, Craig figures to get the spot start in right field. Honestly, nothing about Craig is all that impressive at the moment with minimal action so far this year, but he provides a substantial value pick coming in well under $4,000. There was a time and place when Craig's bat was a dangerous commodity, and I'm willing to pay price for that potential.
Lorenzo Cain ($4,900) Cain is the definition of a five-tool phenom. Okay, he's not quite Mike Trout, but he has a big bat and good base-stealing ability while batting third in an extremely productive Kansas City lineup (second in runs scored). Cain posses a ridiculous 1.116 OPS against lefties, and he gets a very mediocre one in Kyle Lobstein Friday night.
Joc Pederson ($4,000) Keep buying stock in Pederson, especially against a righty with both Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig still out. After a great offensive performance Wednesday night, Pederson's spot in the lineup probably isn't going anywhere, a spot that was atop the lineup, by the way. Nothing about Rubby De La Rosa and his weak WHIP and FIP should prevent playing the Dodgers offense liberally.
Jake Marisnick ($4,250) Another young outfielder with a hot bat, Marisnick has solidified his position in the very talented and very hot Astros order. What Marisnick doesn't have in power he more than makes up on the base paths where, little known to most, he already has eight stolen bases.
Josh Reddick ($4,650) Another player seeming to be really staying under the radar, Reddick is having a fantastic season so far, slashing .368/.429/.561. He doesn't strike out, with an ineffable 93 percent contact rate and 6.3 percent K Rate, and while his 1.027 OPS against righties is very strong, he's got a 1.322 OPS over his last seven games. Colby Lewis has been weak and will probably continue to be weak in a hitter-friendly park down in Arlington.
Andre Ethier ($4,100) These young Dodger outfielders have some big bats in tow. Pederson is a better play, especially with the current dynamic of the team, but for those looking to stack the Dodgers, Eithier presents yet another very affordable price.
Designated Hitter Fantasy Aces lists DHs as just that, and the only way to incorporate them into your lineup is through the utility spot.
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Alex Spalding plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: ajump08, DraftKings: ajump08.
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Alex splits his expertise between College Basketball, NBA, NFL, MLB, and Saturday morning BPL. You'll find him under the username ajump08 on DraftKings and FanDuel.
