We have two slates with a substantial number of games Tuesday, the first of which kicks off at 6:40 pm EDT and includes five games. The main slate fires up 30 minutes later and includes 10 games, and that will be the focus of our preview.
Try our DraftKings MLB Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.
Pitchers
There are three pitchers priced at $10,000 or above, but Garrett Crochet ($10,900) is comfortably in the best position of the group. Most importantly, his strikeout rate is 5.3 percentage points superior to Freddy Peralta and 6.8 percentage points higher than Bryan Woo. A matchup against the Royals also isn't a cause for concern.
The second tier of starters is particularly strong on Tuesday's slate, and is a good place to grab at least one pitcher, if not both. Nathan Eovaldi and Shota Imanaga ($8,900) have primarily skills-based arguments, while Ryan Pepiot ($8,500) has an exploitable matchup against the Angels – one of the most strikeout-prone teams in the league. As for Eovaldi vs. Imanaga, I'd lean toward the latter due to a soft matchup against a Reds lineup that has an 80 wRC+. .290 wOBA and 23.9 percent strikeout rate against southpaws this season.
Moving into the $7,000 price range, both Ryne Nelson ($7,700) and Emmet Sheehan ($7,200) are worth considering. It's difficult to make a statistical argument for Nelson, but he has at least 19 DK points in seven of his last eight start dating back to June 13. A matchup against the Padres isn't ideal, but Nelson is a value given his salary and current form. Sheehan has struggled with walks but is a safe bet for mid-teens points, making him worthy of consideration at his price point.
Finally, Yu Darvish ($6,100) is a strong punt option. His price tag dropped $900 from his last start despite throwing seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He's mispriced.
Top Hitters
Pretty much the entire Cubs lineup is in a slump, but the top of the lineup is worth considering against Zack Littell due to his combination of low strikeout rate and homer problem (16.6 K%, 1.76 HR/9). Kyle Tucker ($6,300) and Seiya Suzuki ($5,100) would seem to be the best choices.
Davis Martin has shown flashes of brilliance but also has just a 16.6 K% and 4.42 SIERA this season. The Mariners have paired their excellent pitching with improved hitting of late, so Randy Arozarena ($5,100) and Julio Rodriguez ($5,200) are the top bats to consider.
Value Bats
It's a strong day for pitching, so it's possible that there is some overlap between pitchers that are intriguing to roster and target against. Pepiot falls into the latter category due to his home run problem (1.59 HR/9). While a lot of those struggles have come at home, the Angels have a number of cheap bats worth considering, including Nolan Schanuel ($3,900) and the more powerful Christian Moore ($2,500).
Trevor Story ($3,800) isn't a true bargain, but he's worth highlighting due to both his matchup and his recent performance at the plate. He's averaged 12 DK points per game across his last 10. Ryan Bergert's 2.78 ERA is deceiving, as he has only a 10.7 K-BB% and a 4.65 SIERA.
Stacks to Consider
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Colorado Rockies (Anthony Molina): Nathan Lukes ($4,700), Bo Bichette ($5,800), Vladimir Guerrero ($6,600)
Picking a game at Coors Field to stack is an easy starting point, but the back end of the Rockies' rotation is particularly brutal at this point in the season. The Blue Jays put up 15 runs Monday night and now face Molina, who owns a 6.85 ERA with an 8.3 K-BB% across 68.1 big-league innings. Toronto's lineup is unsurprisingly priced up, but with the value available at pitching, it's still realistic to stack them.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Miles Mikolas): Shohei Ohtani ($6,900), Freddie Freeman ($4,700), Will Smith ($5,200)
The Dodgers' offense has been poor across the last month, so this stack suggestion isn't as obvious as it would have been earlier in the summer. The reasons to like the top of their lineup are still clear, and Mikolas is a particularly exploitable matchup. He has allowed five or more earned runs in three of his last six starts, all of which have come on the road. His overall skills are also what we look to stack against, including a 16.3 K% and 1.5 HR/9.
