This article is part of our FantasyAces MLB series.
Be sure to checkout tonight's FAWBC Qualifier, as the top two finishers win 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, and the winner will take home $100K.
FantasyAces offers a great selection of contests for Friday night's huge slate of 14 night games. They have their own idiosyncrasies in scoring and positions, so here's a breakdown.
OPS is a great indicator of point potential under the scoring system with walks being 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 those 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:
Clayton Kershaw ($7,800): This is a deeply discounted Kershaw, even if he is still the most expensive pitching option. The Rockies are now 1-11 in their last 12 games, and sport an abysmal 12 K/9 over their last three. Kershaw's K/9 is just shy of 12 this season, and at home he has a 13.7 K/9 and 2.84 ERA. Don't be fooled by his un-Kershaw like 4.26 cumulative ERA, its fueled by a .367 BABIP.
Jake Odorizzi ($6,700): Odorizzi checks off every category. His side is favored, the over/under is low, he sports a fantastic 2.4 FIP, Minnesota strikes out more than average, and Odorizzi has mustered just a smidge under nine K/9 over his last two outings.
Chase Anderson ($5,500): Anderson sports solid numbers across the board and the matchup with a strikeout-prone Marlins squad is favorable. A 2.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and quality starts in four of his five outings make Anderson a fairly low-risk discount play.
Other Options:Jordan Zimmermann ($6,500), Wandy Rodriguez ($5,250), Bartolo Colon ($6,650)
Catchers:
Buster Posey ($5,250): Posey is finally back hitting with a .942 OPS over the last seven days and a favorable matchup against Jason Marquis at home-run friendly Great American Ballpark. This is as good a matchup as you'll get for a Posey big fly. Plus, Posey's K-rate is below 10 percent, which is very important under the FantasyAces scoring rules.
Tuffy Gosewisch ($3,500): On the other end of the price spectrum, Gosewisch has been quietly efficient lately with a spectacular .353 batting average and .956 OPS over the last seven days. The matchup is good against Chad Billingsley, and worst-case Gosewisch strikes out infrequently.
Corner Infielders:
Kyle Blanks ($4,250): With a lefty back on the mound in the poor-formed Bruce Chen, Blanks should be back in the meat of the order. At this price, his 1.333 OPS against lefties absolutely cannot be overlooked.
Aaron Hill ($4,600): A 1.306 OPS over the last 14 days, and Chad Billingsley on the mound? Yes, please. Hill has been one of the hottest hitters in the majors of late, and has been rewarded in being moved up to fifth in the batting order.
Adrian Beltre ($5,050): Stacking up a few righties against Cleveland's Chen is always a wise decision. Beltre has a very low strike-out rate and has managed two home runs in his past five games.
Other Options:Adrian Gonzalez ($5,500), Lucas Duda ($4,750), Paul Goldschmidt ($6,000), Logan Morrison ($4,500)
Middle Infielders
Enrique Hernandez ($3,500): Hernandez is another Dodger utility player hot with the bat, with a 1.067 over the last seven days. He's far from a shoe-in to start, but he's started half of the Dodgers' last six games.
Brad Miller ($4,050): Miller actually plays the outfield, but with a righty on the mound he should once again see his spot batting second in the order. He is hitting for a .935 OPS over the last seven days and four of his last five hits have been for extra bases.
Elvis Andrus ($4,600): Another righty Texas bat to add to the stack. Andrus has a .908 OPS against lefties and has some good base-stealing upside.
Other Options:Robinson Cano ($5,100), Alex Guerrero ($4,650)
Outfielders
George Springer ($4,900) / Jake Marisnick ($4,600): These guys both offer huge upside at very affordable prices for a Houston lineup that at times can be lethal. They can both put a charge into the ball and steal a fair share of bases. In a dome environment away from the Rogers Centre, it's hard to see R.A. Dickey's knuckleball being all that effective.
Curtis Granderson ($4,850): Granderson will likely lead off against hitting machine Kyle Lohse. I expect multiple times on base, and probably multiple runs scored.
Steven Souza Jr. ($4,550) / David DeJesus ($4,250): These two Tampa Bay outfielders give you some coverage against Minnesota's Phil Hughes at very affordable prices.
Other Options:Joc Pederson ($5,500), Mike Trout ($6,000), Delino DeShields ($3,650), Mark Trumbo ($5,250), Andre Ethier ($4,500), Ender Inciarte ($4,750), A.J. Pollock ($4,900)
