Jose Quintana ($10,600) has been the surprise fantasy player of the season so far. Quintana is averaging 23.53 DraftKings points per game this season, 10th best of all pitchers. He’s been even better in his last three, averaging 28.35. He’s been able to provide that production thanks to the one ER he’s surrendered in his last 21 innings. That stretch has taken him through TEX, TOR and BOS which are three of the most potent offenses in the league, making his run even more impressive. Today he gets a much better match-up with the Twins who rank 23rd in wOBA this season, while striking out at the 8th highest rate.
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Chris Tillman ($7,700) is simply under-priced today. No he’s not sexy, but has been lights out in his last two starts, striking out 18 in 13.2 IP and only allowing one run. That was good for 34.6 and 30.4 DraftKings points. His 9.28 K/9 is second-best on this slate and will meet the Athletics tonight. The A’s have been brutal this week, sporting the league’s third-worst wOBA and fourth-fewest runs in the last seven days.
Sneaky play in the Tampa Bay Rays today, who will battle Nicholas Tropeano. Tropeano has really struggled this season as indicated by his 5.10 xFIP which is the worst on the slate of anyone with a significant sample size. Most concerning is his 5.13 BB/9, again, worst on the slate. He hasn’t gone deeper than 5.2 IP in any game this season and the Rays have been swinging it well in the last seven days. Only three teams have a higher wOBA and only one team has hit more HRs in that stretch. Finally, they are by far the league’s leader in ISO during this span, at an impressive .261.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled recently, but are showing signs of encouragement. They’ve banged out 20 hits in the first two games of the series against the Braves. This is simply a bad stretch for them and they still own the leagues 9th best wOBA this season. I like them for the potential volatility of their match-up with Mike Foltynewicz. Foltynewicz made his season debut last week and was promptly blasted by the Mets. In only 3.2 IP, Foltynewicz surrendered eight hits, three homers and walked two. Sure, that’s a meaningless sample size, but Foltynewicz is a guy who owns a career 5.78 ERA in 109 Major League innings. So it’s not like this guy has ever been dazzling! Foltynewicz surrendered 1.77 HR/9 last season, the second worst in the entire league (at least 80 IP). Only KYLE KENDRICK (!!!) was worse!!!
That’s all folks! Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more player analysis and news as starting lineups are released! Commentary based on DraftKings strategy and scoring.