It was nice to take a few days off from baseball, but we were all itching to get back. This is the best part of the season because this is the final push teams can make before the trade deadline. Many teams' fates will be decided over the next three weeks, and you better believe players will be more in tune as the season quickly surpasses the 100-game mark. With that said, we have the best pitcher in baseball toeing the rubber, so let's start there!
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Pitching
Jacob Misiorowski, MIL vs. NYM ($12,000)
Miz might be the best pitcher in baseball. He's undoubtedly been that guy this season, tallying a 1.62 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 13.5 K/9 rate through 18 starts. Misiorowski has also scored at least 19 DraftKings points in all but one start while posting a 1.59 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 14.1 K/9 rate at home. That won't bode well for the Mets because New York ranks 23rd in runs scored, 27th in OBP and 28th in wOBA. What's scary for the Mets is that they haven't even seen him this season either, with Miz entering this matchup as a -200 favorite.
Andrew Abbott, CIN at SEA ($7,600)
Abbott was awful through the opening months of the season, but this lefty has found something recently. He's allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of his last 14 starts while providing a 3.18 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in that span. That's more in line with the stud southpaw we saw last season, with Abbott sporting a 2.87 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. A ballpark switch from Cincy to Seattle couldn't be better, because Abbott has a 3.44 ERA on the road since the start of last year. Matching up with the Mariners is the icing on the cake, with Seattle sitting 22nd in K rate, 25th in wOBA and 27th in OPS.
Top Targets
Hunter Goodman, COL (vs. Andrew Alvarez) $6,000
Is Goodman the best catcher in baseball right now? That's a discussion for another platform, but he's somehow a bargain at $6K with the way he's currently playing. Goodman is up to 27 dingers after a gem on Sunday, generating a .277 AVG and 1.033 OPS across his last 44 fixtures. A home game at Coors Field against a lefty only adds to his intrigue, with Goodman posting a .374 OBP and .948 OPS against southpaws this season. We'll discuss Alvarez more below.
Curtis Mead, WAS (vs. Kyle Freeland) $5,400
This Rockies-Nationals game is the highest-projected game by a mile, and Mead is our favorite play for the Nats. He's projected to bat second or third for the highest-scoring team in baseball, and he's earned that prominent spot with the best stretch of his career. Mead has a .382 OBP and 1.024 OPS since June 21 while maintaining a .491 OBP and 1.251 OPS across his last 12 games. That's rough for the Rockies since Mead has the platoon advantage from the right side, registering an .865 OPS against southpaws this season.
Bargain Bats
Austin Riley, ATL (vs. JP Sears) $3,700
There's no question that Riley has struggled this year, but the All-Star break might be just what the doctor ordered. This former All-Star has homered three times in three games since the second half started, posting a .500 AVG and 1.788 OPS in that span. That's a small glimpse of hope we've been waiting to see, because Riley was a $5K player for most of his career. Our favorite part about this is that he has the platoon advantage against a subpar southpaw, with Riley amassing a .343 OBP and .843 OPS against lefties throughout his career. Not to mention, Sears has a 5.03 ERA and 1.42 WHIP this year. Atlanta is always a dangerous stack, with Matt Olson ($5,200), Ozzie Albies ($4,100) and Mauricio Dubon ($3,300) all in play.
Brandon Nimmo, TEX (vs. Erick Fedde) $3,700
Nimmo always hits third or cleanup for the Rangers, and this is a great opportunity to provide some value. Let's start with his opposition because Fedde has a 4.79 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over the last four seasons. That's scary against a guy like Nimmo, totaling a .370 AVG and 1.043 OPS across the last week. We also don't mind that Nimmo has a .344 OBP in 28 at-bats against Fedde, which is the largest sample size on this slate. If you want to stack Texas, Wyatt Langford ($4,200), Josh Jung ($4,100) and Joc Pederson ($3,300) look like good pairings with Nimmo.
Stacks to Consider
Washington Nationals at Colorado Rockies (Freeland): James Wood ($6,900), CJ Abrams ($6,400), Mead ($5,400), Dylan Crews ($4,600)
It still shocks me to say this, but the Nationals are the highest-scoring team in baseball. It's hard to imagine, but they've been a godsend in DFS. What's scary here is that they travel to Coors Field for this series while facing the worst pitching staff in baseball. Freeland hasn't done anything to help those atrocious averages, accruing a 7.36 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.
Wood is one of the breakouts of the season, leading all players on this slate with 11.2 DraftKings points per game. Abrams is right there with him, accumulating 21 homers and 15 steals en route to 9.5 DK points per game. We already discussed Mead, but Crews has compiled a .400 OBP and .934 OPS against lefties this year.
Colorado Rockies vs. Washington Nationals (Alvarez): Goodman ($6,000), Willi Castro ($4,600), Cole Carrigg ($4,400), Ezequiel Tovar ($3,800)
This game is projected to be a shootout, with these teams expected to combine for 12 runs. The Rockies are the sneaky part of this game-stack because they've been one of the best offenses over the last month. A guy like Alvarez is unlikely to do well in a hitter's haven like Coors Field, with the lefty posting a 4.04 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.
Goodman is our favorite play on this slate, but the rest of this stack is affordable around him. Castro has a .292 AVG against lefties this year while collecting a .816 OPS at home. Carrigg has a .371 OBP and .900 OPS this year, while Tovar has traditionally been much better at home (.886 OPS last year).
