2013 Fantasy Baseball Daily Fix: August 2
DraftKings Team of the Day
Today I’m playing in a $3 Double Up contest, where if you finish in the top 25 of 50 players you earn $5.40. It gives you very good odds to make a little bit of money, and you don’t have to wager too much to play. When you sign up at DraftKings don’t forget to claim your deposit bonus.
There aren’t too many aces going Friday, and a few of those who are have been pretty bad lately. I think I found the two best values at pitcher in Fernandez and Archer. Fernandez has a 2.67 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in the last 30 days, and Archer has five quality starts, a 0.73 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in the last month. I loaded up on Braves, Mets and Blue Jays, as those teams face Ethan Martin, who’s making his big league debut; Wade Davis (5.32, 1.50 in last month); and Tommy Hanson (5.40, 1.30).
| Player | Matchup | Salary | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP – Jose Fernandez |
vs. Cleveland | 8,000 | 1.57 ERA, 0.92 WHIP at home |
| SP – Chris Archer |
vs. San Francisco | 7,400 | 1.74, 0.9 at home; no walks in 3 of last 4 |
| C – Brian McCann |
Martin | 3,700 | Always under-priced; good matchup; 3 HR in last 11 |
| 1B – Victor Martinez |
Hector Santiago | 3,700 | .948 OPS, 9.7 PPG in last 11 |
| 2B – Daniel Murphy |
Davis | 4,600 | Good matchup and on fire: 1.013 OPS, 11.9 PPG in last 11 |
| 3B – David Wright |
Davis | 5,000 | Thought he’d cost a lot more; .408 OBP at home |
| SS – Jose Reyes |
Hanson | 4,500 | Seriously under-priced; on fire since ASB. |
| OF – Jose Bautista |
Hanson | 4,900 | 5 HR, 7 BB post-ASB |
| OF – Jason Heyward |
Martin | 3,800 | .381 OBP post-ASB w/ 3 HR in last 7 |
| OF – Norichika Aoki |
Jordan Zimmermann | 4,100 | 2 HR, 6 SB post-ASB; Zimm also struggling |
Random Thursday Night Thought
Felix Hernandez threw seven great innings Thursday against Boston, allowing just one run. After handing the game over to the bullpen to start the bottom of the eighth, Felix had to have been watching in horror. Seattle’s relievers recorded four outs…and gave up seven runs. Tom Wilhelmsen and Yoervis Medina didn’t even record an out. Boston scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 8-7. At one point in the top of the ninth Boston’s win expectancy was 0.6 percent.
All of that is to say that Felix Hernandez deserves better. I love Felix and the Mariners, and I know the pitcher win statistic is dumb. But Felix is just plain unlucky. In seven no-decisions before tonight’s game, Felix had a 2.57 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 58 strikeouts and only eight walks in 49 innings of no-decisions. His last start? A nine-inning, zero-run, 11-strikeout, 0-walk masterpiece….of a no-decision. AHHHHH. So frustrating.
Felix is having the best year of his career in 2013. His strikeout and walk rates are easily the best of his career, and his 2.48 FIP is also a career best. He’s on pace for his fifth straight season of over 230 innings. If Felix was on a team like St. Louis he’d easily be on his way to 300 career wins. But even with how great that’d be, there’s just something that makes Felix’s tough luck in Seattle even more special – to me at least. This guy will go down as one of the best of all time whether he finishes with 300 wins or 175.
The Author
