There are 15 MLB games on FanDuel’s Sunday slate . The first games begin at 1:07pm Eastern with the last one beginning at 8pm eastern. Please be sure to check your lineups and of course check the weather to make sure your players are actually playing tonight.
There are plenty of opportunities on Sundays slate and here’s what I’m thinking about.
Pitching
Stephen Strasburg, Felix Hernandez, Carlos Martinez, John Lester, James Shields, Gerrit Cole and Matt Harvey are the big names and of course the big priced guns while Josh Tomlin and Jake Odorizzi seem to be the better of the value picks available today.
Matt Harvey ($10,400) is a no go for me for the simple fact we really don’t know how many innings or even pitches the Mets are going to allow him to pitch. Too much uncertainty for me to even consider him on Sunday night.
James Shields ($8,700) is pitching against the Rockies in Colorado and this could be a great contrarian play if you have the stomch for it. If you are so inclined to go with Shields please be advised that current Rockies have hit 13 bombs against Shields in 184 at bats with a .332/.374/.620/.993 line over those same 184 at bats. Good luck with Big Game James on Sunday!
Gerrit Cole ($9,600) has been solid over his past 5 starts. 8.24 strikeouts and less than 2 walks per nine solid. He hasn’t given up a bomb in his last 31.2 innings of work and has worked 6 innings or more 4 of his last 5 starts. The Dodgers have hit righties well all season; a 20 percent strikeout rate with a wOBA of .324 and wRC+ of 107 well. Cole is an interesting choice on Sunday for sure.
Jon Lester ($10,700) and Carlos Martinez ($9,500) have both been extremely good over the last month but the problem is they are pitching against each other. When aces like this go against each other I usually leave it alone and let them fight it out amongst themselves. If you are so inclined to play one of these pitchers Cardinal hitters have had some success against Lester while Martinez has fared better against the Cubs current roster.
Stephen Strasburg ($10,700) has been absolutely spectacular over his last 4 starts averaging 13.14 strikeouts per nine innings with 1.07 walks but he has allowed 1.78 bombs per nine innings over his last 25.1 innings pitched. He’s also gone 6 innings or better in three of those 4 starts. Strasburg hasn’t exactly dominated the Marlins over his career against their current roster but the way he’s been pitching compared to the Marlins 19.1 percent strikeout rate, wOBA of .293 and wRC+ of 82 this season against righties and it’s hard not to seriously consider Strasburg on Sunday no matter what the price.
Felix Hernandez ($11,000) has had an interesting time of things this season and over the past he’s averaging just over 8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched with just under 2 walks per nine and just over 1 bomb during his last 27 innings of work. He’s gone 6 or more innings in each of his last 5 starts and he’ll face a Rangers team that has been somewhat successful in general against Hernandez they have been very successful particularly against righties with a 19 percent strikeout rate and wOBA of .321 and wRC+ of 97. Things could be dicey for King Felix on Sunday.
Josh Tomlin ($8,200) could be a great value pick on Sunday. Over his past 5 starts Tomlin has averaged 8.25 strikeouts, 0.25 walks and almost 2 bombs per nine innings pitched. Tomlin has also lasted 6 or more innnings in 4 of those 5 starts and while the White Sox have had some success against Tomlin they do have a 20 percent strikeout rate with a wOBA of .309 and wRC+ of 93 against righthanders this season. Tomlin might offer some great value on Sunday.
Jake Odorizzi ($8,600) has also pitched well over his last 5 starts striking out 8.59 per nine innings while walking 2.76 and allowing 1.53 bombs over his last 29.1 innings of work. Odorizzi has lasted 6 innings in 4 of his last 5 starts and he’ll face the Orioles who have a 22 percent strikeout rate, wOBA of .323 and wRC+ of 102 against righties this season.
Stacking Opportunities for Sunday
The Toronto Blue Jays face a sub par lefty in Rich Hill so obviously Blue Jays righthanded bats are in play. The bigger bats are quite expensive but Russell Martin ($3,100), Cliff Pennington ($2,500) and Chris Collabello ($3,300) might also be solid plays on Sunday.
The Colorado Rockies San Diego Padres game should offer some opportunities but you will absolutely pay for the big bats from both teams.
Houston Astros bats against the Athletics Aaron Brooks would be a good stack. Lefties have a wOBA of .435 on the road and righties have a.501 wOBA of on the road against Brooks this season so mix and match at your leisure on Sunday.
Value Picks for Sunday
The Athletics Josh Reddick ($2,800) has a nice matchup with the Astros Collin McHugh. Reddick has gone yard against McHugh in the past and against righties this season has a 9.3 percent strikeout rate with a .361 wOBA and wRC+ of 133 against righties this season.
The Rangers Mike Napoli ($2,200) has hit 2 bombs against Felix Hernandez over his career but against righties this season has a 25 percent strikeout rate with a wOBA of .274 and wRC+ of 65.
Hey FanDuel Fantasy Football player!
Please remember that the list below isn’t meant to be an entire roster…..these are picks I believe will get you extreme value in order for you to spend up on certain players if you so choose. Of course you can also go with this entire lineup or just pick a couple or disregard the entire list and do your own thing!
QB: I really like the Falcons Matt Ryan ($8,700) this week against the Giants. Last week against Philly he threw for a couple of TD’s and a couple of interceptions but it was a solid effort worth 18.62 FanDuel Fantasy Points. The Giants pass defense allowed 356 yards in the air from the Cowboys Tony Romo last week and I look for much the same this week.
RB: I like the Raiders Latavius Murray ($6,800) on Sunday against the Ravens. He scored 11.5 Fantasy Points last week against the Bengals and his matchup this week against the Ravens is interesting. Murray ran for 44 yards on 11 carries but also caught 7 passes for 36 yards. With the question marks surrounding Raiders QB Derek Carr Murray is going to be the guy against a Ravens defense that allowed just 68 yards against Denver last week.
RB: I like the Chargers Danny Woodhead ($6,200) on Sunday against the Bengals. Melvin Gordon might be the starter but Woodhead stole the show last week against Detroit racking up 20.2 Fantasy Points. He’s not only rushing but catching passes as well and his matchup against the Bengals could be more of the same this week.
WR: I really like tandems and I like the tandem of Ryan and Julio Jones ($8,800) on Sunday against the Giants. Jones and Ryan hooked up for a pair of touchdowns Monday night and another 30 Fantasy Points for Jones against the Giants is certainly possible on Sunday.
WR: I like the matchup the Cardinals John Brown ($6,200) has with the Bears on Sunday. Brown had 12 Fantasy Points against a bad Saints secondary and while his matchup against the Bears is more difficult it isn’t impossible for Brown to not only see 7 or more targets from QB Carson Palmer but surpass the 12 Fantasy Points he scored last Sunday.
WR: I like the Packers James Jones ($5,400) against the Seahawks on Sunday. Yes they are the Legion of Boom and all that but Jones is the 3rd receiver on the Packers and racked up 19.1 Fantasy Points on less targets than both Devonte Adams and Randall Cobb. If he can do this again this will be a massive value play on Sunday.
TE: I play Rob Gronkowski ($8,300) every single chance that I get and I will do so once again this week against Buffalo. He’s worth every penny and I don’t even care how many people own him TE is where I am rarely contrarian and this week will be no exception.
K: I’ll go with the Falcons Matt Bryant ($5,000) in this one. The over under is currently 50 and I will go with Bryant in this one.
Defense: I’m really like the Saints Defense ($4,500) against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense for no other reason other than Jameis Winston is a rookie and will have a tough time throwing against a secondary that allowed over 300 yards passing but it took a herculean effort by Carson Palmer to pull off. Winston probably won’t be able to pull that feat off in just his second career NFL start.
On this edition of Phil’s Fantasy Sports Draft Kings Playbook writer Jason Walker and host Phil Naessens share their FanDuel and Draft Kings Fantasy Football picks for week 2, RotoExperts writer and Fantasy Baseball expert Andrea Lamont joins Phil to discuss women in Fantasy Sports, Rotowire NHL and Fantasy Hockey expert Brian Rutherford joins Phil to talk top Fantasy Hockey forwards and Rotowire NBA and Fantasy Basketball expert Alex Rikleen joins Phil and the guys discuss the top centers in this year’s Fantasy Basketball drafts and much more on this week’s Phil’s Fantasy Sports. You can download the show from my site or listen below.
Good luck today Fantasy Baseball and Football owner.
