A lot of teams are off around baseball on Thursdays, and this one is no different with just four games on the day’s main DFS slate. SuperDraft has unique ways to play with the “multiplier” mode where there is no salary cap, so enjoy picking everyone you want. Instead, the safer/chalkier players have lower multipliers, while the players that appear to have more risk have higher multipliers, allowing for more upside.
There does appear to be some potential weather issues in Philadelphia and New York City that could complicate those games. Make sure that those games don’t get rained out and that all your players are in the lineups.
Pitchers
Huascar Ynoa, Atlanta Braves (1.9x SuperDraft Multiplier)
Outside of his last start at Coors Field, Ynoa has been pitching well of late, and he has the highest strikeout rate of the pitchers on the slate (26.4%). This will be the third time he has faced the Nationals this season. In his previous two starts, he has combined for 12 innings, giving up six hits, zero earned runs, three walks, and nine strikeouts. As you can see in the table below, the Nationals have not been striking out a ton against right-handed pitching since Aug. 1. However, Ynoa’s strikeout rate makes up for that and the Nationals haven’t been great at scoring runs either. I like the matchup and love the multiplier.
Carlos Hernández, Kansas City Royals (1.95x)
| MLB Rank vs. RHP since August 1st | K% | wOBA | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orioles | 6th (25.1) | 13th (.323) | 11th (105) |
| Yankees | 11th (24.2) | 9th (.327) | 7th (108) |
| Nationals | 21st (21.4) | 12th (.326) | 15th (100) |
| Braves | 22nd (21.3) | 10th (.327) | 13th (102) |
| Phillies | 29th (19.4) | 7th (.330) | 10th (106) |
Picking a second pitcher for this slate is far from easy given the matchups, but I don’t mind Hernández against the Orioles. He is in great form, allowing more than two earned runs just once in his last seven starts. Walks can sometimes be an issue with a 10.7% walk rate on the season but the Orioles have one of the lowest walk rates in baseball at 7.5%. Also, as you can see in the table above, the Orioles strike out the most on the slate against right-handed pitching and strikeouts are king in MLB DFS.
Hitters
Adam Duvall, Atlanta Braves (1.6x)
The Braves are in a great spot against Erick Fedde, so I’m definitely going to look for my favorite bats with the best multipliers. I was shocked how far I had to keep scrolling to find Duvall, especially considering he hit his 33rd HR of the season Wednesday night to make it three straight games with a home run. Fedde has faced the Braves three times already this season, all of which have gone poorly for him (11.1 IP, 14 ER, 2.206 WHIP). Duvall is 7-12 with two home runs and two doubles against Fedde in his career.
Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves (1.55x)
Riley has yet to get a hit in this series against the Nationals, but I like his chances against Fedde. He has fared well against Fedde in his career, going 5-12 with a double. On top of that, he is hitting all four of Fedde’s pitches, with at least a 109 wRC+ this season.
Salvador Pérez, Kansas City Royals (1.3x)
The All-Star catcher and MVP candidate has had an unbelievable season with 42 home runs and 104 RBIs already. Pérez absolutely crushes left-handed pitching with a .409 wOBA, .353 ISO, and 41.4% hard contact rate since 2019. John Means is a talented pitcher but he has struggled giving up power, allowing 24 home runs on the season, tied for the 16th most in baseball. He has also allowed a .209 ISO and 49% flyball rate to right-handed hitters since 2019. Getting a guy this talented with a multiplier in this range is a no-brainer for me.
Slate overview
The pitching options are a bit tough, but we get good multipliers to make up for some of the risks. I’m avoiding both pitchers in the Blue Jays/Yankees game since both lineups are some of the best in baseball. For bats, I want to prioritize a Braves stack against Erick Fedde as he has already struggled against them multiple times this season. Salvador Pérez is my favorite one-off hitter.
This article expresses the personal views of the writer and does not reflect the view(s) of SuperDraft in any way.
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