Thursday's selections include one extremely cheap hurler who lacks experience but has plenty of upside. This should allow players to stack against two of the worst pitchers we have seen take the mound for a major league team this season.
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Pitcher
Matthew Boyd, DET vs. KC ($9,400): Boyd draws a fantastic matchup against the Royals, who are a bottom-5 offense against left-handed pitching according to wOBA. It should also be noted that Kansas City hitters hold the second lowest RAA in the league against the slider, a pitch Boyd throws 31 percent of the time. While he may not hold the name value of some other high-priced assets, Boyd has cracked the 30-point marker twice in his last 10 starts and is in a great spot to potentially do so again.
Cheap GPP Consideration, Cody Reed, CIN at MIA ($5,500): Reed has yet to eclipse five innings in a start this season but the 25-year-old threw 91 pitches in his 10-strikeout performance against the Cubs last week, which should assuage fears that the club has him on some sort of restriction. The Marlins hold the lowest wOBA in the league against southpaws to go along with a 46.5 percent groundball rate. This should help Reed keep Miami in check, as he has thrown grounders at a 59 percent rate in 15 games (five starts).
GPP Fade, Max Scherzer, WAS vs. NYM ($13,000): There is no doubt that Scherzer is one of the best pitchers in baseball but it is difficult to commit more than a quarter of my salary to any one player. This is particularly true against the Mets, who strike out just 21.8 percent of the time against right-handed pitching, a mark that ranks in the bottom half of the league. This could make it difficult to find upside, as Scherzer struck out just five batters in his only other meeting with the Mets in July.
Catcher
Omar Narvaez, CWS at CLE ($3,800): It's difficult to imagine a pitcher who is having a worse season than Josh Tomlin. The 33-year-old will enter the contest against the White Sox with a 6.49 ERA in 59.2 innings. He has allowed 23 home runs over that span. Meanwhile, Narvaez has posted a .363 wOBA against right-handed pitchers in 215 at-bats this season.
First Base
Ryan Zimmerman, WAS vs. NYM ($4,600): Zimmerman has put on a show against southpaws in 2018, as evidenced by the .299 ISO and .473 wOBA he has notched in 67 at-bats. Jason Vargas showed signs of life in August but has been hit hard in every other month this season. He will take a 6.47 ERA into the contest, having allowed a .549 slugging percentage to right-handed hitters in 60.2 frames.
Second Base
Scooter Gennett, CIN at MIA ($4,200): Opposing starter Jeff Brigham has had a rocky beginning to his major league career, allowing six runs with a 4:5 K/BB ratio over 7.1 innings (two starts). The sample is very small but Brigham posted a 4.36 xFIP in 52.1 innings at Triple-A New Orleans. This could all be good news for Gennett, who has kept a .373 wOBA and a 39 percent hard contact rate against righty hurlers in 2018.
Third Base
Aledmys Diaz, TOR vs. TB ($3,800): Schedules dictate that Yonny Chirinos will likely take over for opener Ryne Stanek after a few innings. Chirinos has thrown the ball well this season but has allowed a whopping 45.5 percent hard contact rate to same-handed opposition. Diaz has been tearing the cover off the ball in September, as we can see from the .245 ISO he has logged in 49 at-bats.
Shortstop
Xander Bogaerts, BOS at NYY ($4,500): Bogaerts has kept a reverse split in 2018, tallying a .252 ISO and a .376 wOBA in 389 at-bats against right-handed pitching. Opposing starter Masahiro Tanaka has had a bit of an issue keeping the ball in the park against righty batters, having allowed 16 homers in 83.1 innings this year.
Outfield
Jason Kipnis, CLE vs. CWS ($4,400): Kipnis is another hitter who has exploded onto DFS radars this month due to the .311 ISO he has logged in 45 at-bats. James Shields has actually had some success against lefties in 2018 but his 4.98 xFIP in 98.1 innings likely means that he is in line for a fair amount of regression.
Rhys Hoskins, PHI at ATL ($4,700): Hoskins has done the overwhelming majority of his damage against righty hurlers this season, notching a .290 ISO and a .384 wOBA in 403 at-bats. Right-handed hitters have had some success against Kevin Gausman in the power department, tallying a .463 slugging percentage to go along with 14 homers in 90.1 innings.
Brandon Lowe, TB at TOR ($4,100): Lowe came up empty in our last round of recommendations but I feel comfortable going back to the 24-year-old against Sam Gaviglio, who has allowed a .508 slugging percentage to lefty hitters in 47 innings. Lowe has shown sneaky power against righty hurlers this season, tallying a .215 ISO in 79 at-bats.
