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DraftKings and FanDuel are offering single-game slates for the A’s-Mariners game that starts on Thursday at 5:35 a.m. ET. FanDuel doesn’t offer a starting pitching option for their single-game slates, so if you’re playing over there, there’s no need to worry about that position.
Starting Pitchers
- Yusei Kikuchi (L) $9,200, SEA vs. OAK
- Marco Estrada (R) $7,400, OAK vs. SEA
If you’re choosing to roster a pitcher on DraftKings, Kikuchi makes the most sense. Estrada struggled last season, averaging just 9.06 DraftKings points per game with a -2.34 Plus/Minus, per our Trends tool. He’s also had a rather lackluster spring training, allowing nine hits, six earned runs and two home runs in just six innings pitched.
Kikuchi is a 27-year-old who has been playing in Japan since 2011. He has a career 2.81 ERA and 8.0 K/9 in his eight seasons there. Those are strong numbers.
But he doesn’t come without his risks, as the Mariners are currently +110 underdogs, and this game has a total of 9.0 runs, which doesn’t exactly suggest a pitching duel is incoming. It’s also hard to gauge how Kikuchi will transition to the MLB right away. The A’s also have some lefty smashers on their team.
On DraftKings, you’re not forced to start a pitcher, so it is possible to just load up on bats, and that might be the thing to do till we have a better read on Kikuchi’s MLB ability.
Hitters
Khris Davis went yard in the season opener this morning, and he’s a strong play again even though he continues to be on the negative side of his batting splits: He still owns exceptional power against lefties, sporting a .265 ISO against left-handed pitchers last season.
What I wrote about Edwin Encarnacion yesterday applies now, as he’ll square off against a right-hander in Estrada:
He hit 26 of his 32 home runs off of right-handed pitchers last season, so it’s not surprising that his splits favor righties, against whom last season he had an above-average wOBA (.352) and wRC+ (119) and elite ISO (.247).
And the matchup against Estrada may be even more enticing than his matchup in the season opener, since Estrada has fly-ball tendencies, possessing a career 49.1% fly-ball rate. And last year he had a massive 55.6% fly-ball rate.
We’ll get a righty-righty matchup with Mitch Haniger again, but he’s still a good play hitting near the top of the order. While his Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) and Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) numbers are worse against righties than lefties, he still owned a .219 ISO against righties last season.
If you’re choosing to skip pitching in order to load up on bats, it will also probably be easy to fit in Matt Chapman on DraftKings, along with everyone else previously mentioned. Having exposure to an abundance of batters in the top of the order is never a bad idea.
Ryon Healy will be on the positive side of his splits against Estrada: Last season he had a .189 ISO and .306 wOBA against right-handed pitchers. He did hit from the No. 7 spot on Wednesday, but on a one-game slate, the options are limited.
Stephen Piscotty and Jay Bruce each hit from the No. 3 spot for their respective teams on Wednesday, and they are each the same price on DraftKings for Thursday’s game. If rostering just one, Piscotty might be the option, given his .337 wOBA and 115 wRC+ against lefties over the past year.
Domingo Santana didn’t disappoint in his first game with the Mariners, hitting a grand slam in the third inning. He costs just $5,400 on DraftKings and $5,500 on FanDuel, which is a small price to pay for someone who boasts a .352 wOBA and 119 wRC+ against righties over the past year.
Good luck, and be sure to check out The Action Network if you’re looking for more in-depth MLB analysis.
Pictured above: Khris Davis
Photo credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
