All 30 MLB teams are in action Tuesday night, which gives DraftKings daily fantasy players a great many options to choose from.
Clayton Kershaw leads a solid field of starting pitchers, but at $15,000, his salary is difficult to swallow. Two other top-shelf arms possess much more reasonable price tags. A must-start catcher from New York and a future Hall of Famer from Boston help round out a list of five ideal lineup selections for August 18.
SP Jacob deGrom, New York Mets ($11,600) at Baltimore Orioles
Jacob deGrom's spectacular 2015 season is flying somewhat under the radar. The 27-year-old owns a 2.03 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and a .197 batting average against, each of which is the second-best in baseball. Even though his numbers are superior to Kershaw's in all three categories, deGrom can be had for $3,400 less than the Los Angeles Dodgers ace.
ESPN New York's Adam Rubin pointed out how impressive deGrom has been since he started the season 3-4 with a 3.46 ERA through early May:
The Mets righty has also held his opponents scoreless in eight of 22 total starts this year. Over his last six outings, deGrom is averaging a whopping 29.2 fantasy points per game.
SP Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners ($9,300) at Texas Rangers
The above video features highlights of Hisashi Iwakuma's previous start, a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles. Spanning his last three appearances, Iwakuma has allowed just four runs while striking out 21 batters in 24.2 innings, an average of more than eight innings per game. He's also scored a total of 99.2 fantasy points in that time.
Iwakuma has lasted at least five innings in every start he's made this year. He's surrendered three runs or fewer in six of his past seven outings, including no more than two runs in five of them.
The 34-year-old also beat the Rangers earlier this month. On August 7, he struck out six and did not walk a batter while yielding six hits and three runs in seven innings.
C Brian McCann, New York Yankees ($4,700) vs. Minnesota Twins
Brian McCann is an absolute no-brainer in daily fantasy contests Tuesday. McCann comes in on a five-game hitting streak, with home runs in three of the five. In that stretch, he's 7-for-20 with three homers, four runs scored and nine RBI.
Not only is McCann red-hot, he's also been wearing out Twins pitcher Mike Pelfrey for quite some time. Dating back to 2007, McCann has an astonishing 19 hits in 40 career at-bats versus Pelfrey:
McCann is easily the highest-priced catcher available, but that shouldn't prevent him from being a lock for your DraftKings lineup.
1B David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox ($4,700) vs. Cleveland Indians
Like McCann, David Ortiz is in a zone at the moment. The Red Sox designated hitter owns a nine-game hitting streak, during which he's lifted his average from .241 to .263. His stats over the last 10 days are borderline superhuman:
After batting just .228 through the first three months of the season, Ortiz hit .298 in July, followed by a spectacular .396 so far in August.
Ortiz's most recent home run was the 491st of his career. With 44 games remaining and Boston all but eliminated from playoff contention, the 39-year-old slugger's primary objective could be to reach 500 before the 2015 campaign comes to a close.
OF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds ($3,900) vs. Kansas City Royals
On August 10, Jay Bruce launched his 200th dinger, which placed him in very elite company in Reds history, according to MLB Stat of the Day:
Aside from the milestone, Bruce is in a major slump lately, going just 5-for-47 in his last 12 games. However, his matchup Tuesday may be exactly what he needs to get back on track. In 17 plate appearances against Edinson Volquez, Bruce is 7-for-14 with three walks, a double, a home run and seven runs scored.
Considering his .588 OBP when facing Volquez, at only $3,900, it's worth taking a gamble on the Cincinnati outfielder.
All prices courtesy of DraftKings. Statistics via MLB.com unless otherwise noted. Mark Vandeusen is an MLB Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @LucidSportsFan.
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