 If you are looking for safety in your pitchers for MLB DFS, you have come to the wrong slate because night's late for MLB DFS is Lacking in that department by a pretty wide margin. There are There's maybe one pitcher I would justify or a classifies being quote-unquote safe for tonight and that guy Isn't even that safe because a sample on him being quality is a little bit lower So if you're looking for a quality safe pitcher for today, I got bad news for you We're gonna break things down though run through which pitchers we can justify despite the red flags and get you set for Friday night slate of MLB DFS welcome on into the solo shot. That's right here on the fan dual podcast network and number fire dot-com My name is Jim Sonnis. I am a senior writer and analyst for a number fire dot-com here to break down today's 14 Again main slate with lock set for 705 four to night and unfortunately There is more rain in the forecast where today We could not get the Toronto Blue Jays in their great matchup last night today more rain for the Metson the Pirates up in New York It's possible. I would check back on that one later on It's better today than it did yesterday So we'll see if they're able to get that game in but it does look better today than it was yesterday at least Rain is in Boston for the Red Sox and Phillies, but it should be rolling out before first pitch So looks like they'll be good to go there. I check back on that one Later on to see what the timeline of that rain is but as of right now I would expect that game to be good to go So the two main rain spots for tonight are in New York and Boston check back on those later to see if we are able to Utilize players in those games, of course yesterday. We did talk a lot about rain in the 4 p.m. Show Should be a topic once again for today that is 4 p.m. On the Fandle YouTube twitch Facebook and Twitter pages You can ask any question you've got there each day on the Fandle YouTube twitch Facebook and Twitter pages to get set for MLB DFS back on once again today at 4 p.m To get you set for tonight's site and take your questions live on air make sure subscribe there But also check out the number fired daily fantasy podcast feed We've got of course this podcast, but also we have a UFC 264 preview via Austin Swain that is posted right now getting you set for the McGregor versus Dustin Poirier matchup Once again matchup number three between those guys He gave this loss in that matchup and the entire card that is already posted NASCAR podcast coming up later on today That's on the Fandle YouTube page at 10 30 a.m. And then on the number fired daily fantasy podcast feed after that make sure you are subscribed wherever you get your podcasts Hey soccer fans this season Fandle and Captain Morgan are teaming up to give you a one-of-a-kind soccer contest Introducing Captain Morgan soccer pick-up a weekly fantasy contest that is entirely free to play the contest is simple All you have to do is make quick predictions for Saturday games of soccer season You'll earn points for each correct pick and compete for a chance to win up to $3,000 in prizes every single week head over to Fandle and enter the captain Morgan soccer pick-up today Must be 21 plus to participate for more details of the Fandle calm or download the Fandle fantasy app Eligibility restrictions apply and don't forget to make your game day more enjoyable and delicious and sub in the captain Let's go through our pitching preview for today here in MLB DFS Alec Manoa is the highest a salary pitcher on Fandle for today Of course, he was scheduled to pitch yesterday got pushed back to today now facing the rays. He is ten thousand three hundred dollars Charlie Morton is facing the Marlins. He checks in at ten thousand dollars on Fandle Zach Thompson in that exact same game is ninety six hundred dollars Taiwan Walker is ninety five Wade Miley is ninety two and then Alex Cobb Logan Webb and Cole Irvin are the others at eight thousand dollars or higher And as you can tell there, there's no I mean, I guess after last night should be classified Darvish and Scherzer is being like safe probably not but like there's no name aces on tonight's slate the closest guy to that in my eyes is Charlie Morton and He's facing the Marlins for a second consecutive start and it's his third time seeing them since June 11th to me That's hyper annoying. Those are big negatives big red flags and it means that that's why Morton does not belong in the safe bucket. We were talking about before I Do still think that Morton should be high on our list for tonight Everything else lines up really well for Morton here He hasn't had a ton of change in his movements numbers since the sticky stuff discussion began Which means we can expand the sampler go back to his past ten starts in that time Morton has a three point four seven skill interactive ERA with a 28% strikeout rate his bad of all data has always been tremendous and it's been very good in this sample as well It's also a good match up for righty the Marlins have a 90 WRC plus versus righties with a 139 ISO They are willing to strike out with a 25% strikeout ray versus righties and that's a good thing Now it's worth noting. They've done well versus Morton. They've scored four runs Against him in both those recent starts one again June 11th and one last week. So that's really enticing From their perspective no other team though in this time has scored more than three runs across the past ten starts against Morton And there have been some whiffs against Morton with the Marlins He has a sixteen point seven percent swinging strike rate his last time out So I wish this weren't a repeat matchup I'd feel very confident with Charlie Morton if it were not then he'd be a no-brainer as it stands right now He's solid. I can't go more than that the problem is that on this slate solid is the number one pitcher on the slate So I think that that's kind of what we're dealing with here And I think that Morton does deserve to be number one for us for tonight against the Marlins at ten thousand dollars Now when we were talking about yesterday's slate I had Taiwan Walker and things to watch as opposed to the pitching section the reason that he was there was because Partially because they were what I thought were good alternatives in Scherzer, Darvish and Malley and Obviously I didn't quite work out all that well But that's why he was down there The other reason was because I was concerned about a lack of upside against the Pirates who are a low strike out team on This specific slate things are pretty radically different and I think that that's enough where Walker Does deserve to be number two for us tonight at ninety five hundred dollars as mentioned he's facing the Pirates They have an eighty five WRC plus versus righties this year very minimal power a one twenty nine ISO versus righties So you could probably check the box of Walker being safe I don't because like our sample on Walker being really really good is not super expansive So I try to be cautious there, but he is pretty close given the matchup with the Pirates He's also been very good. We talked about this yesterday on the show, but the most relevant sample for Walker is over his past four starts he's been using fewer splitters and That can be a red flag Sometimes I will be wary of pitchers that they're throwing their off-speed stuff last because it could mean they're not a full hell Especially now with the sticky stuff discussion It couldn't mean they can't get a grip on it with Walker lowering the usage on his splitter That's not actually a terrible thing because the splitter has not been a great pitch for him so far this year So over his past four starts a three point one seven skill interactive eRA 28% strikeout rate and a 3% walk rate those are all really good numbers and They're putting them up against the pirates for today the pirates not a powerful offense They have the lowest WRC plus on the slate outside of the Rockies who don't really have a scheduled picture against them as of yet So it's a good matchup. He's at home We do have to navigate the weather because as mentioned there is some rain concern for that game for today But if we get the all clear with the weather I do think that there is enough working in Walker's favor to make in the number two picture and tonight's slate behind Mort I will say too that like if you have too many concerns around the matchup between the repeat match between Morton and the Marlins, it's justifiable to go Walker over Morton. They're in the same tier to me So to me it is Morton one walk or two But they're kind of a 1a 1b type of situation and it's not like you must go Charlie Morton No matter what as far as a value play There's no safety with Kenta Maeda because we have not seen the full Kenta Maeda until last week last week It was old school Kenta. He had 10 strikeouts over six shutout innings I'm not sure if that will stick But it does mean that he has upside and if we're looking for upside in the slate We're not gonna find a whole lot of it So I think we should at least give Maeda a look here given the good start he had last week We got four starts on Maeda since he came back from the injured list and he's been leaning more on his forcing fastball in that time The velocity on his slider is down But the movement on it is up quite a bit and when I see that it says to me He's probably made a change in the way throwing that slider from what he was doing before. That's interesting I'm not saying it's a bad thing to have reduced velocity might actually be kind of interesting because in those four starts Maeda has a 28% strikeout rate. He's letting apart contact just 23% of the time So that's all great It's not all sunshine and daisies Which is why I said I wasn't sure if it would stick because Maeda is walking too many guys He did let up seven runs two starts ago Plus the Tigers aren't a prime target for pitchers that they were before there They've been playing a lot better offensively recently. So there is risk here But again, he has a path to a ceiling game and that's not super Abundant on this late guys who actually have a path to a good game for tonight So Ken to Maeda $7,300 on Fandal for today really low salary. I think that helps a lot So I do think that Maeda despite the concerns is worthwhile for today. So to me It's more than one Walker to Maeda the top value play There's no safety among those guys outside of maybe Walker, but I do think that they all have upside I think that's enticing for me on this specific slate So with pitchers being kind of shaky that should mean that the stacks are a bit easier to get to and they are which helps The Phillies are gaining a DH today. They're going to the Fenway So an American League Park, which means they get a DH I talked about Brad Miller as a guy who never plays and I never could talk about him any yet I think three home runs last night. So Hopefully he's in there today. It does stink I kind of wish he hadn't done that because outside of lines where I had him in You know, I'd like to get him at the lower roster rate, but hey either way I think we should like the Phillies here against Garrett Richards Richards is someone who talked plenty about with regards to the spin rate discussion he was very vocal in being against the enforcement and we can see why we're up to seven starts with Richards having less movement on his foreseen fastball and his skill interactive VR raise up to 5.46 with a 14% strikeout rate. He is allowing a 55% heart-hit rate He's leveled off a bit recently where the bleeding has started to slow a bit But that's all relative to where it was before he still let up multiple home runs earned runs in each game He has not had more than three strikeouts in June 6th. You let of three home runs to start to go So although it's been a little bit better it's still obviously ain't great and we have reason to think that those struggles will continue So the Phillies they have plenty guys who want to use now that DD's back now that Maybe we'll get Brad Miller in there, Odeba Herrera is occasionally hitting decently So I think that the Phillies are a team we should be good going to for today Part of the reason I like the Phillies is DD Grigoris being back as we talked about I like looking at plate discipline numbers when a player comes off the injured list and DD is looking pretty good there Drunk good number of walks making some hard contact I think it's easy to feel good about him at $2,500 filling shortstop for today So I think DD Grigoris someone who wants to be we should have in our our Philly stacks for sure We might not need all the salary savings But hey, it makes it easier to get to Bryce Harper, etc, etc DD is someone I'm very willing to turn to you for today The twins are facing Matt Manning tonight And I'm not sure how long he'll be out there because he went to 60 pitches last time out and They are limiting Casey Mies right now to try to make sure he can pitch the entire year It could be a short stint for Manning But I think the twins have good upside for when Manning is out there Manning's first few starts in the big leagues have been pretty rough He is up to four starts there He has a 5.85 skill interactive ERA with just a 7% strikeout rates and his walk rate is 6% That means he's letting up a ball and play 84% of the time Which is exactly what we want for sacking and you would need an outlandish batted ball Profile to get away with such a low strikeout rate Manning is more middling He is allowed a 42% hard hit rate with a 32% fly ball rates and as we discussed when he first came up Those struggles were there in the miners too. So I'm not expecting him to turn things around Given the combination the peripherals with what he did in the miners. That's especially true against a decent twins offense They've a 186 ISO versus righties. They got a plenty of dingers in those bats So I think we should stack the twins tonight even with Not a ton of clarity on how long Manning will go for today Sacking the twins against the right He does mean we get to use both of their fun rookie lefties and Trevor Larnack and Alex Kiriloff Larnack has a 198 ISO against righties Kiriloff is 158 But he does make a lot of hard contact and I think if I had to take an over under on the 158 ISO I take the over going forward for Kiriloff Larnack is $2,600 Kiriloff has $2,700 so that makes a lot of sense help you get up to Nelson Cruz So I am very into Both those guys for tonight as part of a twin stack, but also as one also you need to fill an outfield or utility slot Finally for the third stack the White Sox are facing Jorge Lopez and Lopez was doing some nice things earlier in the year And those things have come back to earth and I think that it makes a ton of sense to stack the White Sox tonight against him Lopez Does seem to have been impacted by the sticky stuff discussion He's had less movement on his foreseamer over his past six starts in that time He has a 5.04 skill interactive ERA with an 18% strike outright and he's walking a lot of guys He's also letting apart contact 49% of the time and the results have been rough to see our rain the time is 7.28 Lopez has faced some good teams in that time We can sometimes see opponent strength dictate stuff like that But the White Sox are fights you to they got a 108 WRC plus versus righties they draw a lot of walks so I think they will get a lot of runners on base here and That could lead to a lot of upside the White Sox against righties do not have as much power as they do versus lefties But I think the base runner angle the volume angle I think that that's enough to make the White Sox a good stack for today And the team that I want to go to one of the exceptions to the White Sox have less power versus righties discussion is Brian Goodwin It's still a small sample, but he's been lighten it up He's got a 360 ISO in 60 plate appearances against righties. He's shown some flashes of power in the past still no You know guys not back yet from injury a little hymen is just starting his rehab stint for right now So I don't know if good one will keep up this specific pace But I wouldn't be shocked if he continues continues to be a viable bat for DFS going forward So Brian Goodwin $3,000 someone I think we should feel great about in terms of stacking the White Sox Just because the power he's shown seems decent So I think that we will be hard on him for today against Lopez Let's finish up here with things to watch starting off with a guy I was surprised to see near the top of the salary pool and Zach Thompson. He is squaring off with with the braids for today at home and I Think you can consider Thompson because his numbers and his first five starts are really good He has a 32% strikeout rate and a 3.25 skill interactive ERA The reason I won't be going there is a length In his five starts he's gone 55 66 73 91 87 pitches and the Marlins are pretty conscious of how much they use their pitchers there, especially the younger guys and we saw them I Think that we could see a situation where Thompson doesn't get to go super deep in games yet He was like a twinning guy for the most part in the minor leagues before he got called up So I think you can justify it because 90 pitches of a 32% strike area It's pretty good, but I have concerns around the length and it's a tough matchup So Thompson is someone I'm okay just watching for tonight and not being in on from a DFS perspective Two of the stacks I like here are the Red Sox and the Dodgers the Red Sox are facing Vince Velazquez and Velazquez is Coming back a little bit here over his past six starts with more forcing fastballs He's allowing a 47% fly ball rates not a ton of hard contact, which is weird for Velazquez But strikeout right down to 21% Red Sox a very good offense versus right. He's the one or two WRC plus a lot of power So both sides of the Red Sox Philly's game very much in play from a stacking perspective the Dodgers facing Taylor Weidner and He had just one rehab start before he came back up and he didn't look all that great in it Now he's coming back up to face the Dodgers The Weidner wasn't terrible I guess that the way I'd phrase it in his first stint as a starter in the big leagues But definitely was not enough to scare me out of stacking the Dodgers here So stacking for today pretty easy got the Phillies twins White Sox Red Sox and Dodgers I am fully on board with all those Hopefully that helps compensate for the lack of safety at pitcher for today to make it a better slate than it Would be without those good stacking options Okay, let's finish Friday on a high note. We got Eric Haas for the Dinger call last night He did go deep. So let's try to keep the streak going here The boring home run call for today is Nelson Cruz facing Matt Manning a lot of balls in play Nelson Cruz Has some power. We'll go out and live and say that I think we can say that by now So we'll go Nelson Cruz for the boring one for the fun one. We will go back to Boston and talk about Didi Gregorius lower salary guy It's a bit lower in the order It should keep the popularity off of him and he's looked decent enough in his first couple of games back So the home run calls for today Nelson Cruz and Didi Gregorius going out on a high note for today Going out in a high note for the entire first half because the all-star break coming up next week We will not have a show obviously until next Friday for that one time Becky will be on with you because I will be heading to a wedding. So Tom will be with you on Friday next week I'll be back with you the following Monday to get you set for the second half of MLB DFS Make sure you are subscribed to the number fire daily fantasy podcast feed wherever you get your podcast And as always if you like what you hear leave us a rating and review as well If you have questions for me before the 4 p.m. Stream for tonight, I am on Twitter at Jim Sonnis J-i-m-s-a-n-n-e-s you can also follow the fan dual podcast network at fan dual podcast big Thank you to everyone for tuning in for today. Good luck With your MLB DFS launcher tonight enjoy the all-star break enjoy the weekend. We'll talk to you once again in a couple weeks This has been the solo shot right here on the fan dual podcast network