The night slate is…hrm, how best to put this? Not good for pitching. Like uglier than the dude in the pic above this sentence ugly. If you’re in the eleven game grouping tonight, you’re gonna wonder where the safe arms are. Well, from what I see you ain’t got none and for that reasoning, I’m out here looking for something that feels safe. Plushy, soft, and supple. Something that makes me feel like I could curl up and fall asleep on it’s giant Buddha belly. Admittedly, I don’t like the idea of going to the well over and over against the Phillies because you know it’s eventually got to have a regression to the positive which would be negative for us, but here I am looking at Bartolo Colon for the night. Fluffy, stay puft marshmallow man that he is, Colon is 42 years young and rarely walks hitters. And why would you when your fastball sits at 89.8? All jokes aside, the reality is Colon throws strikes and spots his pitches well…except when he doesn’t. Then he looks like he’s pitching BP. Obvi I’m hoping for the good Bartolo and not the bad one tonight but with a slate full of nasty, his 5.5K price tag makes him appealing as a cash relief so you can pay up for big bats. You get peak Bartolo, you’re getting about 22 points which more than offsets the memory you rostered this. So on this night, realize you only live once and roster a guy who looks like he should’ve keeled over and died ten times at this point. But enough about that, let’s talk about this. Here’s my triple coronary bypass hot taeks for this Wednesday DK slate…
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Cole Hamels, SP: $9,900 – Not telling you MadBum or Greinke are bad choices, but because of them I do wonder if Hamels goes a bit unheralded. Throwing a pitcher out there against the Astros is the ultimate risk/reward trope realized. The ‘stros are second in K% for a team on the year, but are also 4th in team ISO so if Hamels can limit baserunners and avoid big innings, you could have a huge K night that goes low owned.
Ian Kennedy, SP: $8,300 – Kennedy has averaged 29.4 DK points per start so far. It’s also his median starting average…that’s just fun with math. Somehow he hit 29.4 on the nose in his first two starts. Fluky as all get out, but with his home ballpark and defense, it’s hard not to suggest that you roll with Kennedy.
Rick Porcello, SP: $8,200 – More than likely a sexy pick after the start to the year. I mean two starts with 15 K and only 2 walks against the Blue Jays? Likely a chalky cash game play and it’s hard to argue but if you’re a tourney type, this is an excellent time to roll out an Archer/Rays totes ridic stack to troll everyone if you’re doing a bunch of lineups.
Wei-Yin Chen, SP: $7,900 – Quietly solid in Baltimore, Chen is a quiet but solid choice for this slate. I don’t see a good tourney play here but if you’re looking for variance with your SP2 in cash games, let me show you the Wei.
Nathan Eovaldi, SP: $7,100 – Remember that Porcello blurb about 15 K and 2 BB? That’s what Eovaldi is rocking so far as well through two starts and in tourneys, I’m a fan. Against an Oakland team that has struggled in general to score runs so far this year, it’s hard not to be a fan of the Nate-orious EOV.
Derek Norris, C: $3,500 – It’s not the right park for Derek to go full Chuck, but it’s the right pitcher. When Jeff Locke succeeds, even he wonders why. If I’m paying up – and because of savings, yeah, I go a way to do this – I’m fine with Chuck Jr.
Yasmani Grandal, C: $3,200 – The Dodgers were a sneaky stack last night that didn’t work. It happens, you pick yourself back up and you move on. Now that we’re a day removed and a little less frustrated, let’s look and see…oh it’s Julio Teheran on the mound. The same guy who gave up 18 HRs to lefties last year? Got it! Yeah, you wanna Dodger stack tonight, you got my tramp stamp of approval. Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, and even Chase Utley are all in play
Lucas Duda, 1B: $4,100 – Lucas hits home runs in throngs DU-DA, DU-DA. And they go five miles long, oh the DU-DA day. Lucas is streaking and not in a way that makes your mother cover her eyes. Unless she’s offended by dongs…I could’ve worded that better. Duda is hitting for power right now. Enjoy the ride at a cheap price.
Justin Bour, 1B: 3,100 – On a night like tonight, I have no idea why you need a 1B punt option but Ross still hasn’t faced a majorly stacked lefties lineup at this point. The Marlins aren’t likely to run up the score but if you’re sprinkling your LU with lefties against Ross, this Bour could run wild.
Brian Dozier, 2B: $4,100 – When you put a flyball hitter in a top 5 HR park for boppers, good things can happen. I’m obviously not chasing a statline here as Dozier has definitely been dozing so far this year. He’s shown himself as a slow starter so I’m ok with going contrarian and being bullish on the Dozier.
Scooter Gennett, 2B: $2,600 – I’m not thrilled he’s getting a lefty pitcher but that lefty pitcher is Tommy Milone? C’mon! Again, not that you need to punt positions but I see zero reason not to ride the Scooter today, punt or no.
Brandon Drury, 2B/3B: $2,200 – It’s no surprise I keep mentioning this kid. I do it cuz I like him and I like his chances of getting into the LU against a lefty pitcher. I know it’s Bumgarner but the Dbacks seem inclined to get him in there vs southpaws and if I’m looking to punt either 2B or 3B, he can be a Konami cheat code.
Manny Machado, 3B/SS: $4,900 – If you wanna pay up at 3rd or at short – seriously, DK, you take away 1B eligibility from Trumbo and give Manny SS? – Manny is solid choice to bop one off of R.A. Dickey. I know, I know, seems everyone is.
Eduardo Nunez, 3B/SS: $3,000 – Now if you wanna pay down at 3B or SS…this is a DFSBot special as it has Eduardo ranked the best 3B for the day and actually second best behind Manny for upside points at the position. If you’re counting, that’s three total Brewers and Twins suggested. Yes, there will be more. No, there won’t be a quiz later on who they were. I don’t actually expect you to read this shizz.
Carlos Correa, SS: $4,500 – Yes, I suggested Hamels but upon suggestion I said if he can limit the damage as I’m sure the Astros will score runs against him while striking out a poo-ton. It’s more a question of how will those runs be scored and by whom.
Nick Ahmed, SS: $2,400 – Again, not suggesting a MadBum attack here but Ahmed is looking good and he’s cheap. He doesn’t have to do much at this price to warrant a look.
Ryan Braun, OF: $4,600 – Braun against a soft tosser makes me toss my arms up in the air and scream like I was Kermit the Frog. Our count of bats in this game has now risen to four. Would I dare suggest more? Let’s see…
J.D. Martinez, OF: $4,100 – It’s not the park you want him in but Martinez facing off against a flyball pitcher is usually advantage JD. ‘What happened out there tonight?’ ‘Just Dongs’. That’s Ian talking to his pitching coach after the game.
Oswaldo Arcia, OF: $3,400 – If this were a regular season blurby blog post, I’d be telling you to pick him up like four days ago. But it’s not so I’m just here to tell you he’s a solid power option who is now the fifth bat I’ve mentioned in this game. Yeah, I’m gonna have a ‘Twinkies & Brews’ lineup for tonight.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
The early games look scary on the weather front. At least three of the four early games could either get washed out or pushed back for the night. So maybe we’ll have a 14 game slate after all! Outside of that, much like my little black book, the slate looks clean and clear.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Remember how I said pitching was kind of ugly tonight? Guess which pitcher has the biggest line? Yup, the biggest pitcher on the slate. Bartolo is currently a -153 favorite as the PHIvsNYM game sits at 8.5. It’s gonna be one of those kinds of days. If you wanna chase the low o/u, you’ve got SDvsPIT sitting at 7 and SFvsARZ at 6.5. Personally, the over in San Diego is mighty tempting to take with less than dominant lefties going against right hand heavy lineups, but I ain’t out here throwing shade at Vegas. In total, seven of your eleven games have an o/u of 8 or above with BALvsTOR taking top honors at 9.
