Happy July, Razzaholics. Summer is here so let’s plop ourselves down in the kiddie pool with a pitcher of Margaritas and a couple of hotties and make some cash at DraftKings tonight. Have you been partaking in the DraftKings fun? Why not, don’t like money?! Get out of here, hippie! Your friendly Razztenders even provide you with some of the best juice in the biz: Stream-o-Nator, Hitter-Tron and the tasty DFSbot.
Before we get to today’s plays, let’s talk some strategy. When I’m constructing a roster there are a lot of stats and stuff (that’s a technical fantasy baseball term they teach up at the Mathew Berry Fantasy College for the Criminally Insane) that I look at including home run percentage (HR%), strikeout percentage (K%), walk percentage (BB%), lefty/righty splits, line drive, groundball, fly ball percentage, on-base plus slugging (OPS), weighted-on-base average (wOBA) and batting average on balls in play (BABIP). I also check ballpark factors, the weather, injury reports, Vegas lines and, of course, the lineups. That may seem like a lot to research, but when you got Benjamins on the line you want every advantage you can get. Lastly, I look at batter vs. pitcher matchups. There is much debate in our fake ballin’ world on the validity of using BvP. Some experts use it, others say it’s complete rubbish. I won’t drop any judgement on either, but I will say I check BvP. Daily. And it has won me cash and it has left me weeping in my brewski.
With all the said, let’s get to the plays of the day. We do have a split slate today with eight games this afternoon and seven tonight. I’ll offer up some players that have the best BvP numbers and you can decide if that’s how you want to roll.
Early Games
Justin Verlander, SP: $7,100 – In 135 career AB’s against Mr. Kate Upton, the Oakland A’s batters are hitting just .215 with 33 K’s. After being battered around for most of June, Verlander has looked better in his last two starts with a 3.46 ERA and 11.1 K/9.
Ryan Braun, OF: $5,900 – Braun has seven career hits off Jays starter J.A. Happ and three of those have been homers. Braun has been heating up lately with 14 hits in his last 10 games with a homer, a triple, four doubles and nine RBI.
Lorenzo Cain, OF: $4,200 – Cain is 7/14 (.583) against Twins right-hander Kevin Correia. On the flip side of things Correia has struggled versus the Royals who have hit .320 off him.
Omar Infante, 2B: $3,800 – Might as well keep picking on Correia as the Vegas over/under is 8 1/2 today. Infante is batting .381 in 21 AB’s against Correia and while it’s a small sample size the price may be right on Omar who is averaging 10+ FPTS over his last five games.
Late Games
Cole Hamels, SP: $10,600 – Hamels has held the Marlins to a .250 average with 50 K’s in 150 AB’s. Hamels may be a cheaper option over Adam Wainwright tonight as Cole is K-ing 7+ batters over his last seven starts.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF: $5,600 – While I am not generally a fan of taking hitters against my starting pitcher Giancarlo may be an exception. Stanton is 12/41 (.293) of Hamels, but nine of those hits have been for extra bases and three left the park – one is yet to land.
Josh Hamilton, OF: $4,400 – Hamilton finally broke a 10-game homerless streak Tuesday and has hit .438 off White Sox starter John Danks in 16 at-bats with a 1.099 OPS.
Elvis Andrus, SS: $4,000 – Elvis is 5-for-11 (.455) off O’s starter Chris Tillman and the way balls have been flying out of Camden Yards a Rangers stack attack could be a nice play tonight.
Michael Morse, 1B/OF: $3,700 – Mike Morse and the Giants face Adam Wainwright and the Cards tonight. Prolly best to avoid the Giants bats, but if you want to roll the dice in a tournament Morse is 4/11 with a homer off Waino.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
According to Razzball meteorologist Golden Sprinkles, scattered thunderstorms are expected for COL/WAS, TEX/BAL, and ARI/PIT. Also the wind is blowing out to left at Fenway Park tonight.
Doing Lines in Vegas
The sharks in Sin City are circling MIL/TOR at 9 1/2 and OAK/DET, CHA/LAA and TEX/BAL all with an over/under of 9.
Want to battle it on DraftKings? Just hit me up at TheGuru5150 or follow me on the tweet machine @TheGuruGS
