Before we go any further, pick up the phone and wish your mother a happy Mother’s Day. In honor of the woman who taught me not to play in traffic, pet strange dogs, or stick Legos up my nose, I’m playing it super safe today with my A-1 starter and drafting Clayton Kershaw ($13,000) in cash games. He’s a whopping $30 value on the Stream-0-Nator and I would be really surprised if he doesn’t post at least 25 points today. Then again, it doesn’t take much to surprise me anymore. I’m boring y’all! The biggest drawback to Kershaw today is what that hefty price tag does to the rest of your lineup, so it will be key to draft a solid number two starter and we’ll have to scrape together some pocket change for a couple hitters today.
Signing up for DraftKings is easy and if you use that link, you’ll get a free ticket for a contest with your first-time deposit. The winner of that contest gets entry into our $500k Showcase with a $100k top prize. Also, if you haven’t tried the DFSBot yet, check it out. It gives you an idea of who the best values are based on their projections versus their actual DK salaries for the day. This comes in really handy on a day like today when we splurge on pitching and need to find some cheaper bats. If you’d like to see how your lineup fares against the Guru and I, join our free 5-team contest. As always, double check the starting lineups and the weather before the day’s games begin. Here are today’s DraftKings picks for 5/11/2014…
Chris Tillman, SP: $8,100 – One of the cheaper plays at pitcher, Tillman draws the Astros at home. I also like Henderson Alvarez in San Diego, but for just a little more coin, Tillman makes a stronger play given he’ll strikeout more batters. Sometimes those strikeout points can save an otherwise ho-hum outing, and I don’t have much faith in the Astros’ hitters to begin with. The few that Tillman has faced in the past have done nothing against him.
David Wright, 3B: $5,000 – Wright basically owns Cole Hamels, with a .333 batting average and five homers in 66 at-bats against the lefty. Hamels has looked a little off anyway, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see Wright take advantage once again.
Adam Lind, 1B: $3,800 – Lind has had some success against Weaver in the past although it is only a 24 at bat sample size. Lind kills righties in general, though, and his reduced price allows us to spend a little more at other positions in the lineup today. Rogers Centre is a nice environment for homers as well.
Shin-Soo Choo, OF: $5,100 – I go with Choo a lot in DFS since he can contribute a little of everything. Today I like him as well as cheaper Rangers plays like Leonys Martin ($3,600) and Rougned Odor ($2,000) against John Lackey, who is one of the easiest pitchers to run on. Also, this game is pegged for the highest run total with an O/U of 9.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There is a 30% chance of thunderstorms for COL@CIN and ARI@CWS.
Doing Line In Vegas (Overall 3-7)
I’ll go with the over in Detroit (8 1/2) and the under in Seattle (8).
Mike’s on Twitter @643ball
