They call Draft fantasy for the people, and why not? It’s easy as Sunday morning. Sign up at Draft.com, do a quick snake draft of 3, 4, 6 or 10 players, and get a piece of the payouts. Here at Razzball, we recommend using Value-Based Drafting (VBD) to make the most of your roster. Using Rudy’s tools, you can easily sort values and take the projected points for the final player drafted at each position (P, IF, OF) and subtracting from all the players at that position, then re-ranking based on VBD. In other words, Razzball will give you the inside knowledge you need to dominate your DFS opponents.
Here’s a salute to all the fantasy baseball fans staying true in the face of the onslaught of the NFL: you who have the red seams of the ball running through your blood and the white of the bases in your bones. Today is a day for the most wonderful, hard-luck, incredible starting pitcher this year: Jacob deGrom. His ERA is 1.68, his WHIP 0.96. Despite a 9-9 record, he will most likely win the NL Cy Young. And today the deGrominator gets the Phillies, who have hit him to a paltry .218 batting average and .596 OPS. Now, thanks to the threat of rain in several places in baseball land, I’m going to give you some alternatives, some special bonus player entries this week. If the rain comes down in New York as forecast (there’s a lot of it around: at time of posting, the Marlins-Pirates game has already been postponed), grab Robbie Ray of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s going against the Atlanta Braves, who are losing a lot lately, in heartbreaking fashion, and have hit Ray to a tiny .207 batting average and .475 OPS. He’s not ranked above deGrom, as his year has not been quite as sterling, but he’s a worthy 1A nonetheless. Now let’s look at a few more early-, middle- and late-round picks for your Draft…drafts!
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Mike Clevinger, SP: Middle – Not only is he pitching in Toronto, which has a retractable roof and is thus immune from the elements, but he’s a really great option in the middle rounds. The long-haired one loves facing the depleted Blue Jays. They hit Clevinger to just a .222 batting average and .778 OPS.
Ryan Yarbrough, SP: Late – No kidding, a Tampa Bay starter who goes more than an inning? Yes, it’s true, Yarbrough has averaged 5 innings per his last 3 starts, and he’s facing the Orioles, who hit him to just a .222 batting average and .572 OPS. A nice end-game gamble.
Manny Machado, IF: Early – Machado is number 1 with a bullet on the Hittertron for good reason: he’s playing in Colorado today, with clear weather, and armed with a .937 OPS against left-handers like today’s opponent, Tyler Anderson. It should be Manny moonshots galore!
Charlie Blackmon, OF: Early – An all-star Rockie hitting at home? That’s a recipe for pick ’em early! He’s an equal-opportunity hitter when it comes to pitcher handedness, so the Dodgers’ switch-out of LHP Alex Wood for LHP Rich Hill shouldn’t faze him, plus he hit a home run off Hill last time they faced each other.
Trevor Story, IF: Middle – You might have heard that Story has been on a bit of a power trip. He’s got his home run stroke locked in. Today he faces Rich Hill of the Dodgers, which is an excellent lefty-righty match-up for him: he’s hitting .340 off lefties this season, and .309 at home.
Christian Yelich, OF: Middle – Yelich faces the formerly formidable Madison Bumgarner at home in Milwaukee today. For his career, Yelich has hit Bumgarner to .357/1.222 including 2 home runs in 22 at-bats. People should be loading up on Dodgers and Rockies, leaving Yelich, and his post-All Star-break .357 batting average and 1.134 OPS, sitting there in the middle rounds.
Justin Bour, IF: Late – For shock factor, it’s great to grab Bour against deGrom with a late pick. In his career, Bour has hit deGrom to a .364/1.122 slash line with 2 home runs in 22 at-bats. Bonus pick in case of rain: DJ LeMahieu. DJ is hitting .329 against LHP and .312 at home in Colorado, so you could do a lot worse.
Michael Conforto, OF: Late – A little support for the deGrominator! Conforto has great stats against Vince Velasquez of the Phillies: .444 batting average with a 1.694 OPS, including 2 home runs in 9 at-bats. His bonus rain swap: Yasiel Puig, who has slashed .480/1.319 at Coors field in his career.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
…So I am jumping up and down excited for the northeast part of the country! There is rain and/or thunderstorm potential in Washington for Cubs and Nationals, in New York for Phillies and Mets, and in Cincinnati for Padres and Reds — and we already know it’s coming down in Pittsburgh, where the Marlins-Pirates game has been postponed. Honestly, uncle already!
Doing Lines In Vegas
Stack ’em, pack ’em and rack ’em: The highest projected runs scored today are the Rockies (6.04) vs the Dodgers (5.98), and the Nationals (5.24) vs the Cubs.
The best and the brightest: The biggest favorites today are the Mets (-186) vs the Phillies, the Diamondbacks (-173) vs the Braves, and the As (-169) vs the Rangers.
