I’m a self-confessed/afflicted Mariners fan. I have been since the days of The Kid, Bones and ‘The Martinez Brothers’. I remember Mike Blowers catching fire in the second half of 1995 as Seattle surged to take over the AL West pennant from a team led by a guy with a fish for a last name. Fast forward 19 years – make sure you don’t wear out your VCR doing that, it’ll take a while – and the Mariners are still chasing an Angels team that’s led by a guy with a fish for a last name, only now there is no Blowers, we traded for or signed at least 5 DHs in the off-season and get shut down by pitchers like Brett Oberholtzer, who sounds more like an item at IKEA than a major league ball player. All this to say, as a man who plays over at DraftKings, I know what to do with the pain of having this kind of struggle from my home team – take advantage of it. There’s a reason Brandon Maurer is only $5,500 over on the good ‘ole DK. No, I’m not suggesting you play Maurer. You think I’d start with this depressing open and then tell you to roll him out there? His ERA is 6.99. ERA not predictive enough for you? How about an xFIP of 5.09? Or a K/9 of 4.76? Seriously, trade for Danny Worth at this stage, M’s, and let him run out there in Maurer’s stead please. But until they do, consider any and all Angels in play. Consider this your fall-back stack for the day which probably will be overplayed in GPP but should bring reasonable value. No Mariners fan is safe tomorrow, that doesn’t mean you can’t reap the benefits. And just in case you think I’m cray cray bae, HitterTron has got my back on this…and now it’s covered in oil discharge…if you’ll excuse me for a moment I’ll go clean up and finish off the rest of calling out these DK values. Oh and if you’re wondering where J-FOH is today, he called in sick with his own oily discharge going on. Feel free to Tweet at him random forms of sickness and hashtag it with #JFOHsIllness to make him feel better. No really, he loves ridicule. Promise!
R.A. Dickey, SP: $9,000 – The Royals are in an offensive funk and this old Dickey has been firing some pitch and catch spunk…prolly coulda gone with better wording there. So how about this wording – the Royals just got swept by the Astros at home and scored only five total runs in that three game series.
Dan Haren, SP: $9,500 – Not a value play here at all but for good reason. So far Haren’s home ERA is almost a run and a half lower than it is on the road (2.39 vs 3.72) and the Pirates have been pretty quiet as an offense on the whole this year but even moreso on the road with a .297 team wOBA. Plunder that booty.
Josh Collmenter, SP: $6,500 – Clearly against the grain here – rich mahogany if you’re wondering – but given the opponent is the Reds, this could pay huge dividends in GPP tourneys. Or you could get negative points and have to sell your wife’s wedding ring. Again. Not that I’m familiar with this situation…
Jaime Garcia, SP: $9,700 – You’ll notice I’m not going very cheap today. Paying middle of the road pitching and up should garner you benefits. Like the benefit of a guy who’s K’d 12 in 12.2 IP since returning from injury. We might even throw in a dental plan.
Wade LeBlanc, SP: Price Unknown – I’m just throwing him on here in case the benevolent DK Gods change their mind and make him available. Joey’s less intelligent, uglier brother is a bad pitcher. But he’s a lefty and the Mariners couldn’t hit one of those even if it were soft ball.
Dexter Fowler, OF: $4,000 – Want a sneaky stack play for the day? You may want a piece of Dat Astros. They’re middle of the road at home for team offenses and Ubaldo Jimenez could walk in 5 runs in the first inning. I’m only half-joking on that. Dexter leads the offensive charge with his .410 home wOBA but there are plenty of value plays because, well, Astros. Derp. Consider filling roster spots that aren’t Angels with some Houston Hombres.
Mitch Moreland, 1B/OF: $3,600 – Can we be Frank? But you’re talking about Mitch and I’d prefer to be called Ernest. Uh, ok I guess. What I meant to say is I’m not a huge Moreland fan. But what I am a fan of is a guy who’s been batting in the 3 spot of the Rangers lineup for most of the week and is this cheap. Easy 1B to build around without having to spend much up front to do it.
Adam Lind, 1B: $4,000 – Not quite as cheap as Mitch but he has a great history against James Shields with 5 HRs in 51 career ABs against him. Yes, I’m usually with you in ignoring BvsP stats but when the bombs are involved blood rushes to my nether regions and I find myself unable to sit comfortably. Speaking of BvsP, Jose Bautista has 4 HRs in 28 career AB against Big Game James. But like you said, you don’t care so just ignore this part…while I reap the benefits…
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Only game that looks dangerous at the moment is STLvsSF as there’s scattered thunder storms for most of the day. If you’re rolling with Garcia, make sure and keep your eye out here. You may have to remove your Jaime.
