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I always remind you to check your lineups before start of play, and never more so in this most roller-coastery of weeks in the most roller-coastery of seasons, as it barrels breathlessly toward the finish line. You have teams who have clinched berths in the playoffs and others realizing that 2020 is not their year (is it anybody’s year, really?), so it’s always an interesting time for setting lineups, as things can change at the very last minute: players resting, pitchers not going deep, et cetera. But as of time of writing, Kevin Gausman ($8,300) is still projected to start at home for the Giants versus the Rockies, and it is he on whom we are pinning our hopes for our FanDuel DFS lineup, this Thursday. He’s also been great in his last 2 outings, versus the A’s and Diamondbacks, going 6.0 innings with 1 earned run on each occasion. For the rest of this, my very last post of the 2020 “regular” season (thanks for hanging out with me!), let’s take a look at some hitters to recruit around him, as well as some alternative pitching, after the jump.

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There are only 2 Thursdays left in this weird season where life feels a little Groundhog Day-ish (doesn’t it?). So here we are on another Thursday, another day in which the pitching options seem somewhat on the “meh” side for our DFS slates on FanDuel. It’s pay up for Gerrit Cole, or take a risk and go cheaper and spend on hitting instead. Because I’ll admit to needing a little excitement in my life these days, I’m going to build a lineup around Aaron Civale ($9,200) versus the Royals. Civale could make for a good match-up versus the poor, last-in-their-division, Royals. He may earn some runs. He’s not going to be a strikeout machine. He’s more risky than Cole, but less than Paddack (more on the below). But he should go deep enough into the game and he could get a win. That’s a VictoriaB Ringing Endorsement™.  Let’s take a look at who else is out there, after the jump.

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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Before we begin: a large, AROOGA-AROOGA caveat to this post. I’m writing it in advance without knowing whether more games will be postponed today, owing to the protests over racial justice. All this to say, please be sure to check your line-ups before start of play. Should everything go ahead, FanDuel is offering us a slate of 6 games (starting at 6:37 ET) — to accommodate the double-headers, I suspect — which slims down our options somewhat, but let’s look at what we can do within those parameters.  Because I started this post really far in advance, I was originally going to tell you to play Zac Gallen at home, where he holds a 2.37 ERA, versus the Rockies. He’ll also give you Ks and his WHIP is pretty good. But he’s not part of today’s slate on FanDuel, so I’ll just say now, if you have the opportunity to play him anywhere in a DFS or roto league, give him a shot!  As it stands, pitching is a little ouch-it-hurts on this slate. With any luck, your competitors will flock to Max Scherzer ($10,600) for their pitching needs, but I prefer Hyun-Jin Ryu ($9,100). Buffalo is starting to look like a hitting park, but Boston’s offense is limited other than Mitch Moreland (who likely won’t face LHP).

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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Today’s already short Thursday slate is further shortened by postponements. Plus, the pitching pickings are a little slim. You may need to pick your poison today on FanDuel: spend big on pitching, or punt pitching and concentrate on hitting. If you fancy the former option, I like (and will thus be starting) Yu Darvish ($9,600) for the match-up versus the Brewers. $9,600 is not a bad price for Streamonator’s current top pitching pick. He was great last time out versus the Royals, going 7.0 innings with only 1 earned run. Today he takes the mound in Milwaukee versus the Brewers, who are 23rd in MLB in batting average.  If you want to focus on hitting today, there are some nice stackable options as the Phillies look to beat up on Tom Eshelman at home.

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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I have so many questions about the 2020 season. How long will it last, for starters. For seconds: Piped-in crowd sound. It’s just… weird. Is there a crowd-sound DJ and how are their skills tested during the job interview? Are the players really fooled? Has the crowd sound ever been so loud that players can’t hear each other across the field? But I digress! Today I come at you from the great sultry north with some FanDuel picks for your DFS state this Thursday, 30 July. Another question for me today is pitching: it’s one of those days where it would be nice to dispense with a pitcher altogether, but we cannot and still, you know, actually submit a valid line-up on FanDuel, so perhaps we go the punt-pitching, splurge-on-hitting route. That’s where John Means comes in. Not to start him, but because I sense he’s going to present us with some stacking opportunities as he squares up against the Yankees. Let’s take a look at what else is out there, after the jump.

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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Hello, poppets! VictoriaB here, pinch-hitting for Wander34 while he summer vacates (totally a verb). I was pleasantly surprised to find that MLB is not running a skeleton crew this sunny summer Monday: in fact, it’s rather a fulsome slate, with 11 games going down across baseball land. Options are varied by position, but I think we can build ourselves a decent enough slate on FanDuel today, around our anointed centerpiece, Robbie Ray.

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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If one goes purely by Streamonator (SON), Justin Verlander is one’s top man on FanDuel today, for his match-up versus Texas. There will be Ks. There may be a win. But… JV is also the chalk play, and at $10,800 (I just choked on my Easter chocolate), he will cost you a third of your total lineup budget. I think we can do better than that. On this very Good Friday — which is also the first day of Passover and a day upon which I’m well chuffed to be here for the first time this season, pinch-hitting for Richardo — let us explore some ideas beyond the obvious. Some of them might be gambles, but hey, we’re here to gamble, right?

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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Because German Marquez is so money, and you’ll want to get him in your FantasyDraft team today if you can. Let’s fire things up and see who else we’ve got on the slate, and where, and how much they cost (in fake fantasy dollar terms). On your marquez, get set, go!

New to FantasyDraft? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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(Yes, I know Grey has already used the line, but imitation is the sincerest form of Flaherty.) It’s a bit of a peculiar day on FantasyDraft. The early slate (more on that below) is tough for pitching, other than Jack Flaherty ($21,400), who takes on the Tigers in Comerica Field. Later, there are some star pitchers on the mound — your Max Scherzers ($24,300), your Noah Syndergaards ($19,300) and what-have-yous; those whom Streamonator ranks all the way at the top. But they both have match-ups that make me slightly nervous: the Cubs and the Phillies, respectively. At the same time, both slates feature a couple of delicious hitting situations, such as Astros at Red Sox early, and Dodgers at Rockies late, plus some lefty pitchers against teams who, frankly, feast on LHP. So the TL;DR version: I’m leaning more hitting than pitching today. Let’s take a look at some options.

New to FantasyDraft? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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…You should occasionally look to the results,” goes the rest of the quote by Winston Churchill, but we’re going to ignore that last bit for now (although it’s generally good advice) and talk strategy for our lineup on Draft.com today. It’s an interesting day, given the pitching. We have a bunch of excellent – Cy Young-level excellent — pitchers who have the misfortune of playing in good hitting parks or facing good hitting teams. And then pitchers who would normally be only mid-tier suddenly get a bump because of the teams they’re facing or the parks they’re pitching in. In short, there’s a lot of pitching and you can probably afford to wait until your second round to grab a pitcher. So I’d aim for a top IF first, then a pitcher, then an OF. Let’s take a look at who’s out there for the grabbin’.

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(Obviously YMMV re. the cooler nights if you’re not in eastern Canada, comme moi.) It is the last Saturday of baseball in August. I repeat, the last Saturday in August. I don’t know how the hell that happened, but my gathering melancholy at the thought that regular-season baseball is drawing to a close is definitely assuaged by the sweet pitching match-ups on the slate today, beginning with Clayton Kershaw facing the San Diego Padres. And oh yeah, the Cards and Rockies have @Col next to their names on the schedule. Tonight’s gonna be a good night for pitching AND hitting for your FantasyDraft team: I can feel it in my tired old bones <pours a sherry, clutches shawl>.

New to FantasyDraft? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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Sure, Jack Flaherty ($18,800 on FantasyDraft today) may not be the sexiest pitcher on the slate: that would be Trevor Bauer ($24,100…cough) at the White Sox, or Charlie Morton at home in Houston ($21,900) or Aaron Nola ($18,600) in San Diego. But I like the Flaherty match-up versus the second-last-in-MLB Royals in Kansas City. He’s looked great in his last couple of starts; that 11.02 K/9 is sexy, and I’m hoping for a win out of him. And at this price, you can’t really go wrong. Besides, it’s a Coors day (awww yeah!), so I’m making him the lede in case you’re interested in rolling with a pitcher who’s a tad bit cheaper, allowing you to stock up on Dodgers-Rockies bats in your FantasyDraft lineup. Let’s take a look at who else we might fit in around the edges.

New to FantasyDraft? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

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