With two weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture starts to come into view, with a few races undecided. The Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Cardinals’ Albert Pujols are chasing their own pieces of history. The season has set up for an exciting finish, and then our first glimpse at the new playoff format. Yippie!
Draft Kings offers three different DFS slates today. the options are: early (2 games,) evening (7 games,) and night (2 games.) I have elected the evening slate. All players will pull from the evening DFS DK. We’ll start things off with Corbin Burnes ($10,600). The Brewers are nearing must-win territory, after taking two of three from the Yankees, the Crew welcomes another New York team in the Mets. Needing a win, with Philadelphia two games ahead in the Wild Card, they turn to their Cy Young winner. Burnes struggled after the All-Star Break but has regained his stride as of late. Over his last two starts: 15 innings with 19 strikeouts, only walking one batter. Most attention will be on his counterpart, Max Scherzer returning from the IL. I like Corbin Burnes in a big game.
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Edward Cabrera, SP: DK: $7,500 – Cabrera has been so good. The Marlins will enter 2023 with one of the best pitching staffs in baseball and Cabrera is the reason. We all knew how good Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez were, but Cabrera has proved to be unhittable at points as well. Few balls are hit hard, and he is very efficient. He has allowed 18 earned runs over his last 59.3 innings pitched. Tonight, he is paired up against the user-friendly Cubs lineup, at home. An evening filled with aces, means he comes in at seventh in payroll expense.
Adley Rutschman, C: DK: $5,100 – The Detroit Tigers will have Tyler Alexander on the hill on Monday, and he has not been good. The lefty-lefty matchup/advantage is non-existent. Left-handed hitters’ bat .277 against Anderson. Rutschamn is notoriously bad against southpaws, however, he is seeing the ball well as of late, hitting .333 over his last fifteen games, and the bottom line is, starting pitcher, Tyler Anderson is arguably the most hittable pitcher in baseball right now.
Joey Meneses, 1B: DK: $5,000 – With the departure of Juan Soto and Josh Bell (and every other star National that has ever existed,) it has opened the door for some of the lesser-known players with talent. The national media has recently noticed Meneses, but joey has been raking all year. He has settled in nicely, and in 2022: .309/.341/.537. For first basemen, he is fifth in cost, allowing you to spread more money around elsewhere.
Jose Altuve, 2B: DK: $5,900 – Jose got hot just before the break and has not looked back. His slash line since the break: .311/.391/.490. Altuve has a tough matchup tonight in Tampa Bay Rays starter, Drew Rasmussen. Altuve’s batting average against right-handed hitters is up .20 points year over year, leveling the playing field some.
Max Muncy, 3B: DK: $5,000 – Death, taxes, and Muncy hitting into the shift. But wait! Max has hit safely in eleven of his last twelve games, hitting .379 over that span. A season .201 batting average seems underwhelming until you understand he was hitting .164 before the All-Star break, and as noted last week, he is second in the National League in walks.
Wander Franco, SS: DK: $4,700 – This is a big game for Tampa. As we hit the home stretch, these games become increasingly more important. Franco generally bats in the top three spots of the lineup. He will get at least four at-bats. He hits Astros starter, Luis Garcia, well with a career average of .333. A cheap add allowing more flexibility and depth elsewhere in your DFS lineup.
Christian Yelich, OF: DK: $4,600 – This is my favorite add, and as it turns out, one of my favorite players. Yelich was in a major decline the last few seasons. Maybe not to the standard of an average player, but definitely to that of a former MVP. Yes, I know he is facing Max Scherzer, but we do not know what condition or restrictions Max will have. The Brewers need wins, and the former league’s best will deliver. Yelich is hitting .345 over his last seven games, and the batting average and slugging percentage are each up .30 + points since the All-Star break. Also, literally, no one hits Scherzer better than Yelich. A career .313 hitter with 3 home runs and 5 batted in against the former Cy Young winner.
Jake McCarthy, OF: DK: $3,700 – An absolute steal. Bargain basement here. The little we know about McCarthy is that he is an exceptional hitter, and, like everyone in Arizona, a great young player. The scouting team is a showstopper. It’s Daniel Day acting. The cool thing, DraftKings also knows little about Jake, coming in at a cool $3,700. It feels unfair. Jake’s last 30 games: .360/.415/.586. Yeah, I would start this guy.
I’m only happy when it rains
A fairly dry day, showers may impact the Florida games (per always) in Miami and Tampa
Doing lines in Vegas:
Atlanta Braves: – 1.5
New York/Milwaukee: Under 6.5
