Justin Verlander returns to action today after an initial IL stint stemming from a shoulder muscle strain in Spring Training. The Mets as a team need this injection to their rotation like that guy at the park just hovering in place needed his. Regardless of what you think about the suspension of Max Scherzer, it’s clear that he isn’t what he has been in his dominant past. Will age also catch up to Justin Verlander? Can he maintain the Cy Young form he continued to show last year? I couldn’t even begin to tell you. The baseball fan in me hopes he can. It’s hard enough to get owners to open their pocketbooks to spend on multiple good players like Steve Cohen has been doing. Another failed older player signing will discourage teams from taking the chance even more.
But this is a DFS article, what do we do with Justin Verlander today? A decision like this will always come down to projections for me. That looks good today. Prior to this start, he ended his rehab with a 75 pitch start, and today we can expect almost no restrictions in that regard. It’s an excellent matchup against the Tigers. He will be popular, but I’m wheels up today if he fits the lineup construction you are building.
New to DFS? You can start playing right now on FanDuel and put our picks to the test. If you’re scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond, 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 helps support your Razzball team!
Lucas Giolito, SP: $7,400 – Giolito has been all over the place in performance this year. His price point and the potential top end outcome against a Minnesota team that strikes out at a 25% rate against RHP have me interested. If you’re pairing him with a lower-owned SP or main stack, I think you are fine closing your eyes and clicking.
Willson Contreras, C: $4,400 – The Cardinals are a small stack today that I’m going to be mixing in at almost no ownership. Willson will be overshadowed in optimizers by his brother in Coors, and his price is in a weird range where he’s neither too expensive nor a salary saver.
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B: $5,700 – An unowned Cardinals ministack is never complete without Goldy. First base is always lowed with power-hitting talent, and at his high price, Goldy will never be anyone’s first option. Everyone is talking about how the Cardinals are struggling, and they are missing how he is quietly still having a great year at the plate while underperforming his Baseball Savant expected stats.
Nico Hoerner, 2B: $5,100 – I never could have imagined a world where it made sense to pay $5,100 for Hoerner this season and I would be fine with it. Don’t get cute, just play some Cubs.
Patrick Wisdom, 3B: $4,600 – Wisdom against a lefty is already a knockout matchup, and now he gets Patrick Corbin. Don’t get cute, just play some Cubs.
Dansby Swanson, SS: $4,800 – Just stack against Patrick Corbin. Coors will suck up enough ownership that this matchup should be attacked.
Lars Nootbaar/Dylan Carlson/Alec Burleson, OF: $4,200/2,800/3,200 – Nothing specific about any of these three players. I just want to include them here as various salary options to close out the previously mentioned 3 man Cardinals stack.
Kris Bryant, OF: $5,200 – The Rockies’ side of Coors is always ignored more than the visiting team. A matchup today against Wade Miley doesn’t scare me at all.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Some sprinkles here or there, but nothing too threatening to games.
Doing Lines In Vegas
I wrote up Paul Goldschmidt in the DFS portion of this article, and I want to continue it here. It’s a long road through some great players, but his NL MVP odds sitting at +3000 right now are tempting. Can he match a 40/40 season from Acuña? Probably not. But if the Cardinals as a team turn it around, and Goldy stays Goldy, there is closing value to be had at his current odds.
