After a period of rest, it’s important not to jump right back into really strenuous activity. According to muscleandfitness.com, here are some tips on what to do prior to strenuous activity:
- Eat for fuel, focusing on carbs and proteins. Peanut butter has lots of protein, right? *rips open pack of Oreos, dips in PB, clears out an entire row* OK, protein’d up!
- Drink 20 oz of water. *pours 6 oz of Tito’s, adds 20 oz water* Man, that was refreshing!
- Aerobic warm-up, looking to build up a sweat. *bends over to tie both shoes* Whew, that was a little more difficult to do after the Oreos and Tito’s than I figured; definitely got the sweat going.
- Make a playlist? OK, muscleandfitness.com, you’re the boss. *creates “Hoove’s Hot Jams,” fills it with Victoria Justice jams* Those cheekbones get me every time, Victoria. Great, now I’m all sweaty again.
- Finally, some other activity to get the brain juices flowing.
We’ve all been at rest for a few days thanks to the MLB All Star break. We don’t want to just jump back into a high-octane DFS lineup entry without doing some appropriate mental calisthenics, do we? You absolute fool, of course not. What better way to get the brain juices flowing and ease into the second half of the MLB season than by picking whatever pitcher is hosting the Rockies? Making this warm-up exercise even easier is that it’s Corbin Burnes (FD $11,300/DK $10,200), perhaps the best (healthy) pitcher on the planet (I don’t count you as healthy yet, Jacob deGoat).
According to baseball-reference.com, Burnes is currently top-5 in MLB in WAR (among pitchers), ERA, WHIP, H/9, K/9, total Ks, and is top-10 in K-BB. The man is phenomenal, and the Rockies are bottom-five in MLB in road OPS. Look, you’ve had a few days off from submitting lineups and doing the heavy analytical thinking necessary to maximize odds of winning. Don’t pull your cerebellum, brain stem or any of the numerous lobes up there–at least until you get to the hitters. Sit back, relax, stick Burnes in your lineup, and enjoy the easy warm-up that gets you back in the flow.
*Side note*: rotations are still in flux as of this writing (Thursday evening for a Friday morning submission), so when I’m doing any batter vs. pitcher stats, I’m using swishanalytics.com’s stats vs. projected starters. It may differ from Streamonator’s projected starters, or other places. If the team a) hasn’t named one yet or b) decides to switch, then *shrugs shoulders* my bad. I can only work with what I’ve got in this state of uncertainty.
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: FD $9,100/DK $7,800 – In Giolito’s last 25 IP, he’s only given up 8 ER–but five were in one game. The other three games, he’s started to reward his fantasy owners with some solid payoffs. Naturally, it’s after I jettisoned him from my squad for an old ashtray full of Jim Leyland’s smoked butts (I’d totally buy that product if he got into the meat business). He’s also got a 26:6 K:BB ratio in that same time. If Chicago is going to make a push to catch Minnesota, it’s going to ride the bit bats like Robert, Abreu, Vaughn, and a healthy Eloy, but it’s going to need Gio to regain his Cy form; he’s already turned things around, so now it’s time to start cleaning up.
Yan Gomes, C: FD $2,100/DK $2,300 – Gomes has traditionally whacked Kyle Gibson around, hitting 13-for-32 with a pair of ding-dongs and a pair of doubles over his career. He also enjoys Citizens Bank pretty well, slashing .275/.324 over 40 career ABs there.
Carlos Santana, 1B: FD $2,600/DK $3,300 – I know Justin Verlander is contending for another Cy Young this year, but check this out–in 79 career ABs vs JV, Carlos Santana has eight homers. Santana’s been so smooth with the Mariners, swatting a trio of round-trippers in the week prior to the ASB, so I’m willing to take the cheap bet on him continuing his hot hitting against a pitcher he’s had a lot of career success against.
Brandon Lowe, 2B: FD $2,900/DK $4,300 – Hittertron has Lowe ranked 9th among hitters today, and part of that may be his massive splits in favor of his matchup vs RHP Zack Greinke–a career .886 OPS. See below for another Rays Hittertron play today.
Alex Bregman, 3B: FD $3,000/DK $4,700 – Bregman is another guy with major platoon splits in favor of his matchup today–he has a .925 OPS vs LHPs, and gets to face Marco Gonzalez tonight. Bregman has a career 2nd half OPS of .924, and enjoys hitting in Seattle, going .294/.356 career over 160 PAs. He started this half off just as you’d hope, going 4-8 with a homer in their double-header against the NYY yesterday.
Tim Anderson, SS: FD $3,400/DK $5,500 – Hittertron’s 10th-ranked hitter (and top-ranked SS) tonight, Anderson is 5-for-14 career vs. Cal Quantrill. Anderson entered the break really setting up the ChiSox offense, scoring 8 runs his last seven games, chipping in a HR and a bag.
Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., OF: FD $2,600/DK $3,700 – Total gut call here, but it feels like the Jays offense is about to go crazy for two months as they push for a playoff berth. Gurriel is 5-for-16 against Nathan Eovaldi with a pair of homers, and if you remember the last two years, Gurriel Jr has been an absolute monster in the second half. Last year he hit .296 with 11 HRs and 48 RBI, and the year before he hit .342 with 8 HRs.
J.D. Martinez, OF: FD $3,400/DK $5,100 – J.D. loves the second half as well, hitting .288 career, and last year he rocked 10 blasts and 37 RBI. He starts off facing Jays ace Kevin Gausman, but Martinez has a career .316/.381/.526 triple-slash vs Gausman, so the history of success is squarely with J.D. in this matchup.
Randy Arozarena, OF: FD $3,100/DK $5,100 – Hittertron has Randy Ricebowl ranked 4th overall among hitters today, and it’s not surprising that it loves the Rays in general (Yandy Diaz and Josh Lowe also rate favorably today vs. Zack Greinke). Arozarena headed into the break with a couple of HRs and a bag in his last four games prior to the ASB.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
@BallparkWeather says the only chance for a delay would be Padres @ Mets, and even then, it’s only a delay, not an outright cancellation.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Yu Darvish is +120 to go over 5.5 strikeouts today, and I really like that bet. Christian Yelich is +115 to go over 1.5 total bases vs Antonio Senzatela, and that’s another plus-money bet I’m all-in on.
