They call Draft fantasy for the people, and why not? It’s easy as Sunday morning. Sign up at Draft.com, do a quick snake draft of 3, 4, 6 or 10 players, and get a piece of the payouts. Here at Razzball, we recommend using Value-Based Drafting (VBD) to make the most of your roster. Using Rudy’s tools, you can easily sort values and take the projected points for the final player drafted at each position (P, IF, OF) and subtracting from all the players at that position, then re-ranking based on VBD. In other words, Razzball will give you the inside knowledge you need to dominate your DFS opponents.
Some people love cake, others pie and ice cream. For pure joy in confections today, look no further than the Cleveland Indians’ ace, Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco. Carrasco has a 16-7 record this year, with a 3.38 ERA and 1.112 WHIP. Add to the mix a Tampa Bay team that hits him to a paltry .083 batting average and .328 OPS, and it makes Carlos Carrasco one tough cookie today. There are plenty of other big names on the slate, but none with a clearer path to dominance. Now let’s look at a few more early-, middle- and late-round picks for your Draft…drafts!
New to Draft? 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 you do. It’s how we know you care!
Lance Lynn, SP: Middle – Lance Lynn has pitched well against the Tigers when Miggy Cabrera is in the lineup, but he’s still out. That makes Lynn a great middle-round target with a strengthened Yankee lineup behind him.
Jeff Brigham, SP: Late – I won’t lie, this is a risk, but that’s what the late pick is for. It’s his major-league debut, but he’s facing the weak and feeble Toronto Blue Jay lineup, which is a shadow of its former self, in a decent pitching park. In 9 starts for Triple-A New Orleans, he posted a 3.44 ERA, with a BB% of 6.0% and K/9 of 8.25. You could also look across to the other dugout and give Sean Reid-Foley another whirl. Yes, he was a disaster last time, but that was versus the Yankees; this is the Fish. And again, ballpark. Streamonator likes both kind of the same: $SON6 and 9, respectively (ranked 9th and 8th on the day).
Matt Carpenter, IF: Early – Carpenter is having a career year, and today in Anthony DeSclafani, he’s facing a guy he’s feasted on: .474 batting average with a 1.723 OPS and 3 home runs in 19 at-bats. Pretty good.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF: Early – All signs are pointing up for this Yankee slugger. August was his best month of the year so far and he loves facing left-handers, like Matthew Boyd of the Tigers, whom he hits to a 1.096 OPS.
Marcus Semien, IF: Middle – This main cog in the Oakland lineup has a great match-up in Felix Hernandez of the Mariners today. He hits the artist formerly known as King Felix to a .342 batting average with a 1.033 OPS, including 4 home runs in 38 at-bats.
Justin Upton, OF: Middle – He’s day-to-day and there’s a good chance he may not play today, but if he is in the lineup, grab him: some might shy away because he’s facing Gerrit Cole and the mighty Astros, but not so fast. Upton has great numbers against Cole: a .375 batting average and 1.037 OPS. If he doesn’t play, try Lorenzo Cain, who’s been hot in August. Hittertron loves him today (6th out of all outfielders) for the match-up versus Jefry Rodriguez in Washington.
Eduardo Nunez, IF: Late – He finally seems healthy and has a good match-up against no-longer-“Big-Game” James Shields: a .448 batting average and 1.311 OPS including 3 home runs and 3 steals. Pretty good for a guy who could probably be had with the 10th pick in a 10-player draft.
Corey Dickerson, OF: Late – Another guy who can be overlooked, Dickerson is facing Julio Teheran in Atlanta today. Against Teheran, Dickerson has slashed .375/1.083. That can be late-round gold.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There are some slight weather concerns today in Philadelphia for Cubs-Phillies, where there are potential thunderstorms. Otherwise the wind is blowing in San Francisco (as usual) for Mets-Giants.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Stack ’em, pack ’em and rack ’em: The highest projected runs scored today are the Nationals (5.19) vs the Brewers, the Braves (4.96) vs the Pirates, and the Red Sox (4.94) at the White Sox.
The best and the brightest: The biggest favorites today are the Nationals (-247) vs the Brewers, the Dodgers (-227) vs the Diamondbacks, and the Indians (-196) vs the Rays.
