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.
When the early spring rolls around, there are these wonderful gatherings in the northeast known as maple festivals. Now, thanks to big James Paxton, there’s a maple festival every 5th day in the Pacific Northwest. The Big Maple himself, pride of Ladner BC, gets to face the grovelling Kansas City Royals today at home in Seattle. Paxton beat the Royals earlier in the year 4-2, pitching 6 innings with 10 strikeouts. At home he’s got a 1.098 WHIP and 12.1 K/9. It all adds up to a dominating start and better bet than the other top starters today. Now let’s look at a few more early-, middle- and late-round picks for your Draft…drafts!
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Ross Stripling, SP: Middle – If this start against the Rockies was in Colorado, it would be a different story, but instead it’s in the pitchers’ haven of LA. Overall, the Rockies have hit Stripling to a .259 batting average and .644 OPS, and at home he’s 4-0 with a 1.81 ERA and 1.030 WHIP. Bring on the Dodger Dogs, load up on batters, and grab Stripling with a middle-round pick today.
Steven Matz, SP: Late – Willing to take a risk for big gain? Get Matz in the later rounds. He’s pitching against the Marlins in Miami and they’ve only hit him to a .206 batting average and .476 OPS. Sure, Matz pitches for the woebegone Mets, but this is one he and his mates should win.
Jose Altuve, IF: Early – Gigante, the biggest 5’6″ player in history, gets to face Blake Snell and the Tampa Bay Rays today. Snell may be pitching well, but Altuve hammers him to a .429 batting average and 1.786 OPS with 2 home runs.
Mike Trout, OF: Early – The 800-pound gorilla of MLB gets to wreak havoc on one of his favorite conquests today: Kevin Gausman. Trout destroys Gausman to the tune of a .538 batting average and 1.831 OPS with 3 home runs.
Freddie Freeman, IF: Middle – Freeman has never faced young John Gant of the St. Louis Cardinals. But at Busch Stadium, Freeman has hit .357 in his career with a 1.086 OPS, and against righties, which Gant is, he’s hitting .302 with a .918 OPS. Somehow Freeman is flying under the radar this year, but he’s an MVP candidate and a great middle-round pick today.
Gregory Polanco, OF: Middle – In San Diego against the Padres today, Polanco gets to face Tyson Ross. In his career against Ross, Polanco rakes: .444 batting average and 1.500 OPS. The Jolly Roger will be waving proud.
Luis Valbuena, IF: Late – Mike Trout will have a little lineup support today against Kevin Gausman and the Orioles in the form of Luis Valbuena. He’s hit Gausman to a Trout-worthy .556 batting average, 2.444 OPS and 4 home runs. Grab him with a late pick and watch your counting stats soar.
Corey Dickerson, OF: Late – Another Pirate looking to plunder in San Diego. Dickerson is back off the DL and hits Tyson Ross to a .316 batting average and 1.065 OPS with 2 home runs.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
It’s a a great day for baseball across America today. The wind is blowing out in Chicago for the Twins-Cubs game and in Oakland for the Indians and A’s. Meanwhile, the wind is blowing in for the White Sox and Rangers in Texas.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Stack ’em, pack ’em and rack ’em: The highest projected runs scored today are the Orioles (5.01) vs the Angels, the Rangers (4.99) vs the White Sox, and the Brewers (4.84) at the Reds.
The best and the brightest: The biggest favorites today are the Mariners (-291) vs the Royals, the Dodgers (-198) vs the Rockies, and the Blue Jays (-194) vs the Tigers.
