Happy first Thursday after the All-Star break. I won’t lie, I missed sitting down with a glass of Pinot Noir to write my weekly advice piece last Wednesday.
The first thing I noticed when I opened up my DraftKings app was how damn expensive Clayton Kershaw is. I mean, he’s still the best pitcher in baseball despite his numbers not reflecting it this year, but is he worth spending $14,500 on? Well, he’s facing the Mets, so yeah. In face, my last article was title “Dream of Californication” due to the amount of Dodgers and Angels in my lineup. That title could apply here, too.
Let’s get straight to the cash, homie.
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 15 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.
Clayton Kershaw, SP: $14,500 — Again, he’s been in the shadow — believe it or not — of teammate Zack Greinke, but he’s been dominant over his past three weeks. He’s facing the Mets who can’t hit Klayton Cershaw let alone Clayton Kershaw.
Francisco Liriano, SP: $10,300 — The two top pitchers in one lineup? Yes, please, and I actually like my lineup to go along with it. The Nationals are hurting, and they may have lost Yunel Escobar after he got hit by a pitch on Wednesday. Bryce Harper be damned, give me Liriano.
Yasmani Grandal, C: $3,200 — Grandal has been so good this year, especially against right-handed pitching. I’ll take him in a match-up against Bartolo Colon and the Mets.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B: $4,000 — Gonzalez is frustrating. He had a historic first week, but then faded away quickly. Lately, though, he’s been on a power surge and at $4,000, I’ll roll him out against the aforementioned Colon.
Justin Turner, 2B/3B: $3,400 — Sensing a theme here? Does Turner remind anyone else of Josh Harrison? A good player, enjoying a career year? I’ll continue to ride it the rest of the way as he’s made me a believer.
Jake Lamb, 3B: $3,000 — Lamb is a fringe 12-team mixed league player, but I feel OK starting him against the inconsistent Mike Fiers, even if Fiers has been better as of late.
Jung Ho Kang, SS/3B: $3,400 — Kang has slightly underachieved this year, but he’s playing every day now, which is valuable. Plus, Doug Fister isn’t good. Here’s hoping this is the beginning of Fister getting knocked out of the rotation for good.
Melky Cabrera, OF: $3,100 — Does Melky get better as the weather changes? It seems that way this year, at least. After struggling mightily early on this season, Cabrera has been solid over the past month. He still can’t hit lefties, but he gets the inconsistent Trevor Bauer who can go from Nolan Ryan to Ryan Vogelsong on a given night.
Andre Ethier, OF: $2,800 — If you trust Don Mattingly, he says that Ethier will remain the starter even with Carl Crawford back. I’m going to risk looking like an idiot and believe him. He’s the last of my Dodgers stack.
John Mayberry, Jr., OF: $2,000 — Someone has to get a hit off of Kershaw, right? Why can’t it be Mayberry? Yeah, I don’t feel great about it either, but despite his rudimentary numbers against lefties this year, he has a .261 average against lefties in his career. Yeah, it’s a punt play.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Guys, there’s only a five percent chance of rain in San Diego. It never rains there — except this past weekend. It’s going to be a rain free slate, it seems.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Milwaukee and Arizona is the projected highest scoring game of the evening at 8.5. If you go cheaper at pitcher, Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock are good options.
