I don’t know about the rest of you fellows, but I like to spoil my lady every so often. I mean, Honcho is all about romance and class. When I’ve been struck by cupid’s arrow I like to take Mrs. Honcho to a fancy restaurant, order the finest bottle of Boone’s Farm in the building and reflect on our glamorous lifestyle. So the other night, while we were dining at Red Lobster, I was filling her ears with sweet nothings about my favorite under the radar plays on DraftKings. She was enthralled with my tales as usual and she couldn’t take her eyes off me as we shared a package of saltine crackers from the salad bar. Then it struck me…tomorrow the Padres will be at Coors Field! They’ll be facing Chad Bettis, who happens to own a 4.70 ERA at Home this season. While that’s probably acceptable for a Rockies’ starter, I’m more than happy to get a piece of that action with my daily fantasy dollars. Bettis has also allowed a .260 batting average to left-handers this season, which is above the league average. I’ll be looking to use a number of Padres in various lineups today, especially the power hitting lefties. Ryan Schimpf fits that description perfectly. Schimpf has 19 home runs on the year in just 238 at-bats. Sixteen of those long balls have come at the expense of right-handed pitchers – who he happens to also own a .929 OPS against. In my best Kirk Cousins voice I ask you…You Like That!? Well, I do. So excuse me while I finish my left-over plate of hush puppies and fine tune my lineup. While you’re waiting, here’s a look at the rest of my favorite plays for Sunday’s slate:
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday September 19th to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. Wanna know what the best part is about signing up with us? The free subscription for the rest of the season to our DFSBot, that’s what! For details on the how to, please visit our Razzball Subscriptions page.
Kyle Hendricks, SP $12,900 – The pitching options are slim today so we’ll go with the most expensive toy on the shelf. Hendricks’ will bring his elite 2.03 ERA to the mound today in hopes of slowing down the Brewers enough to secure a victory. Considering Milwaukee owns a 25.4% strikeout rate against right-handers this year – the odds are in our favor. The Cy Young contender also loves pitching at home as he’s produced a 9-1 record and 1.21 ERA inside the friendly confines.
Robbie Ray, SP $8,600 – Ray has been an absolute strikeout machine this year, racking up 202 Ks in just 160 1/3 innings. That pushes his 11.34 K/9 ratio into the elite tier. The strikeout numbers should mitigate the risk of the lefty allowing a few easy earned runs today. I happen to think Ray’s in a very nice spot today because the Dodgers have been the worst hitting team in baseball vs LHP. Their .275 wOBA, 71 wRC+ and .291 OBP vs LHP make this an attractive start.
Stephen Vogt, C $3,800 – Not a bad price for a hot hitter who fares well against right-handers. Vogt has been on a nice run over his last 7 games, batting .321 with a home run and a .942 OPS.
Jose Abreu, 1B $3,700 – I understand that Danny Duffy is a tough matchup, especially at the K, but this price makes no sense to me. Abreu has logged 11 multi-hit efforts in his last 17 games and he owns a .357/.419/.500 slash line vs Duffy over his career.
Anthony Rizzo, 1B $5,500 – So let’s play the BvP game, shall we? Rizzo has destroyed Wily Peralta over 32 career at-bats to the tune of: 7 HR, 14 RBIs and a .500/.568/1.250 slash line. Spend up if you’re feeling Tony Rizzo’s magic today.
Trea Turner, 2B $5,600 – By law I’m obligated to suggest Trea Turner for today’s action. His price tag is sky high, but over his last 14 games he’s hitting .381 with 6 HR. Should I mention his 1.127 OPS over that same period? That’s otherworldly.
Kris Bryant, 3B $4,300 – Let’s continue our assault on Wily Peralta. Bryant has mauled RHP this season, hitting 24 of his 37 home runs and producing a .918 OPS. His .270 ISO and 10.8% walk rate have helped him become one of the more consistent daily choices all season.
Jose Peraza, OF/SS $3,600 – He’s been hitting at the top of the order with Billy Hamilton on the shelf and the speedy right-hander has been producing. Peraza has hit safely in each of his last five games and he’s batting .321 with 12 steals vs RHP this season.
Bryce Harper, OF $4,400 – I love this play today, especially in tournaments. Harper has been terrible as of late. In fact, he’s had just one hit in his last 19 at-bats. That’s quite a slump. He needs some good fortune or a slump buster. Where’s Amy Shumer when you need her? Anyway, Harper will square off against Matt Wisler and all he’s done vs RHP since the start of 2015 is slash .296/.436/.576. He’s also blasted 17 of his 24 home runs off righties this season.
Mookie Betts, OF $4,900 – Anytime you can fit Mookie into your lineup for under $5K that’s a small victory for humanity. He owns a .392 wOBA and .429 ISO at home vs southpaws this season and C.C. Sabathia has allowed 16 of his 20 home runs to right-handers this year. Those type of numbers really rev my engine. In fact, if Mookie goes off tonight I’ll have the DFSBot’s baby. True story.
Adam Jones, OF $4,700 – Over 31 career at-bats vs Jake Odorizzi, Jones’ has 11 hits, two of which have left the yard and a .355 batting average with a .956 OPS.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There’s a slight chance of light showers in Atlanta, but nothing that should impede the progress of the game. Other than that the conditions around the league are a green light for all baseball activities. Enjoy responsibly.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs are -250 favorites, the biggest on the board, while Colby Lewis (-194), Drew Pomeranz (-188) and Chad Bettis (-174) make up the next tier. The Bettis number is strange, mainly because that game carries the highest O/U on the day at 12.5. If you’re chasing the highest run totals today you can feast your eyes on this: OAK/TEX 10.5, LAD/ARI 10, LAA/TOR 9.5, NYY/BOS 9.5 and WAS/ATL, DET/CLE & TB/BAL all carry a total of 9 runs. Good luck amigos.
