While Bryce Harper is ice cold, Major League Baseball’s other superstar, Mike Trout, is heating up. Over the last seven days, Trout is batting .370 with two home runs and gets a cake matchup on Tuesday night. It may be tough to fit Trout into your lineup given his price tag, but it’s going to be worth it. Trout is like a tall glass of water. He’s a beacon of light on the hill. A superstar in his mid-20s, Trout is who women want and who men want to be. If you can fit Chris Sale and Trout in the same lineup with a solid number two SP, you could be well on your way to god status. Alright, enough with the superlatives. Just play Trout and enjoy the elite production.
New to DraftKings? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday May 30th 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.
Jeff Samardzija, SP: $11,700 – I’m not sure Samardzija’s price went about $10,000 last season, but here we are staring down the barrel of The Shark just $300 short of $12K. Unbelievable. On Tuesday, he faces the paltry Padres at home–a team he has averaged 25.4 DK points over two starts this season. If you don’t feel like paying up for Chris Sale, Samardzija is your guy.
Justin Verlander, SP: $11,000 – We’ve seen this before, but it looks like Justin Verlander is back to being dominant. He’s averaged nine strikeouts per game over his last three games and gets another cake matchup against the Phillies. Let me play devils’ advocate in this sentence and tell you that I’d be wary of using him in cash games. A lot of times matchups on paper look too good to be true and they turn out that way. If the Phillies tagged Verlander for five runs in the first inning, I wouldn’t even be slightly surprised. I wish JV would just MAKE UP HIS MIND.
David Price, SP: $8,900 – Just as we never saw Samardzija over $10K last season, we probably didn’t see David Price under that number. With two solid starts in a row under his belt, it appears as though things are finally evening out for Price. He’s been killed by an inflated BABIP (.352), but his FIP (2.69) is actually right in line with his number from last season (2.78). His current ERA is 5.52; that number is going to drop quickly. Price and Sale will be a very popular pairing on Tuesday night.
Edinson Volquez, SP: $8,200 – I have a soft spot for ole Eddie Volquez from his time with the Pirates. He is more of a safe pick as he rarely gets blasted. His upside is about 25 DK points, but that’s usually good enough. Volquez will face a Twins team that he dominated back on April 10, plus Minnesota has been brutal as of late, hitting just .231 over the last seven days.
Buster Posey, C: $3,700 – Padres’ starter Andrew Cashner has long been one of the most overrated pitchers in baseball. He returns from the disabled list on Tuesday night and Posey will be waiting to welcome him back. For his career, Posey is 11-for-25 with two home runs against Cashner and should be right in the middle of the likely bloodbath that will occur.
Stephen Vogt, C: $2,700 – Vogt has been disappointing this season, but it looks like he’s showing signs of life. This is more of a punt play, but Vogt is 4-for-5 lifetime against Mariners starter Nathan Karns.
Miguel Cabrera, 1B: $4,500 – After a six week wait, Cabrera finally started heating up and proceeded to get hurt on Sunday. Luckily, it was minor and he was back in the lineup on Monday night; oh, he also blasted two homers. He will face an average righty in a hitter’s park on Tuesday when he squares off against Jeremy Hellickson. This is an excellent matchup and Miggy is locked in at the plate.
Chris Davis, 1B: $4,300 – Doug Fister is not a strikeout pitcher and Davis has issues with strikeouts. Okay, that doesn’t make sense? Sure it does. That means Davis should be making contact on Tuesday and he’s always a threat to go deep. Davis is 5-for-13 with two homers in his career against Fister.
Daniel Murphy, 2B: $4,400 – Let’s face it: Matt Harvey is broken. He may get straightened out in time or he may not; who knows? What I do know is that Murphy is batting .392 on the season and showing no signs of letting up. A Nationals stack in GPPs also looks very appealing.
Jimmy Paredes, 2B: $2,900 – There is no guarantee that Paredes will start on Tuesday night, but if he does, he’s worth a punt play. If you remember from last year, Paredes had a couple of nice stretches and has done well in his first four games this season. On top of that, he does have a home run against Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi.
Kyle Seager, 3B: $4,300 – Picking on pitchers that lack in the strikeout department is one of my favorite pastimes. Seager owns a .421 wOBA at home against right-handed pitching, so this matchup against Kendall Graveman is right up his alley.
Nick Castellanos, 3B: $3,400 – Castellanos is batting .378 with five homers against RHP this season and gets a weak one in Jeremy Hellickson.
Xander Bogaerts, SS: $5,200 – This is a perfect matchup for Bogaerts, though you’re going to have to pay if you want to exploit it. Rockies starter Jorge de la Rosa is returning from the disabled list and has always had control issues. Bogaerts will be on-base more than once, the question is whether he will take de la Rosa deep.
Brandon Crawford, SS: $3,500 – As stated earlier, I love exploiting Andrew Cashner since he’s terrible. Crawford has all six home runs against righties this season and is 5-for-16 with a home run against the aforementioned Cashner. Even if you pass on Crawford, you must have exposure to San Francisco bats.
J.D. Martinez, OF: $4,300 – This is the last Tigers recommendation I will make, but it is imperative to have some exposure to Jeremy Hellickson. Martinez has hit five home runs in the last 10 days and is very locked in at the plate. Consider a Detroit stack in GPPs.
Evan Gattis, OF: $3,400 – Since returning from the minors, Gattis has been on fire. With a .364 average and three home runs over the last week, it’s clear that he is going through one of his hot streaks. He is an up and down player and even though he’s white hot, an 0-for-5 night would surprise no one; Stick with him in GPPs.
Ryan Raburn, OF: $2,900 – I know I recommended David Price, but this is that “split special”. It doesn’t hurt that Raburn is 10-for-30 (.333) lifetime against Price.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There is a 50% chance of rain in Arlington when the Rangers host the Angels but otherwise, there should be very few issues.
Doing Lines in Vegas
Pick on Matt Harvey, Shelby Miller, Andrew Cashner, Jeremy Hellickson, and Kendall Graveman if you’re looking to stack. Vegas expects Jorge de la Rosa to get blasted as David Price is a -230 favorite at 8 1/2. If you want a sneaky, low-owned stack, try Tampa Bay against Tom Koehler.
