Who am I kidding? Jameson is meant to be savored, sip by delicious sip, not shot like some two bit well whiskey. Jameson on the rocks is more like it. Hopefully we don’t see any of Jameson on the ropes tonight though. Tonight is a bit of a weird night as far as pitching is concerned on DraftKings. There’s the big two and then every other pitchers is under $9,800. So, the question is do you pony up for one of the top two or do you cheap out and pay up for bats? My choice will be to drop down and Jameson Taillon will be my main guy. Jameson checks in at a mere $7,800 and has some of the highest upside of the bunch. The Reds are bottom five in all of baseball in team OPS and just traded away their biggest power threat in Jay Bruce. The Pirates are at home, something I always like in my top arm, and to boot, PNC Park is known to suppress lefty power, so Mr. Votto will likely have to settle for taking a walk to get aboard. Walking guys is not something Taillon has been apt to do this year, which is a trait I always adore in a pitcher. Across AAA and the majors, a span of 18 starts, Taillon has a 1.0 walk-rate. I’ll take that and an 8.0 K-rate all day for $7,800. Let’s take a look at some other picks that will have us sipping our finest whiskey in celebration tonight:
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Jaime Garcia, SP: $6,900 – Taillon and Garcia will in all likelihood be my most common pitcher pairing tonight. That duo for a combined $14,700 will really open up salary for those big bats. Jaime, like Taillon, is also at home against an even weaker opponent, the Braves. But wait, they have Matt Kemp now…
Michael Pineda, SP: $8,600 – This one comes down to risk tolerance. The Indians have been scorching hot, but Pineda still posses some of the highest upside of the night. Those Ks are just so darn tasty. Pineda really has the passive aggressive thing down lately too, so a night when most people will avoid him, expect him to look amazeballs. Give him the Padres and he pulls a Junior Guerra and looks like dookie.
Jeremy Hellickson, SP: $9,300 – Speaking of the Padres, what we have here is classic season long vs. DFS. I’d stream Hellickson all day long in my season long leagues, but his lack of strikeouts limits him so much in DFS, he’s hardly worth the price tag. Save your pennies and avoid this 5 strikeout “gem”.
Salvador Perez, C: $3,100 – Is a change of scenery really what Francisco Liriano needed to fix his woes? I doubt it. Perez remains way too cheap and I’m drooling over the match-up with the Liriano dumpster fire.
Brian McCann, C: $3,100 – Wha!? I’m recommending TWO catchers tonight!? It’s true. McCann is also getting the “Perez” treatment from DraftKings and is way too cheap for a catcher who’s batting clean-up. Flip a coin, but either is good value tonight.
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B: $4,700 – I racked my brain, but I can’t come up with a single reason why Goldy would be less expensive than Freddie Freeman….nope, not one.
Matt Adams, 1B: $3,900 – Brandon Moss might snake his playing time, but if Fatty Adams is in there, he’ll be facing Joel de la Cruz, which is a pretty sweet match-up. Clearly DraftKings expects Moss to be in the lineup and priced his match-up accordingly, with Moss coming in at $4,900. Let’s cross our fingers for Adams and then save a grand.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B: $4,400 – Our BvP special of the night comes at second base. Dusty is having a great season and tonight gets to face a guy he’s tormented over the years. Pedroia has seen Kazmir for 43 ABs and has a hit in 22 of them (.512). Two of those 22 hits have left the yard and he’s even stolen two bags off Kazmir. Get ready for the laser show tonight.
Trea Turner, 2B/OF: $4,000 – I’m gaga over Turner. I wish I’d stashed him in every league. That hit tool is so legit and he’s running like I thought Tim Anderson would be with 8 steals already. Did I mention he’s the leadoff hitter most nights too? Swoon.
Todd Frazier, 3B: $4,000 – Sign me up for some YoGa with the Todd Father. Tonight, it’s hot YoGa with some potential dongs. Hmmm, must be those new YoGa pants
Danny Valencia, 3B: $3,900 – It’s kinda crazy Valencia is still an A, but there he is. Hitting lefties is what he does best and Jon Lester just so happens to be a southpaw. Danny Valencia also just so happens to be 6 for 20 with a HR off him for his career.
Andrelton Simmons, SS: $2,500 – Mike Scioscia is just the worst. Did anyone else catch Andrelton batting clean-up yesterday. An 8-hole hitter…batting 4th. I get that Mike Trout was taking a day off, but good googley moogley, how does a guy go from batting 8th one night to 4th the next. Check back and see if this new prime lineup spot is going to be a habit for the Sciosciapath. A $2,500 SS, hitting in the top part of the order is nothing to shake a stick at, though I would like to whack Scioscia upside the head with said stick. If he does come to his senses, Sean O’Malley vs. Lincecum for $2,800 isn’t a bad pivot.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF: $5,200 – No dur, right? This is more so I can bring up the insanely awesome fact that Giancarlo checks in at over $100 tonight on the Hitter-Tron. For those not in the know, firstly, what’s wrong with you, but secondly, $50/$60 is a great play most nights. Even tonight, CarGo checks in at $66. Giancarlo at $101 is incredible. He should be the most expensive player on the slate tonight, and he’s not. Roster, enjoy HR, repeat.
David Dahl, OF: $4,100 – I don’t know why Dahl doesn’t get the same Coors price treatment as the rest of the Rockies crew, but I’ll gladly roster him all day at this price. Dahl is for real, get on before he’s $5,000+.
Lorenzo Cain, OF: $4,200 – Give me all the Royals vs. the inevitable Liriano implosion.
Mark Trumbo, OF: $3,400 – It seems like the whole Orioles team has gone in the crapper together. Davis, Trumbo, even Machado isn’t quite himself. This group is obviously still a threat though and should turn things around at some point. Take a little discount and hope Miguel Gonzalez gets the O’d back in their groove.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
A full slate of MLB games and only a couple rain issues, not bad. Things have the potential to get wet in St. Louis and of course, there’s the typical game time rain issues in Colorado, man I hate those. Build a dome Rockies! 9News Weather is a great way to keep an eye on the goings on weather wise in Denver, FYI.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Outside of Coors (11.5) the highest run totals exists in Arizona where Chase Anderson and the Brewers take on Brandon Shipley and the D’Backs. That game has a 9.5 run total and makes me giddy for Goldy. The other game checking in at 9.5 runs is The Orioles at the White Sox. The lowest total, you may have guessed, is in Detroit where Syndergaard takes on Velander in what should be a great game. The total is 7.5 there, for good reason, I’ll take the under. Ervin Santana and the Twins are in Tampa Bay to face Blake Snell. In a game of decrepit offenses, this also features a 7.5 run total. Jaime Garcia is the biggest favorite of the night, -220 vs. the Braves. Plenty of run support should be had, but I doubt he’ll need it.
